Deck 3: The Civilization of the Greeks

Question 1

The development of the polis had a negative impact on Greek society by

A) fostering a sense of disunity among commoners.
B) dividing Greece into fiercely competitive states.
C) discouraging the development of polytheistic religion.
D) retarding democracy in the organization of civic governments.
E) limiting the development of Greek artistic and intellectual accomplishments.

Answer 1

dividing Greece into fiercely competitive states.

Question 2

Tyranny in the Greek polis arose as

A) the people became complacent due to the egalitarian nature of Greek society.
B) the response to the cry for strong leadership from the established aristocratic oligarchies.
C) the religious beliefs of the Greeks collapsed.
D) the result of foreign invasion, mainly the Persians under Darius.
E) a reaction to aristocratic power and a widening gulf between the rich and the poor.

Answer 2

a reaction to aristocratic power and a widening gulf between the rich and the poor.

Question 3

A popular Minoan sport was

A) bowling.
B) wrestling.
C) soccer.
D) bull jumping.
E) a and c.

Answer 3

bull jumping.

Question 4

During the migrations of the Greek Dark Age, many Ionians

A) occupied northern Greece.
B) took control of the Peloponnesus.
C) crossed the Aegean Sea to settle in Asia Minor.
D) moved to Crete.
E) abandoned Attica in favor of the Peloponnesus.

Question 5

The civilization of Minoan Crete

A) enjoyed great prosperity due to extensive sea trade and commerce.
B) was poor and isolated.
C) developed elaborate skills in art and architecture, visible in their great palaces.
D) flourished after 1450 B.C.
E) a and c

Question 6

Mycenaean kings used the title

A) regulus
B) rex
C) wanax
D) wergilt
E) a and b

Question 7

The rise of tyrants in the poleis in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.

A) had little to do with the development of the hoplite fighting force.
B) often encouraged the economic and cultural progress of the cities.
C) meant the increased oppression of the peasants.
D) crushed for good the power of the democratic oligarchies.
E) were supported by the aristocracy in order to control the merchant and artisan classes.

Question 8

The Greek polis put primary emphasis on

A) the protection of its citizens' individual rights.
B) cooperating with neighboring poleis for the common good.
C) untrammeled private enterprise.
D) cooperation between its citizens for the common welfare.
E) b and c

Question 9

What were the chief characteristics of the Greek Dark Age?

A) It was a period of migrations and declining food production.
B) It was a period of political anarchy and many foreign invasions.
C) It was a period of intermittent warfare between highly developed city-states.
D) It was the most economically productive period of Greek history due to the rapid development of Greek colonies.
E) It was an era in which the mainland of Greece was controlled by Crete.

Question 10

Which Greek philosopher said, with regard to the polis, "We must rather regard every citizen as belonging to the state"?

A) Socrates.
B) Plato.
C) Aristotle.
D) Xenophanes.
E) Pythagoras.

Question 11

The Spartans made the army the center of their society because

A) the Spartans had always loved killing and mayhem.
B) they feared a naval attack by Athens.
C) they feared a naval attack by Persia.
D) they feared an uprising by their helots.
E) Thebes appeared to be a looming threat.

Question 12

All of the following are prominent features of Greece's topography except

A) extensive open plains.
B) bays and harbors.
C) mountains.
D) valleys.
E) long seacoast.

Question 13

The polis was the Greek name for

A) county.
B) police.
C) people.
D) city-state.
E) culture.

Question 14

The English archaeologist ____ uncovered the Bronze Age Minoan civilization on Crete.

A) Sir Arthur Evans.
B) Heinrich Schliemann.
C) Gertrude Bell.
D) Mary Leakey.
E) Richard Leakey.

Question 15

Which of the following statements best describes the Mycenaeans?

A) They were merchants who dominated Mediterranean trade in the fourth century B.C.
B) They were a warrior people who achieved their apex between 1400 and 1200 B.C.
C) They produced exotic articles of trade in the fifth century B.C.
D) They were a people dominated by a theocracy; they were often led into battle by their warrior priesthood.
E) They were a non-Greek speaking peoples on the island of Crete.

Question 16

In general, separate early Greek communities

A) developed close ties and cooperated with one another.
B) exchanged diplomatic representatives only.
C) avoided all contact to appease their city gods.
D) established formal federations early in Greece's history.
E) became fierce rivals fighting so often as to threaten Greek civilization itself.

Question 17

The hoplite phalanx relied for its success on

A) superior horsemanship.
B) individual acts of valor.
C) speed and mobility.
D) discipline and teamwork.
E) fortified wine.

Question 18

Homer's Iliad points out the

A) honor and courage of Greek aristocratic heroes in battle.
B) exalted position of women in Greek society.
C) absolute abhorrence of violence by the Greeks.
D) Greeks' rejection of slavery.
E) superiority of the military phalanx over the aristocratic cavalry.

Question 19

Which of the following is true of Greece from the eighth century B.C.?

