Deck 5: The Civilization of Ancient Rome

Question 1

The myth of the rape of Lucretia appealed to Roman patriotism by emphasizing:

A)how impure sexual contact was in the ancient world.
B)the corruption of Etruscan morals and government.
C)the consequences of being ruled by a neglectful husband.
D)the benefits of hereditary monarchy.
E)the dominance of Romans over all other peoples.

Answer 1

the corruption of Etruscan morals and government.

Question 2

During the early Roman Republic,Rome:

A)relied primarily on mercenary troops from Greece.
B)abandoned farming as a means of support and emphasized trade.
C)expanded quickly and peacefully into areas that were essentially unoccupied.
D)expanded slowly and extended the Latin Right to many of the cities it conquered.
E)realized that to survive,it needed to conquer as many other peoples as possible.

Answer 2

expanded slowly and extended the Latin Right to many of the cities it conquered.

Question 3

In terms of geography and natural resources,the Italian peninsula:

A)was more fertile than ancient Greece.
B)possessed a wealth of minerals that were easy to exploit.
C)provided excellent natural defenses.
D)was almost completely barren.
E)was a flat plain suitable for large-scale farming.

Answer 3

was more fertile than ancient Greece.

Question 4

In the years of the early Republic,the person who best represents the ideal of the citizen-farmer was:

A)Cincinnatus.
B)Cicero.
C)Octavian.
D)Scipio Africanus.
E)Cato.

Question 5

The geographic site of Rome has many advantages,including:

A)a large harbor suitable as home base for a fleet.
B)a river too broad for enemy forces to cross easily.
C)hills that increase the defensibility of the city.
D)ample supplies of essential materials,including wood,pitch,coal,and iron ore.
E)large fertile plains suitable to the agriculture needed to sustain a large population.

Question 6

After a plebeian rebellion in the early fifth century b.c.e. ,

A)social divisions between patricians and plebeians were abolished.
B)the patricians accepted the elected tribunes and written laws.
C)Livy wrote a history from the plebs's point of view.
D)the chief conspirators were arrested and exiled to Africa.
E)the plebeians were expelled from Rome and the patricians assumed total control.

Question 7

Compared to Greek society,Etruscan women:

A)had fewer freedoms.
B)had greater participation in the government.
C)had more freedoms.
D)were not respected or valued by their husbands.
E)were elected to public office and allowed to rule.

Question 8

Rome played a crucial role in the development of European civilization because:

A)Latin is the root of all modern European languages.
B)Rome connected Europe to the cultural heritage of the Near East.
C)Rome rejected Greek traditions and established more equitable democratic institutions.
D)Roman drama and epic literature surpassed what had been created earlier.
E)Rome passed on to the West the literature and law of Egypt.

Question 9

A central tenet in Roman life was the idea of pietas,which meant:

A)reverence for one's ancestors.
B)respect for women.
C)respect for Rome.
D)bravery in battle.
E)respect for the law.

Question 10

Which legend explains the end of the Roman monarchy and the founding of the Republic?

A)The tale of Romulus and Remus,nursed by a she-wolf
B)The allegory of the cave dwellers who never see the light of day
C)The rape of Lucretia
D)The legend of brave Horatio at the bridge
E)The story of Cincinnatus and his dictatorship

Question 11

In Roman society,the name by which a man was formally known was that of his:

A)father.
B)mother.
C)maternal grandfather.
D)paternal grandfather.
E)earliest ancestor.

Question 12

From the founding of the Republic,Romans saw _________ as the most admirable form of work.

A)Serving in the Senate
B)Agriculture
C)Sailing
D)Stonemasonry
E)Philosophy

Question 13

According to the patria potestas provision of the Twelve Tables,a Roman father:

A)was required to take care of his sons but not his daughters,as that was the duty of the mother.
B)had absolute power over his family,up to and including the power of life and death.
C)needed to take responsibility for not only his family but also his wife's family.
D)was required to provide for the maintenance of children during his lifetime even if he had disowned them.
E)could make no decisions regarding his family without first convening a family council to discuss the matter.

