Deck 2: The Contest for Excellence: Greece, 2000-338 B.C.E

Question 1

The source of a fundamental characteristic of Western civilization-the call for rational inquiry-is a philosopher of

A) Persia
B) Greece
C) Spain
D) England

Answer 1

Greece

Question 2

The epic poem the Iliad, which recounts the prowess and anger of Achilles, was composed by

A) Homer
B) Hesiod
C) Herodotus
D) Minos

Answer 2

Homer

Question 3

The best excavated and best known Minoan palace on the island of Crete is

A) Phaestos
B) Knossos
C) Delos
D) Thera

Answer 3

Knossos

Question 4

The Minoan civilization

A) Was centered in Mesopotamia
B) Had artists who often painted frescoes featuring religious rituals
C) Was destroyed by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt
D) Produced, as its greatest military leader, Alexander the Great

Question 5

The epics of Homer are set in the period of Greek history called the

A) Sumerian Age
B) "Dark Age."
C) Mycenaean Age
D) Stone Age

Question 6

The Mycenaean civilization

A) Was centered around palaces and warrior kings
B) Was depicted many years later in the Homeric epics
C) Was an ancestor of later Greek civilization
D) All of these options are correct

Question 7

Which of the following was not a result of the widespread violence and movement of peoples in the eastern Mediterranean around 1200 B.C.E.?

A) A besieged and weakened Egyptian Empire
B) The Trojan War and destruction of Troy
C) The establishment of democracy at Athens
D) The decline of Mycenaean civilization and its invasion by Dorian Greeks

Question 8

The Greek "Dark Age" commenced when

A) The Mycenaean culture collapsed
B) The eruption of the volcano on Thera caused dust that dimmed the sun
C) Glaciers from the Ice Age spread all over Greece
D) Homer died, leaving his epics unfinished

Question 9

A major occurence at the end of the Greek "Dark Age" and the beginning of Classic Greek civilization was

A) The Trojan War
B) The spread of Greek colonies over much of the Mediterranean and Black Sea shorelines
C) The conquests of Alexander the Great
D) The triumph of democracy in Athens

Question 10

Although the Greeks learned many things from earlier civilizations, the philosopher Plato said the

A) Greeks didn't really need to learn anything
B) Earlier civilizations had not invented anything useful
C) Greek gods had taught all those things to earlier civilizations
D) Greeks turned those things into something finer

Question 11

The Greek gods

A) Resembled human beings
B) Shared the same virtues and defects as mankind
C) Periodically interfered in human affairs
D) All of these options are correct

Question 12

The oracle at Delphi reputedly received messages from the god

A) Apollo
B) Zeus
C) Athena
D) Poseidon

Question 13

The Greek invention of philosophy or the search for knowledge, involved the idea that

A) The world and the cosmos were accessible to human reason and based on natural laws
B) All could be learned by studying the texts of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
C) The gods would reveal all knowledge according to their own plan
D) People could hasten the acquisition of knowledge by increasing religious sacrifices

Question 14

Which of the following was not one of the early Greek philosophers or scientists?

A) Pythagoras
B) Gilgamesh
C) Democritus
D) Thales

Question 15

Which of the following was not a result of the expansion of Greek trade around 700 B.C.E.?

A) Common citizens could afford to arm themselves, making aristocratic warriors less important
B) A new prosperity created a middle class that owed no loyalty to aristocratic landowners
C) Aristocrats lost their privileged positions in politics
D) Kings strengthened their absolute power by controlling the expanded wealth

Question 16

Tyrant was the name given to

A) An elected leader of a democratic state
B) A king who rules in a cruel manner
C) A ruler who uses physical force rather then hereditary right or constitutional means to seize power
D) An aristocratic ruler who cares only about the interests of his own class

Question 17

The normal term used to characterize the Greek city-state is

A) Polis
B) Pyramid
C) Civitas
D) County

Question 18

Respectable Athenian women

A) Traveled widely in the Greek world
B) Tended to stay within the home, presiding over spinning and weaving
C) Undertook regular gymnastic exercises
D) Regularly took part in civic affairs

Question 19

Bisexual relationships were common in Greek society because

A) Segregation of the sexes was strictly regulated
B) Male/male relationships were thought to offer the highest possibilities for love and intellectual development
C) Men feared that female sexuality would weaken their control of family paternity
D) All of these options are correct

Question 20

The purpose of Solon's reforms was to

A) Insure that only men of aristocratic birth would control Athens
B) Return Athens to a Mycenaean-style monarchy
C) Open participation in government to the newly wealthy
D) Establish himself securely as a tyrant

Question 21

The Greek political reformer Cleisthenes

A) Wrote epic poetry
B) Established an Athenian constitution with many democratic features
C) Preached equal rights for Athenian women
D) Became a tutor to Alexander the Great

Question 22

Athenian democracy differed from modern democracy in many ways, with several groups excluded. Which of the following was not excluded?