A) It was a period of social cohesion and great Greek empires.
B) The Greeks' colonization efforts in the Aegean and Black Seas came to an end.
C) The polis evolved into the central institution in Greek life.
D) It was a period of incessant warfare.
E) It was the Golden Age, dominated by Socrates, Plato, and Pericles.

Question 20

Which of the following was not a characteristic of the typical Greek polis?

A) It contained an agora and acropolis within its fortifications.
B) Each polis had a population of between 90,000 and 100,000 citizens.
C) Each polis was autonomous from all other poleis.
D) The strength of the community came through cooperation.
E) Most Greek women were restricted largely to the home.

Question 21

Typical of Greek culture in the archaic age was

A) Homeric epic poetry.
B) the symposium, the sophisticated drinking party uniting all ranks of society.
C) lyric poetry as found in the works of Sappho.
D) the poetry of Hesiod emphasizing the superiority of the aristocratic class.
E) the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Question 22

The Greek historian Thucydides differed from Herodotus in that the former

A) was unconcerned with spiritual forces as a factor in history.
B) exhibited a critical attitude toward his sources but Herodotus did not.
C) devoted much of his writing to economic history.
D) was unconcerned with teaching lessons based on history.
E) never wrote about warfare but only about political and cultural matters.

Question 23

The neighbors of the Spartans who were free inhabitants and required to pay taxes and perform military service but who were not citizens of Sparta were

A) helots.
B) gerousia.
C) ephors.
D) paella.
E) perioikoi.

Question 24

For the Greeks, the term arete described the

A) moral failure of cowards.
B) essential virtues of ordinary women.
C) duties of a citizen.
D) the striving for excellence.
E) avoidance of destructive competition.

Question 25

The strategoi in Athens

A) made the laws that governed the city.
B) was the judicial body.
C) administered the laws and was the day-to-day government.
D) kept the numerous slaves under control.
E) was a board of ten generals.

Question 26

Cleisthenes' constitution established the Athenian government as

A) a dictatorship.
B) a democracy.
C) an oligarchy.
D) a tyranny.
E) a kleptocracy.

Question 27

The narrow pass where 9000 Greek hoplites held a Persian army of over 150,000 men for three days was

A) Salamis.
B) Marathon.
C) Boeotia.
D) Plataea.
E) Thermopylae.

Question 28

The immediate cause of the Persian Wars was

A) a revolt of the Ionian Greek colonies in Asia Minor.
B) the Ionian invasion of Persia.
C) the capture of the Persian queen by Aristagoras of Miletus.
D) the Persian defeat of Sparta.
E) the ambition of Athens to take over Ionia.

Question 29

Spartan helots

A) farmed the land as sharecroppers.
B) had war declared on them every year.
C) had achieved the right to hold land themselves by the sixth century B.C.
D) were conscripted to fight in the city's phalanx.
E) a and b

Question 30

The poetry of Sappho reflected

A) an interest in respect for divine forces and human honesty.
B) a woman's homosexual and heterosexual feelings in a world dominated by males.
C) the thoughts of an aristocrat who detested the lower ranks of society.
D) the political biases of a sixth-century political figure.
E) the Trojan War from the side of the Trojans.

Question 31

Unlike the women of most other Greek cities, Spartan women were expected to

A) fight in the army alongside the men.
B) remain secluded at home for most of their lives.
C) stay physically fit to bear healthy children.
D) become proficient in poetry and philosophy.
E) rule the city in their husbands' absence.

Question 32

One of the chief causes of the Peloponnesian War was

A) Athens' fear of Spartan imperialism.
B) Sparta's fear of the power of Athens and its maritime empire.
C) Athens' entry into an alliance with the Persians.
D) an attack by Corinth and Megara on Sparta.
E) the fear of another Persian invasion.

Question 33

Hesiod's famous poem about the pleasures of ordinary work is titled

A) Labor and Rest.
B) Work to Rest.
C) Work of the Gods.
D) The Republic.
E) Works and Days.

Question 34

The Peloponnesian War resulted in

A) the consolidation of Pericles' power.
B) the unification of the Greek city-states under Thebes.
C) the defeat of Athens and the collapse of its empire.
D) Athenian control of Sicily.
E) the defeat of Sparta, leading to its permanent decline.

Question 35

The Lycurgan reforms resulted in

A) the establishment of a permanent military state in Sparta.
B) more constitutional rights for Spartans.
C) outlawing religion in Sparta.
D) revolt among Spartan slaves.
E) the Peloponnesian War.

Question 36

During the Age of Pericles

A) the power of the aristocrats was enhanced.
B) Athenians became deeply attached to their democratic system.
C) participation in government was encouraged of women.
D) imperialism was abandoned.
E) government expenditures were reduced, canceling all public building projects.

Question 37

The Battle of Marathon was a victory for

A) the Athenian hoplites.
B) the Spartan equals.
C) the Athenian navy.
D) the Corinthian archers.
E) the Persian cavalry.

