Deck 4: From the Classical to the Hellenistic World, 400-30 B.C.E

Question 1

How did the Peloponnesian War affect moderately well-off women who lost male family members during the war? How did these women cope with their changed circumstances?

Answer 1

Answer would ideally include the following. While these women had worked hard to manage their family households, men had earned the family income. When women lost male family members, they therefore had to earn an income for the first time in their lives; many took up paid work that was generally related to the duties they performed in the household, such as wet-nursing, weaving, or producing clothing. Other women became ordinary laborers, servants, or wet nurses.

Question 2

What did Plato mean by the "Forms"?

Answer 2

Answer would ideally include the following. Plato believed that the ultimate moral qualities are universal and absolute, not relative. The Forms represented the ultimate reality. The Forms describe the abstract, invariable, and ultimate realities of all being, which includes ethical qualities. According to Plato, what human beings perceive through their senses are only pale copies of these metaphysical, ultimate realities.

Question 3

Explain the link between Aristotle's distrust of democracy and his views on slavery. Aristotle believed that common sense and the careful observation of nature could explain inequalities in life. Which observations contributed to his belief that women were inferior to men?

Answer 3

Answer would ideally include the following. Aristotle distrusted democracy because he believed that it erred in allowing the uneducated to make political decisions. It could be argued that this is linked to his views on slavery because Aristotle believed that slavery was a natural condition and that those who lacked a rational nature-which he believed should be the guiding principle in human existence-were bound to be slaves. Mistaken biological information led Aristotle to evaluate females as incomplete males, and to therefore judge them as inferior. At the same time, he believed that human communities could only be successful and happy if both men and women contributed.

Question 4

What scientific and cultural impact did Alexander the Great leave behind upon his death?

Question 5

How did the successor kings establish themselves as legitimate rulers of their new kingdoms?

Question 6

Trace the link between military expenditure, state bureaucracy, and the spread of Greek language and culture in the Hellenistic kingdoms.

Question 7

Why did most urban elites cooperate willingly with Hellenistic monarchs?

Question 8

Explain why Hellenistic kings' lavish spending on the arts reflected political goals more than artistic ones.

Question 9

How did medicine advance in the Hellenistic world?

Question 10

How did the idea develop that some Hellenistic rulers were divine? Why did people worship them?

Question 11

Compare and contrast the ideas of Plato and Aristotle; describe how their ideas were responses to the political and social conditions of the time.

Question 12

Please discuss the factors that allowed Philip II and Alexander to build up such an extensive empire.

Question 13

What factors allowed Hellenistic kingdoms to rule over such diverse populations for several centuries?

Question 14

Hellenistic philosophers almost universally focused on how individuals should pursue inner tranquility to achieve freedom from larger outside forces. This focus stood in sharp contrast to that of classical philosophers, who discussed political, social, and moral issues that affected the community. To what extent did the differing political establishments of the two eras create this difference in approach? Be sure to discuss the emerging philosophical schools of the Hellenistic era in your response, and their ethical teachings in particular.

Question 15

Historians generally consider the Hellenistic period the golden age of ancient science. Advancements were made in the fields of geometry and mathematics, astronomy, military technology, and medicine. Provide an example of an advancement made by a Hellenistic scientist in each of the categories just listed.

Question 16

By the 350s B.C.E., which city-state's endless war making and collaboration with the Persians caused so much strife that the weakened Greek city-states could not fend off the Macedonians?

A) Thebes
B) Athens
C) Sparta
D) Corinth

Question 17

Athens's return to economic health benefited from which of the following?

A) The reconstruction of the Long Walls, which connected the city with the port and protected trading vessels and shipbuilding
B) The resumption of intensive gold and platinum mining, which had stopped during the Peloponnesian War
C) New Athenian citizenship laws that encouraged immigration, which was needed to replace the men lost in battle
D) The collapse of the Spartan economy after the helots were freed in 371 B.C.E.

Question 18

What historical evidence suggests that the average Athenian workingman had a very poor standard of living?

