Midterm 1 Flashcards
(118 cards)
1
Q
What material sources are used to recover information and history from Ancient Greeceq
A
Metals like gold, silver, and bronze. But especially, decorative pottery. Papyrus, wood, cloth, and other softer materials do not hold up well underground
2
Q
“It is mainly on the basis of _______ that [historians] are able to construct a chronology for prehistoric and early historic Greece that can be translated into actual dates.”
A
Pots
3
Q
“The most common medium for writing was _____________”
A
Papyrus
4
Q
“The most common medium for writing was _____________”
A
Papyrus
5
Q
True or False: Letters and contracts tended to be preserved more than literature
A
False
6
Q
Why was papyrus more likely to survive in Egypt and Northern Africa
A
Sand
7
Q
What were the Greeks’ primary method of travel
A
Seas
8
Q
Put the following eras/ages in order:
- Neolithic Era
- Paleolithic Era
- Bronze Age
- Mesolithic Era
A
- Paleolithic Era (40,000 - 10,000)
- Mesolithic Era (10,000 - 7,000)
- Neolithic Era (7,000 - 3,000)
- Bronze Age (3,000 - 1,200)
9
Q
Who was Sir Arthur Evans
A
Discovered a huge complex at Cnossus on Crete in 1900. It verified the existence of the Minoans, adding thousands of years of history to Greece
10
Q
Who was Heinrich Schliemann
A
A German archaeologist who uncovered Troy and Mycenae
11
Q
What was the House of Tiles
A
A monumental house in Lerna, a small village that expanded rapidly in the early Bronze Age, with two stories and stone-fortified walls built for high-class individuals (royalty) and/or communal feasts
12
Q
Describe the Minoan Civilization
A
A civilization on the island of Crete that organized itself into several small city-states, each with palace centres that controlled the surrounding area
13
Q
Describe Minoan Palaces
A
The political and administrative centre of the city-state, the focal point of all economic, state, and religious activities. It had a maze-like structure with a central court, which may have given rise to the legend of the labrynth
14
Q
Describe Linear A scripts
A
Used by Minoans on Crete between 1800 and 1450, still undeciphered and unrelated to Greek, it was used mainly for accounting and religious purposes
15
Q
Describe Linear B scripts
A
Used by Mycenaeans (not Minoans), language was an early form of Greek, used for accounting
16
Q
What are shaft graves
A
Deep, rectangular pits in which bodies were lowered into, typically 2-5 people per shaft grave
17
Q
What happened between the Minoans and the Mycenaeans between the years 1500-1450
A
The Mycenaeans took control of Crete, leading to the Mycenaeans adopting the Minoans’ culture and religion for subsequent generations
18
Q
Explain the differences between Minoan and Mycenaean architecture
A
Mycenaean architecture was similar with a few key differences:
- smaller
- less well-built
- located on a commanding hill
- fortified by high, thick walls
- replaced Minoan courtyard with ‘megaron’
19
Q
What is a megaron
A
A large, rectangular hall with a smaller anteroom, a portico in the front, and an opening onto a courtyard. It was the ceremonial centre of the palace, but would serve as the Chieftain’s house during later years when Mycenaean palaces were destroyed/abandoned
20
Q
What is a tholos
A
An impressive Mycenaean tomb, they were large, stone, beehive-shaped tombs carved into a hillside
21
Q
Place the following classes in order of the Mycenaean hierarchy:
- Lords
- Craftsmen
- Leader of the Army
- Slaves
- Knights
- King
A
- King
- Leader of the Army
- Lords
- Knights
- Craftsmen
- Slaves
22
Q
Describe Mycenaean religion
A
An adoption of the Minoan religion, in that they worshipped primarily female deities, with one in particular referred to as “mother goddess” that controlled fertility of plants and animals. There were still the Greek gods, like Zeus, Poseidon, etc. that were acknowledged but not depicted in art/architecture as frequently
23
Q
Describe Mycenaean religion
A
An adoption of the Minoan religion, in that they worshipped primarily female deities, with one in particular referred to as “mother goddess” that controlled fertility of plants and animals. There were still the Greek gods, like Zeus, Poseidon, etc. that were acknowledged but not depicted in art/architecture as frequently
24
Q
What is a wanax
A
A Mycenaean king and warrior who controlled the accounting of the common peoples’ possessions for the purpose of maintenance and sacrifices to the Mycenaean gods
25
Describe Mycenaean warfare
The wanax and his military commander were present on the battlefield, officers/high-ranking individuals would be decorated in elaborate armour, while common soldiers wore primarily leather armour, chariots were used as a form of transportation/display/presetige rather than a weapon on the battlefield
26
What was the cause of the catastrophe in Greece and the Near East (~1,200 BCE)
Most likely is a combination of negative socioeconomic agents which together brought down the system as a whole. The negative socioeconomic agents could be food shortages, marauders (‘sea people’), and trade issues. The system collapse lead to a dark age
27
What was the Franchthi Cave