A) Women
B) Slaves
C) Persons not of Athenian ancestry, even though they were born in Athens
D) The poor

Question 23

The Greek polis known for its emphasis on military training was

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

Question 24

Sparta developed a strict military state and society in order to

A) Keep their conquered people or helots, in subjection and slavery
B) Train their artists to create simple but powerful images
C) Compete victoriously in the Olympic Games
D) Dominate the trade and commerce of the entire Greek world

Question 25

Spartan society

A) Emphasized soft living rather than military values
B) Gave women considerably more public freedom than other city-states, including athletic training
C) Was more democratic than Athens
D) Worshipped the Hebrew God Yahweh

Question 26

Which of the following was not true of the Olympic Games?

A) Men and women could compete together in some events
B) They were pan-Hellenic or open to Greeks from any polis
C) They were a religious festival in honor of Zeus
D) Victorious athletes were richly rewarded with honor and free meals

Question 27

Which of the following Persian War battles was a Persian, rather than Greek, victory?

A) Salamis
B) Marathon
C) Thermopylae
D) Plataea

Question 28

During the Persian Wars

A) Athens defeated Sparta
B) Xerxes of Persia conquered Greece, ending Athenian democracy
C) Athens and Sparta invaded Persia and destroyed the Persian Empire
D) All of these options are incorrect

Question 29

The great historian of the Persian Wars, justifiably known as the Father of History, was

A) Homer
B) Archimedes
C) Herodotus
D) Sargon

Question 30

The Delian League, a maritime union organized to defend the Aegean against Persia, soon became an ___________ empire.

A) Spartan
B) Athenian
C) Egyptian
D) Miletus

Question 31

Which of the following applies to Pericles, the architect of Athens's Golden Age?

A) He was elected chief strategos or commander, from 443 to 429 B.C.E
B) He provided the leadership for the rebuilding of the Acropolis to include the Parthenon
C) He advocated the supremacy of Athens over other members of the Delian League
D) All of these options are correct

Question 32

The major leader of Athenian democracy after the Persian Wars was

A) Homer
B) Pericles
C) Saphho
D) Pythagoras

Question 33

The themes of the Greek theater centered on issues of

A) Fate
B) Religion
C) Politics
D) All of these options are correct

Question 34

The Theban Plays of Sophocles are an illustration that the great Athenian playwrights

A) Preferred shallow sensationalism to serious drama
B) Preferred to set their plays in exotic locations far from Greece
C) Wrote only comedies
D) Tried to explore complex moral problems

Question 35

According to Thucydides, the Peloponnesian War was caused by

A) Athens's attack on Sparta to free the helots
B) Persia's desire to conquer the Peloponnesus for its rich mines
C) Sparta's fear of Athens' growing power
D) Sparta's attempt to stop Athens from imposing monarchy on all Greek states

Question 36

The historian who wrote about the Peloponnesian War was

A) Thycidides
B) Homer
C) Plato
D) Pythagoras

Question 37

Which of the following was not an advantage for Athens in the war with Sparta?

A) The best land army in Greece
B) Naval control of the Aegean
C) Long walls protecting harbor and city
D) Wealth and supplies from sea-borne trade

Question 38

The text describes Alcibiades as

A) A stern Athenian philosopher
B) A man seen at times as hero, military genius and traitor
C) An important author, who wrote the History of the Persian Wars
D) A popular playwright, authoring the Theban Plays

Question 39

Socrates believed that

A) There were no standards of truth and justice; only success counts
B) That true wisdom lies in the endless search for knowledge
C) That Alcibiades should have conquered the world
D) That all philosophical questions were meaningless

Question 40

The Greek philosopher who argued that the world of the senses was only a shadow of ultimate reality was

A) Ashurbanipal
B) Homer
C) Alcibiades
D) Plato

Question 41

Unlike Plato, Aristotle

A) Argued that one had to observe and study actual entities rather than seek out ideal forms
B) Believed that monarchy was the best form of government for a polis
C) Rejected the study of logic
D) Believed mathematics was the ultimate route to all knowledge

Question 42

Which of the following statements is not true of the comedies of Aristophanes?