A) They ate only two meals a day and little or no meat.
B) They could only purchase wheat bread.
C) They could not afford to eat fruit, vegetables, or olives.
D) They could eat meat only three times a week.

Question 19

Why was Socrates put on trial by his fellow citizens in 399 B.C.E.?

A) Socrates was more popular than the Athenian generals, who persuaded the Council of Five Hundred that he posed a threat to the public order.
B) Socrates' accusers charged him with impiety, arguing that his philosophy denied the existence of the gods and lured the youth away from Athenian moral traditions.
C) Socrates was an outspoken critic of democracy who had sided with the militaristic Spartans in the Peloponnesian War.
D) Socrates was known to have opposed the popular leader Pericles, so Athenians blamed Socrates for their defeat in the Peloponnesian War.

Question 20

How did Socrates stun the trial participants during his trial?

A) By launching a broadside attack on Athenian democracy and calling for a monarchy to replace it
B) By suggesting that the Greek gods did not exist and offering new theories of natural philosophy in the gods' stead
C) By criticizing the conduct of Athenian leaders during the Peloponnesian War and insisting that Athens deserved its defeat at the hands of the Spartans
D) By defending his right to question his fellow citizens' preconceptions about just living and proclaiming that he would continue to do so

Question 21

What was Plato's Academy in Athens, established around 386 B.C.E.?

A) A school for the young men of elite families, who were trained by Plato to be philosopher-kings
B) A series of dialogues designed to bring Plato's students into awareness of the Forms
C) A group of scholars-including women-who met to study Plato's writings
D) An informal group of men who studied philosophy, mathematics, and theoretical astronomy

Question 22

What basic tenet did Plato hold fast to throughout his long career?

A) Human experience is nothing but a play of illusions.
B) Moral values are universal and absolute, not relative.
C) Democracy is the best of all possible forms of government.
D) The best life is one of self-denial and mastery over all sensual impulses.

Question 23

Which of Plato's beliefs established the concept of dualism?

A) Human beings have immortal souls that are separate and distinct from their physical bodies.
B) Forms exist as invisible and abstract ideals of reality, but humans perceive only flawed and vague dual images of these Forms.
C) Ethical qualities, such as goodness, do not exist as absolutes in our world, and their earthly forms can show an opposite quality, such as evil.
D) Because moral values are actually absolutes, the human experience of these values creates a dual value system.

Question 24

In the ideal society described by Plato in The Republic, women

A) can serve the state only by bearing healthy children and managing the household.
B) can serve as guardians or rulers because they have the same virtues and abilities as men.
C) are all ranked as "auxiliaries," regardless of their talents or education.
D) wear unisex clothing to reduce gender distinctions.

Question 25

What political view did Plato and Aristotle share?

A) Democracy was the best form of government in an imperfect world because no single individual or group could, by definition, be considered superior to any other individual or group.
B) A republic based on a system of checks and balances and made up of separate but equally powerful branches of government offered the best safeguard against tyranny.
C) Athenian democracy was a bad form of government because it did not restrict decision making to the most educated and moderate citizens.
D) Power always corrupted those who held it exclusively.

Question 26

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) rejected Plato's metaphysics, maintaining instead that explanations of the nature of reality must be based on

A) introspection and harmony with nature.
B) observation and the exercise of common sense.
C) pragmatic relativism and persuasion.
D) an understanding of the atoms that compose matter.

Question 27

Aristotle is renowned as the first scientist to attempt to collect and classify all available information on which of the following?

A) Animal species
B) Astronomical phenomena
C) Optics and light diffusion
D) Physical mechanics

Question 28

In his study of ethics, Aristotle argued that

A) democracy can function only if private property and the nuclear family are abolished.
B) there is an absolute, divine standard of morality.
C) rulers may act immorally for the good of the state, but citizens must always act virtuously.
D) an ethical system must help people achieve self-control and overcome the passions.

Question 29

The King's Peace (386 B.C.E.) represented which of the following?