A cave that was inhabited almost continuously for 17,000 years between the Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods, it has allowed archaeologists to reconstruct life in Greece from the stone age to the bronze age regarding agriculture, seafaring, trade, and diet
28
What was the Franchthi Cave
A cave that was inhabited almost continuously for 17,000 years between the Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods, it has allowed archaeologists to reconstruct life in Greece from the stone age to the bronze age regarding agriculture, seafaring, trade, and diet
29
What was Ahhiyawa
A still unidentified Mycenaean kingdom, most scholars theorize, that would have been involved in the trojan war if that theory is correct
30
What was Hittites
A massive empire in Anatolia, it would have experienced turmoil during the Trojan war if Ahhiyawa was indeed a real Mycenaean kingdom
31
Who was Michael Ventris
Deciphered Linear B tablets, which verified that Mycenaeans took over Minoan Crete
32
Who was Michael Ventris
Deciphered Linear B tablets, which verified that Mycenaeans took over Minoan Crete
33
What was Pylos
A large Mycenaean kingdom where hundreds of Linear B tablets were discovered that helped decipher the language (Michael Ventris)
34
What was Thera
An island that helped prove the influence of Minoan culture, as its people adopted many of the Minoan styles of art, architecture, religion, dress, and lifestyles. It was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, and the protective membrane formed by the hardened ash allowed us to see what life was like here and for the Minoans
35
What type of primary source survives the best and in abundance?
A) metal
B) papyrus
C) pottery
D) wood
C) pottery
36
How did the Minoans and Mycenaeans differ?
A) the mycenaeans were not segregated by class and wealth
B) the mycenaean palaces were fortified
C) the minoans and mycenaeans were the same culture, just located in different areas
B) the mycenaean palaces were fortified
37
Linear A script provides scholars with:
A) much info about mycenaean culture
B) little information about mycenaean culutre, because it has not been translated
C) much information about minoan culture
D) little information about minoan culture, because it has not been translated
D)
38
Homer’s songs are often inaccurate, redundant, and self-contradictory because:
A) the poet made up the poem as he went along while reciting it to his audience
B) mistakes were made when later Greeks, who were barely literate, made copies
C) it was actually made up of a combination of many shorter independent poems
A)
39
What is the root meaning of the Greek word oikos?
A) community
B) council
C) household
C)
40
What is our main source of information on Iron Age Greek society?
A) archaeological remains
B) homeric poetry
C) linear B tablets
D) the histories of herodotus
B) homeric poetry
41
Which of the following was not a typical feature of ancient Greek religion?
A) multiple gods who were unpredictable
B) a central essence of morality and truth
C) conflicting mythologies
D) animistic spirits, ghosts, and magic
B)
42
In the first book of the Iliad, why does the god Apollo send a plague to afflict the Greeks?
A) the Greeks destroyed a temple of Apollo
B) Achilles refused to offer sacrifice to Apollo
C) Thetis, Achilles’ mother, insulted Apollo
D) Agamemnon insulted Apollo’s priest, Chryses
D)
43
Early greek “geometric” pottery often have what kinds of scenes depicted on them
A) athletic contests
B) combat and warfare
C) fantastic, monstrous creatures borrowed from Oriental pottery
D) rituals from a funeral
D)
44
Women present at a symposium’s festivities were:
A) aristocratic wives and daughters, who would perform songs with lyre accompaniment
B) unmarried daughters of symposiarch
C) non-citizen entertainers and mistresses
C)
45
The belief that every citizen ought to be treated as equal under the law was called:
A) ethnos
B) oikos
C) isonomia
C)
46
In the online reading of Homer’s Iliad, the priest Chryses asks for his daughter, whom the Greeks have kidnapped. What eventually happens to his daughter?
A) she is returned to him
B) she remains with the Greeks
C) she is captured and killed by the Trojans
A)
47
According to the textbook heading “The First Greek Speakers”, can archaeologists determine when Greek first began to be spoken in Greece?
A) yes. Most likely, invaders brought the language with them in the middle of the Bronze Age
B) no. Greek was already present at the time of the earliest archaeological sources, so it is impossible to determine when it arrived
C) no. There are many literary sources, but they are mythical and are therefore not reliable historical evidence
A)
48
According to the textbook in the section entitled “Religion”, how was Minoan religion notably different from Mycenaean religion?
A) the minoans worshipped only one god, whereas mycenaeans worshipped many different gods and goddesses
B) the minoans seem to have used hallucinatory drugs to help them communicate with the spirit world
C) the principal figure in minoan religion was a goddess, and the minoans worshipped outdoors
C)
49
Hesiod wrote a poem called “Works and Days”. There is a textbook section entitled “Hesiod: The View from Outside”. Why is it called “The View from Outside”?