Question 38

Which of the following descriptions of Athenian leaders is incorrect?

A) Themistoclesꟷdeveloped a navy
B) Cleisthenesꟷcreated the ten tribes and Council of 500
C) Solonꟷsole archon and political reformer
D) Cleonꟷleader of the war party in the Peloponnesian War.
E) Pisistratusꟷremodeled the entire Athenian constitution while utterly neglecting his merchant supporters.

Question 39

The Delian League was organized in 478-477 B.C. to

A) prevent democracy from spreading to the Aegean islands.
B) keep Sparta isolated in the Peloponnesus.
C) arrange for proper rituals to Apollo on Delos.
D) drive the Persians from the Aegean Sea and Ionia.
E) resist the take over of Greece by Macedonia.

Question 40

The Greek dramatist who was a realist and known for his portrayal of realistic characters in real life situations was

A) Aeschylus.
B) Sophocles.
C) Euripides.
D) Aristophanes.
E) Hesiod.

Question 41

Socrates was condemned to death for

A) corrupting the youth of Athens.
B) leading a political coup attempt.
C) killing one of his followers in a rage.
D) marrying his cousin and committing bigamy.
E) opposing the Peloponnesian War.

Question 42

The Sophists

A) were professional teachers who seemingly questioned the traditional values of their societies.
B) had as their chief spokesman Socrates.
C) were led by Plato and emphasized rote memory in education.
D) questioned traditional Greek religion and, instead, worshiped the Egyptian god Isis.
E) were expelled from Athens at the beginning of the fifth century, never to return.

Question 43

The "great expedition" by Athens against Crete dominated much of the second phase of the Peloponnesian War.

Question 44

Which of the following phrases best describes the social situation of most Greek women?

A) Women were kept under strict control, cut off from formal education, and were always assigned a male guardian.
B) Women were afforded equal rights with men in city politics.
C) Women were often allowed to participate in public life, especially through jury service.
D) Women were not allowed to participate in any religious festivals.
E) Women exercised in the nude except in Sparta and took part in the Olympic Games.

Question 45

The Greek Parthenon

A) was dedicated to Zeus, chief of the Greek gods.
B) is considered the greatest example of classical Greek temple architecture.
C) was designed by the Greek architect, Doryphoros.
D) was destroyed during the Peloponnesian War.
E) a and b

Question 46

Early Greek philosophy attempted to

A) eliminate diversity from the world.
B) explain the universe on the basis of unifying principles.
C) undermine traditional aristocratic Greek society.
D) turn all Greeks away from the world and toward contemplation.
E) replace the gods and religion in the lives of the Greeks with pure reason.

Question 47

Greek comedy was

A) developed before tragedy.
B) first organized in the festival of Cronos.
C) insignificant and not very popular.
D) used to express political views as evidenced by Aristophanes.
E) always under government control and thus no political views were allowed.

Question 48

Which of the following was not true of Greek religion?

A) It was polytheistic.
B) It involved ritual and sacrifice.
C) Festivals were held to honor the gods.
D) Myths served no particular social function.
E) Each city had a chief god or goddess.

Question 49

In classical Athens, male homosexuality

A) became an important subject in many tragic plays.
B) was practiced and tolerated in part as a means by which mature men instructed young males about the masculine world of politics and patronage.
C) after initial toleration became increasingly subject to moral and philosophical attack as a threat to the aristocratic family.
D) was a practice only associated with actors and priests, never gaining public acceptance.
E) was totally outlawed, and practicing homosexuals were publicly executed.

Question 50

The geography of Greece is characterized by smooth, well-watered plains and fields.

Question 51

The English archeologist who discovered and named Minoan civilization on Crete was Sir Arthur Evans.

Question 52

"The unexamined life is not worth living" is a cornerstone of the philosophy of

A) Socrates.
B) Aristotle.
C) Plato.
D) Pythagoras.
E) Zeno.

Question 53

The story that when told that the many Persian arrows would darken the sky, a Greek warrior supposedly said, "That is good news. We will fight in the shade," is associated with the Battle of Thermopylae.

Question 54

Plato, in The Republic, imagines a perfect society ruled by

A) warriors.
B) workers.
C) women.
D) philosopher-kings.
E) poets.

Question 55

Greek culture in the Archaic Age was represented in life-size stone statues of nude males known as kouros figures.

Question 56

The establishment of the hoplite military system based upon the phalanx formation was an entirely a military phenomenon, having no impact on the political or social life of the Greek city-state.

Question 57

The Greek philosopher who proposed the concept of a higher world of eternal and unchanging Ideal Forms was Aristotle.

Question 58

The woman who sent her son off to war by telling him to come back carrying his shield or upon it reflects the values of Sparta.

Question 59

The first of the great writers of tragedy whose plays survived was Aeschylus.

Question 60

The vast majority of scholars do believe that Homer's Iliad has a basis in fact.