A) A betrayal of the principle of Greek independence once gloriously defended in the Persian Wars
B) An unprecedented truce among the Greeks as they prepared to face a new common enemy: Macedonia
C) The embarrassing truth that democracy had failed and only a king could enforce peace among the city-states
D) A final attempt by Philip of Macedonia to get southern Greeks to ally with him willingly

Question 30

Why did the Athenians ally with the Spartans in the battle of Mantinea (362 B.C.E.)?

A) The Spartans swore to respect Athenian territory if Athens helped them conquer the Thebans.
B) The Persians had begun to attack Greek trading vessels in the Aegean.
C) They hoped to throw off Macedonian rule while Alexander was campaigning in Persia.
D) They feared the growing might of Thebes.

Question 31

Which of the following statements characterizes the political state of the Greek world by the 350s B.C.E.?

A) A stalemate in which the Greeks and Persians continued to wage exhausting wars against each other
B) A power vacuum in which no one city-state was capable of dominating the others
C) The dominance of Thebes, which succeeded in defeating both Athens and Sparta
D) A resurgence of Athenian power after Athens succeeded in rebuilding its navy and the Long Walls

Question 32

Until the conquests of Philip II and Alexander, the Greeks regarded the Macedonians as

A) uncivilized barbarians.
B) weak and unreliable mercenaries incapable of putting up a valiant defense.
C) outstanding representatives of Greek civilization.
D) virtuous warriors who had helped stave off the Persian invasion.

Question 33

Why did Philip II decide to attack Persia?

A) He was afraid of Persia's growing naval presence in the Aegean Sea.
B) He was concerned that his own soldiers were dangerous without a war to occupy them.
C) He mistrusted his wife, Olympias, whom he planned to leave at home.
D) His nobility was eager to obtain more land and plunder.

Question 34

What is the overall significance of King Philip II's victory at the battle of Chaeronea in 338 B.C.E.?

A) It meant that the city-states of Greece would never again conduct their foreign policy independent of each other.
B) It gave him uncontested claim to the Macedonian throne.
C) It was the first step in his plan to capture the Athenian navy for his own use.
D) It was his only battle against the Persians before his sudden death.

Question 35

What was one reason that Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 B.C.E.) was able to inspire his soldiers?

A) He had a gift for oratory, which enabled him to stir his soldiers' pride and ambition for glory.
B) He maintained a nearly supernatural calm in battle, which convinced his soldiers that he was the son of Zeus.
C) He recklessly exposed himself to danger by riding into the center of battle and fighting alongside his troops.
D) He was stupendously generous and had a gift for dazzling spectacles of wealth.

Question 36

How did the lives of the local populations change once Alexander expanded his empire from mainland Greece to Persia?

A) They immediately became urbanized as Macedonian campaign routes facilitated trade and communication.
B) They changed very little; they were subject to the same administrative systems.
C) They became more difficult because taxes were increased and collected with greater efficiency.
D) They immediately became Hellenized as the Greek language and Greek religion overwhelmed indigenous traditions.

Question 37

How did Alexander the Great rule the territories he conquered?

A) He deposed existing governments and replaced them with Greek rulers.
B) He undertook a policy of "divide and conquer" in the ethnically heterogeneous regions of the Near East.
C) He left existing governmental units in place.
D) He massacred both the existing leadership and civilian populations.

Question 38

Which of the following statements can be justified by the map below?
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A) Alexander focused his conquests on unknown territories.
B) First Alexander conquered Parthia then India and Anatolia.
C) Areas where great civilizations already existed were Alexander's targets.
D) A seaport was established on the Atlantic Ocean by Alexander.

Question 39

In what order did Alexander embark upon his conquests of the known world, from earliest to latest, according to this map?
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A) Egypt; Greece; India; Anatolia
B) Greece; Egypt; Mesopotamia; India
C) Assyria; Parthia; Egypt; India
D) India; Egypt; Greece; Media

Question 40

Where did Alexander's troops finally mutiny?

A) India
B) Egypt
C) Italy (Rome)
D) Arabia

Question 41

Upon his death, Alexander reputedly left his vast kingdom to

A) "the most powerful."
B) Philip II.
C) the Ptolemaic dynasty.
D) his wife, Roxane, and their son.