Question 14

Prior to the establishment of Rome as the dominant state in Italy:

A)Etruscans,skilled metalworkers and artists,lived there.
B)women were not allowed to participate in public life and sporting events.
C)Italian religious traditions had little in common with ancient Greece.
D)all was chaos in the absence of government.
E)the peninsula had been colonized by the Macedonians.

Question 15

In the first 200 years of the Republic,Romans apparently spent most of their money on:

A)land.
B)traveling.
C)jewels.
D)altering their appearance.
E)exotic animals.

Question 16

Traditional Roman religion included ancestor worship and:

A)major gods who resembled those of the Egyptians and Hebrews.
B)séances to recall the spirits of the dead.
C)oligarchs who played dual roles as priests and politicians.
D)an elaborate system of rewards and punishments after death.
E)a lack of belief in any gods or goddesses.

Question 17

The Twelve Tables of Law,approved in 450 b.c.e. ,represent:

A)Rome's borrowing of legal principles from Hammurabi and Moses.
B)the first attempt to make all men equal.
C)a charter of popular liberties,ending enslavement for debt.
D)the codification of existing laws for all to see and obey.
E)Rome's acceptance of the legal reforms of Solon.

Question 18

A Roman man's first duty was to:

A)protect his children.
B)educate his children.
C)honor his ancestors.
D)prepare for war.
E)serve in the Senate.

Question 19

The division between Roman patricians and plebeians was:

A)between older and younger elements of the population.
B)between the wealthiest (2%)and the rest (98%)of the people.
C)not a factor when soldiers were needed for the army.
D)not part of Roman law but simply an accepted form of discrimination.
E)a formal division of Roman culture but never recognized in everyday life.

Question 20

The Romans were a military society almost from the moment they settled in Italy because they:

A)were used as a slave army by the Etruscans.
B)were continually forced to defend their own conquests against invaders.
C)gained their power by becoming a large mercenary force for hire.
D)had been a colony of Sparta.
E)were the remnants of the army created by Alexander the Great to conquer the West.

Question 21

The growth of slavery in Rome eventually meant that:

A)paid labor ceased to exist.
B)women came to have more freedom.
C)husbands had more control over their families.
D)marriage began to decline.
E)birth rates declined.

Question 22

In the late Republic,small farmers often lost their land:

A)because of foreign invasion.
B)to pay gambling debts.
C)due to droughts and crop failures.
D)to patricians who wanted large estates.
E)when it was seized by the Roman Senate.

Question 23

One of the most lasting achievements of Caesar was:

A)reorganizing Roman law.
B)reorganizing the calendar.
C)advances in the study of human anatomy.
D)abolishing the Senate.
E)construction of the Colosseum.

Question 24

Compared to slavery in other ancient civilizations,Roman slavery was:

A)relatively lenient.
B)more brutal.
C)legally ambiguous.
D)for a term of years rather than lifelong.
E)a paid service.

Question 25

Much of what we know about the Gallic Wars comes from the book,On the War in Gaul,which was written by:

A)Pompey.
B)Cicero.
C)Marius.
D)Crassus.
E)Caesar.

Question 26

The property qualification required to serve in the army was abolished by:

A)Julius Caesar.
B)Gaius Marius.
C)Cicero.
D)Scipio Africanus.
E)Marcus Aurelius.

Question 27

Roman women were particularly drawn to Eastern mystery cults because women:

A)were able to participate in the rites of these religions.
B)were responsible for caring for the dead.
C)were not allowed out of the home and these religions could be practiced privately.
D)were converted by their household slaves.
E)could learn to read by learning the rites of the mystery cults.

Question 28

One consequence of Rome's conquests was the increased role in society played by:

A)patricians.
B)women.
C)slaves.
D)soldiers.
E)foreigners.

Question 29

Eventually,the Gracchi were:

A)elected to the Senate.
B)chosen to serve as co-consuls.
C)assassinated.
D)banished from Rome.
E)given command of the army.

Question 30

Why did the Romans regard Carthage as a threat?

A)The Carthaginian empire in Sicily and Spain was encroaching on Rome.
B)Carthage was a Phoenician colony and could call for help from Lebanon.
C)Carthage commanded the vast resources of Saharan Africa.
D)The Carthaginians had already conquered Egypt,Palestine,and Syria.
E)The Carthaginians had established an alliance with the Gauls and the Phoenicians against Rome.