A) Criticism of public figures
B) Use of sexual and bathroom humor
C) The exaltation of military values
D) Expression of a longing for peace

Question 43

The tragedies of Euripides

A) Exalted Athenian imperialism
B) Asked Athenians to reflect on their own actions during the Peloponnesian War
C) Emphasized sexual jokes and bathroom humor
D) Poked fun at Sparta

Question 44

Hippocrates, considered the father of modern Western medicine, taught that

A) Good health depends on prayers to the gods
B) Different people contract different diseases according to their genetic makeup
C) All diseases have natural causes which can be discovered by observation
D) All diseases are caused by mental and not physical conditions

Question 45

During the half century following the Peloponnesian War

A) The major poleis recovered their original power and cultural vitality
B) The Persians conquered Greece and made it into a province
C) The Greeks united into a single state under the leadership of Sparta
D) Constant warfare between the poleis weakened Greece politically and culturally

Question 46

The Greeks were fortunate in having a large plain and river so that they could be united in one great empire.

Question 47

The Minoans engaged in no trade, depending entirely on agriculture.

Question 48

Mycenaean civilization was greatly influenced by the Minoans.

Question 49

Unlike Minoan palaces, Mycenaean palaces were walled, indicating much warfare.

Question 50

Homer's epics accurately describe life and events in prehistoric Greece.

Question 51

The tension between heroic aspiration and dangerous individual pride became a prominent theme throughout the history of the ancient Greeks.

Question 52

The Greeks based their alphabet on that of the Egyptians.

Question 53

Greek philosophers made the first attempts to understand and explain the world in a scientific philosophical manner.

Question 54

The citizen of a Greek polis thought of himself as a subject of a high king and his priests.

Question 55

The Greek polis noted for its cultural sophistication was Sparta.

Question 56

The Athenian assembly was the heart of their democracy, since it included all male citizens and had power over any subject.

Question 57

The Greek polis noted for its promotion of military courage was Athens.

Question 58

Athens refused to assist Miletus in the Persian Wars.

Question 59

The Persian Wars ended with Greek victories on both land and sea.

Question 60

Athens converted the Delian League into an empire by forbidding the members to withdraw and controlling the League treasury.

Question 61

Pericles was an aristocrat who ruled Athens in a despotic fashion.

Question 62

The Theban Plays of Sophocles revolve around the myths of Oedipus and his family.

Question 63

Athens established herself as the supreme ruler of Greece by defeating Sparta in the Peloponnesian War.

Question 64

Plato did not believe that democratic government was fit for the ideal state.

Question 65

Unlike Plato, Aristotle believed in the study of the everyday world, not in the study of ideal forms.

Question 66

The Greek theater of the 5th century B.C.E. Primarily concerned itself with light comic themes, much like TV sitcoms today.

Question 67

Hippocrates believed that all diseases had natural causes.

Question 68

Minoan civilization arose on the island of _____________.

Question 69

The mainland Greek civilization of 2000-1100 B.C.E. Influenced by the Minoans was centered in the city of _________.

Question 70

The Iliad and the Odyssey were written by the poet __________.

Question 71

An early Greek astronomer and mathematician was ________.

Question 72

The normal name for the Greek city state was the ________.

Question 73

A ______________ is a ruler who rules by force rather than by hereditary or constitutional right.

Question 74

_____________ was the leading democratic and commercial city of Greece.

Question 75

_____________ was the leading military city of Greece.

Question 76

The Pan-Hellenic games every four years in honor of Zeus are referred to as the__________________ Games.

Question 77

In Greece, government by an inner few, common in most cities, was called ________.

Question 78

In Athens, government by the many, as eventually became the case, is called _______.

Question 79

In 490 B.C.E. The Athenians defeated the forces of the Persian king Darius on the plain of________________.

Question 80

_____________ is known as the "Father of History" for his monumental history on the background and conduct of the Persian wars.