Question 42

How did Alexander's military conquests further the spread of science back home in Greece?

A) Alexander used the plunder and loot from his conquests to establish new scientific academies and universities back in Greece.
B) Alexander brought scientists with him and had information, money, as well as plant and animal specimens sent back to his tutor, Aristotle.
C) Alexander encountered scientists in the regions he conquered and sent them back to Greece to spread their knowledge.
D) Inadequate logistics during Alexander's military conquests led to severe hardship for Alexander's troops, thereby necessitating new inventions and scientific inquiry.

Question 43

Which of the following regions likely benefitted the most from trade within the Mediterranean Sea?
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A) The Parthian Empire
B) The Bactrian kingdom
C) The independent Greek states
D) The Hellenized non-Greek kingdoms

Question 44

Which of the following kingdoms or empires likely posed the greatest threat of potential invasion and conquering to the Ptolemaic kingdom?
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A) The Bactrian kingdom
B) The Parthian Empire
C) The Attalid kingdom
D) The Seleucid kingdom

Question 45

What did the successor kings rely on in order to maintain their kingdoms?

A) Strong diplomatic ties to other Hellenistic kingdoms
B) The appeal of Greek culture and justice to win over subject peoples
C) The administrative services of local urban elites, who were rewarded for their loyalty
D) The mystique surrounding Alexander the Great after his deification

Question 46

Though non-Greeks came to occupy important positions in the administration of the Hellenistic kingdoms, they were rarely admitted to the highest rungs of Hellenistic society because

A) Greeks and Macedonians saw their culture as superior to the local cultures.
B) they could not communicate effectively in Greek, the ruling language.
C) their religious beliefs precluded them from socializing with the Greeks.
D) the Greeks feared that locals placed in the highest positions of power would have a free hand to engineer revolts against Greek rule.

Question 47

How did wealthy Greek elites in the Hellenistic kingdoms contribute to the common good?

A) By serving as soldiers in Greek armies and navies
B) By volunteering to serve in the civic administration
C) By donating money for public works projects, food, and medicine
D) By teaching Greek to Hellenistic subjects

Question 48

Which of the following statements best describes the condition of the poorer local populations in Hellenistic kingdoms?

A) As many as 80 percent of adults still worked in subsistence agriculture.
B) About half of all adults worked in agriculture, while the other half were employed in small craft industries or as servants in cities.
C) Ninety percent of adults worked on small family-owned farms that used most of their surpluses to pay taxes.
D) Most free adults worked in or near the large cities, producing manufactured goods for the royal armies, while slaves cultivated the bulk of Hellenistic agricultural produce.

Question 49

In the Hellenistic world, women's social and political status depended largely on which of the following?

A) Their position in the socioeconomic hierarchy; wealthy women had far more opportunities available to them than did poor women
B) Their natural beauty; attractive women, regardless of social class, were more likely to marry upward and advance socially
C) Their innate ambition and intelligence; women driven to advance socially often succeeded in doing so, regardless of their social origins
D) Geography; women in Greece were more likely than women in the other Mediterranean Hellenistic kingdoms to be on equal footing with men

Question 50

What caused the collapse of the Ptolemaic kingdom in the 30s B.C.E.?

A) It was overrun by the rival Seleucid kingdom.
B) The kingdom was invaded by Macedonians.
C) Economic hardship spurred a revolt by the inhabitants along the Nile.
D) Cleopatra chose the losing side in the Roman civil war.

Question 51

The art and literature of the Hellenistic Age (323-30 B.C.E.) reveals which of the following?

A) A growing fascination with the interests, experience, and social position of women
B) An increasing disdain for the countryside as opposed to the city
C) An interest in human individuality, emotions, manners, and other aspects of private life
D) A growing preoccupation with scientific inquiry and natural philosophy

Question 52

Where was the Hellenistic world's most impressive court, in terms of scholarship, learning, and library resources?