Question 31

Since the Romans employed slaves for all forms of manual labor,

A)slaves were treated better in Roman civilization than other ancient cultures.
B)small farmers found agriculture both profitable and satisfying to their ideals.
C)women had little to do and became more dependent on their male relations and slaves.
D)little technological innovation took place,and urban underemployment was common.
E)slaves eventually took over the Roman Empire,forcing the Senate to abolish slavery.

Question 32

The greatest honor a Roman could hope to achieve was to:

A)follow the moral teachings of the philosophers and gain respect.
B)produce healthy children to populate the expanding empire.
C)care for his father and mother in their old age (senectitude).
D)sacrifice himself,his family,and his friends for the state.
E)have a series of gladiatorial games held in their honor.

Question 33

After Rome had twice defeated Carthage,a Third Punic War:

A)was unthinkable to most statesmen in the mid-second century b.c.e.
B)left Rome defeated and in ruins.
C)ran contrary to Roman public opinion and principles of international law.
D)ended in disaster for the Roman Expeditionary Force in North Africa.
E)was provoked by war hawks who thought Carthage must be destroyed.

Question 34

Cicero,one of the most famous Stoics of the later republic,believed in all the tenets of Stoicism EXCEPT:

A)withdrawal from public life.
B)tranquility of mind as the highest good.
C)virtue is happiness.
D)indifference to pain and suffering.
E)rationality as the ideal in a human.

Question 35

In order to serve in the army,Roman men had to:

A)own a certain amount of property.
B)own a certain number of slaves.
C)serve in the Senate.
D)come from one of Rome's oldest families.
E)be able to equip himself.

Question 36

Following his defeat by Caesar,Mark Antony fled to:

A)Carthage.
B)Egypt.
C)Athens.
D)Corinth.
E)Anatolia.

Question 37

When Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his heir,

A)Octavian was the most experienced general,best qualified to rule Rome.
B)everyone hoped for a peaceful transition from uncle to grandnephew.
C)Octavian had to fight his rivals and kill his republican opponents.
D)Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide rather than share power.
E)Caesar's enemies plotted,and successfully carried out,the assassination of Octavian.

Question 38

During the Second Punic War,the Carthaginian general Hannibal:

A)was defeated by Roman armies at the battle of Tours in France.
B)became the last foreign invader to fight on Rome's home territories.
C)won the support of Rome's unhappy Latin allies.
D)brought his entire army,including elephants,over the Alps.
E)defeated the Roman general Maxentius at the battle of the Milvian Bridge in Rome.

Question 39

Changes in the Roman law of marriage in the second century b.c.e.meant that:

A)wives retained control of their own property,guaranteeing them more independence.
B)parental consent was required for marriage,and common consent for divorce.
C)husbands remained lords and masters,whereas wives were treated like slaves.
D)it was practically impossible for women to educate themselves or their children.
E)parental consent for marriage was no longer required: couples could simply marry.

Question 40

Once the Romans had effectively gained control of Italy (265 b.c.e. ),they:

A)set about standardizing weights and measures,coinage,and taxation.
B)built a commemorative pyramid in the Forum of Rome.
C)started a series of wars for control of the western Mediterranean.
D)conquered Ptolemaic Egypt.
E)stopped any further expansion of their rule.

Question 41

Roman law consisted of three branches: civil law,natural law,and:

A)divine law.
B)the law of war.
C)the law of peoples.
D)criminal law.
E)public law.

Question 42

Our knowledge of the Etruscans is extensive because of their prolific writing.

Question 43

At the end of the Third Punic War,the surviving Carthaginians were sold into slavery and the ground around Carthage was sown with salt to prohibit anyone from rebuilding the empire.

Question 44

Although the Roman Republic had greatly increased the territory ruled by Rome,under the emperors even more territory was added to the empire,with _________ adding more than any other ruler.

A)Tiberius
B)Claudius
C)Augustus
D)Caligula
E)Trajan

Question 45

Those who ruled Rome from 96 to 180 c.e.were called the "Five Good Emperors" because they:

A)liberated soldiers from harsh discipline in the army.
B)built bridges of understanding with the barbarians.
C)were all descendants of Caesar Augustus.
D)were capable administrators who governed successfully.
E)completed the transformation of the empire into a republic.