A) Babylon
B) Alexandria
C) Athens
D) Pergamum

Question 53

A number of Hellenistic women wrote epigrams, which were

A) humorous nicknames given to their loved ones.
B) short poems originally engraved on tombstones to commemorate the dead.
C) emotionally charged love poems.
D) expressions of religious devotion that were read during major civic festivals.

Question 54

Hellenistic sculpture differed from sculpture of the classical era in that it was more likely to

A) be funded by wealthy philanthropists.
B) depict suffering and emotional individuals.
C) portray the Greek deities.
D) depict male and not female bodies.

Question 55

To an Epicurean, the ideal life was

A) an endless pursuit of pleasure and excitement amid the new sensations and ideas of the Hellenistic world.
B) a quiet life surrounded by friends and away from the public sphere.
C) lived in harmony with nature and hinged on an acceptance of fate and the cultivation of virtue.
D) lived outside the norms of society, free of material possessions or concerns.

Question 56

Why did the Epicureans believe that people should not fear death?

A) Because life was harsh, and death represented a release from its trials and tribulations
B) Because death was nothing more than the painless separating of the body's atoms, of which all earthly matter was composed
C) Because the gods promised a beneficent afterlife to all who led a virtuous earthly life
D) Because no one knew what followed death, and it was self-defeating and irrational to fear the unknown

Question 57

Several Hellenistic philosophies agreed that people could free themselves from anxiety about the world around them by

A) studying logic.
B) becoming politically involved.
C) seeking inner personal tranquility.
D) joining monastic orders.

Question 58

What Hellenistic philosophy argued that, although fate controls people's lives, one should nonetheless cultivate excellence, good sense, justice, courage, and temperance?

A) Skepticism
B) Cynicism
C) Stoicism
D) Epicureanism

Question 59

Although Aristarchus had proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system as early as the third century B.C.E., later astronomers rejected his model because

A) he had based his calculations on a circular orbit of the sun rather than an elliptical one.
B) it challenged religious views that placed the earth at the center of the universe.
C) he did not have knowledge of calculus, which made his calculations inaccurate.
D) the mathematical calculations on which he had based his model were lost, and subsequent astronomers were unable to replicate them.

Question 60

Why did Hellenistic science rarely produce practical results?

A) The Romans conquered the eastern Mediterranean just as Greek scientists were beginning to achieve significant breakthroughs-and cut off Greek science at the bud.
B) It was weighted down with too many theories, like those of Aristotle, that were fundamentally flawed.
C) Hellenistic rulers feared that new inventions might put large numbers of skilled craftsmen and common laborers out of work.
D) Leading scientists were more interested in theoretical discoveries, and the technology needed to produce practical applications did not yet exist.

Question 61

The Hellenistic era inaugurated widespread social and political changes in the eastern Mediterranean world, including

A) the extensive movement of the Greek language into the Near East.
B) the takeover of Rome by Alexander the Great.
C) the rise of Christianity.
D) the realization of peace in what had been a war-torn region.

Question 62

What simplified version of Greek became the common language for international commerce and cultural exchange in the Hellenistic world?

A) Aretê
B) Hellene
C) Koine
D) Aramaic

Question 63

Why did astrology suddenly become popular in the Hellenistic era?

A) Alexander the Great himself had placed his faith in the stars when timing his battles and launching his invasions.
B) Astrology played a central role in the ideas of the Stoics and the Epicureans.
C) People felt a need for religion to bridge the disconnect between the precise nature of the heavens and the chaos of earthly life.
D) The Greeks borrowed from the Roman divinities and discovered astrology in the process.

Question 64

Which of the following statements demonstrates the importance of Jews in the Hellenistic world?

A) King Ptolemy II's order that the Hebrew Bible be translated into Greek
B) Antiochus IV's support of Jewish traditions and worship in Jerusalem
C) Queen Arsinoe II's second marriage to an Alexandrian Jew
D) King Ashoka's use of Hebrew as one of the languages in his public inscriptions

Question 65

Which of the following territories did Rome control by 133 B.C.E.?
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A) Macedonia
B) Anatolia
C) Gaul
D) Palestine