Question 46

Italy was the least slave-based economy known to history.

Question 47

The growth of slavery in imperial Rome resulted in fewer rights for women.

Question 48

The Romans did not usually impose heavy taxes or tributes on the cities they conquered,but demanded soldiers to contribute to their army.

Question 49

Romans had a tremendous respect for their ancestors which was most evident in the mos maiorum.

Question 50

In part,the successful rule of the "Five Good Emperors" is due to the fact that:

A)Rome had few enemies left.
B)warfare had come to be seen as barbaric.
C)each man was well-educated.
D)each emperor signed a pledge committing the empire to peace.
E)religion played a much larger role in Roman politics.

Question 51

One way by which the Romans were able to maintain their empire was through:

A)the construction of temples to the goddess Roma throughout the empire.
B)a graduated system of taxation that had the support of the poor in the empire.
C)the hiring of mercenary armies from Pythia to defend the northern frontier.
D)a system of army camps that served to enlist and train locals into the Roman army.
E)a system of roads constructed to be able to move army units throughout the empire.

Question 52

Revolts in Judea in the first and second century c.e.resulted in:

A)the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem.
B)Judea becoming independent of Rome.
C)the establishment of Judaism.
D)the slaughter of thousands of Christians.
E)the end of the kingdom of Judah.

Question 53

Cincinnatus was admired by Romans for his service in the Senate.

Question 54

Pax Romana refers to the:

A)ironic "peace of the dead" secured by Roman massacres of Britons and Jews.
B)long period in which there were no major wars within the Roman Empire.
C)efficient Roman post office and package transport services.
D)Romans' success in keeping order around the Persian Gulf.
E)peace brought to the Roman Empire with the coming of Christianity.

Question 55

Roman law was developed under the Principate by:

A)recording the decisions made in courts to create a book of common law.
B)establishing a strictly enforced law code written by Augustus.
C)establishing a secret police who operated under martial law.
D)Justinian.
E)jurists appointed to deliver opinions on case law and trials.

Question 56

The Law of the Twelve Tables granted more rights to plebeians.

Question 57

The Augustan system of government:

A)was essentially a dictatorship,resulting in the disbandment of the Senate.
B)is known as the Principate because Octavian ruled as the princeps,the first citizen.
C)minimized the role of the army and discouraged military expansion.
D)was socially progressive and rejected traditional Roman morality.
E)was totally successful and transformed the republic into a peaceful benevolent monarchy.

Question 58

The Romans were the first people to use _________ on a massive scale in their buildings.

A)hardwoods imported from Gaul
B)limestone
C)marble
D)concrete
E)porcelain tile

Question 59

The wars between Rome and Carthage are called the Punic Wars because Rome was seeking punishment,or punitive damages,from Carthage for their invasion of Sicily.

Question 60

Deep reserves of manpower and the discipline of Rome and its allies were the keys to success in overcoming Hannibal's military genius.

Question 61

How did Rome's geography contribute to its rise?

Question 62

How did the Romans control their vast territories?

Question 63

What was the role of slavery in Rome?

Question 64

The war between Pompey and Caesar was a direct result of Pompey's election as sole consul in 52 b.c.e.

Question 65

How did Augustus use propaganda to secure and promote his rule?

Question 66

How did the Punic Wars make Rome into an empire?

Question 67

Julius Caesar's assassination was the first time the Senate had resorted to murder to rid itself of a powerful adversary.

Question 68

What accounts for the Pax Romana,a remarkable period of peace and prosperity for Rome?

Question 69

What factors led to the civil war between Caesar and Pompey?

Question 70

To what extent did the Romans borrow from Etruscan society in shaping their own?

Question 71

The Gracchi brothers were farmers who pressured the Senate to pass land reform laws in the second century b.c.e.

Question 72

During the reign of Augustus,much of Rome was built in marble.

Question 73

How did Julius Caesar both save and ruin Rome?

Question 74

How did the conquest of Greece impact Roman society?

Question 75

Rome's conquest of the Hellenistic world reinforced its commitment to strict paternal authority.