A) hesiod describes how he was insulted by the aristocrats who drove him out of the community when he fought back
B) hesiod describes how he sued his brother over their inheritance, but his brother bribed the judges
C) hesiod describes how he fought bravely in battle, but was given none of the credit
B)
50
What is ahhiyawa
Term used by hittites to describe people who were possibly mycenaeans, from 14th and 13th centure archives of hittites, diplomatic contacts,
51
Describe the early bronze age
3000 - 2100 BCE, early minoan, fairly high level of social complexity (i.e., remains at Lerna = large town, stone walls, monumental buildings)
52
Describe the middle bronze age
2100 - 1600 BCE, middle minoan, destruction of Lerna and other towns, cultural stagnation, influx of Indo-Europeans
53
Describe the late bronze age
1600 - 1200 BCE, late minoan, early mycenaean
54
Describe central courtyards
Main central feature of minoan palaces, maze of rooms clustered around (residential quarters, workshops, storerooms), earliest example built at Cnossus (~1900 BCE, named palace of minos by arthur evans, based on myth of king minos)
55
Describe Cnossus
Main palace center of minoan civilization on Crete (others built but not as grand), site of earliest large multiroom complex w/ central courtyard (~1900 BCE), center of kingdom (political/economic/administrative/ceremonial)
56
Describe Crete
Island SE of Peloponnese and S of Aegean, home of minoan kingdoms, most important center of trade and power in Aegean & eastern Mediterranean, close contact with kingdoms of near East
57
Describe Egypt
Major power of mediterranean in early and mid 2nd millenium BCE, heavily influenced minoan art and architecture (minoans adapted egyptian conventions for depicting human form to suit own tastes, still developed their own style), competed with Hittites for trade and military superiority
58
Describe Sir Arthur Evans
Discovered palace complex at Cnossus, obsessed with palace (spent much of personal fortune on restoring), christened 1st Aegean civilization “minoans” after mythical king Minos of Crete, claimed Homer lived 3 generations before Trojan War
59
Describe Hittite Empire
Anatolian Empire covering much of modern Syria, Major power in Eastern Mediterranean along w. Egypt, Troy possible under Hittite control for much of 2nd millennium BCE, dominant during rise and height of Mycenaeans
60
Describe Indo Europeans
Peoples from area of modern Balkans/Middle East, believed to have migrated into Greek mainland & islands (2100 - 1600 BCE), spoke early form of Greek
61
Describe Lerna
Early bronze age center in Argolis (eastern Peloponnese), evidence of fairly high level of social complexity during early BA (stone fortification walls, monumental buildings, corridor house), destroyed 2250 BCE
62
Describe Linear A
Writing systems used by Minoans/Cretans, main purpose for economic/administrative records, hieroglyphic script, on small clay tablets found on Crete and other Aegean islands, untranslated
63
Describe Linear B
Mycenaean writing system, discovered by Arthur Evans at Cnossus (~3000 tablets), Michael Ventris deciphered them (found to be unique language, early form of Greek)
64
Describe Megaron
Focus of Mycenaean palaces (NOT Minoan's central courtyard), large rectangular hall, center for feasts/councils/receptions of visitors, entered through courtyard/portico/enteroom, survived as long chieftain's house in early Iron Age, essential plan of Greek temples 8th c. onward
65
Describe Minoans
Name given to civilization on Crete by Arthur Evans, 1900 - 1450 BCE, named after mythical king minos (palace at Cnossus)
66
Describe Mycenae
Pelopennesian city (in Argolis), dominant center of Greek culture from 1600 - 1050 BCE (early Mycenaeans 1600 - 1400, later Mycenaeans 1400 - 1200), important in Greek myth and history
67
What is 'Kleros'
'share' or 'portion', used to describe plots of land
68
The marble figuring stressed in lectures, what is it
Male figure playing the double flute, found on island of Keros
69
Describe tholos
Regarded as highest achievement of mycenaean engineering, large stone chambers shaped like beehives cut into a hill-side, burial and ceremonial chambers closed by huge bronze doors and approached through a long stone-lined passageway
70
What is the 'lion gate'
Entrance to the citadel of Mycenae, lions standing on top of a Minoan-style incurved altar shows the power of the wanax was rooted in the religion of the Mycenaeans
71
What is a wanax
A single ruler (king) of Mycenae, possible sole ruler of the region
72
Describe Mycenaean religion
Adoption of the sacred symbols and cult objects of the Minoans, as well as worship of their female deities (males and females worshipped equally though), worshipped in different locations,
73
What was the cause of the catastrophe in Greece and the near east? (c. 1200)
Later greeks believed it was the 'dorian invasion', egyptian records speak of 'sea peoples', hittite correspondence talks of food shortages, systems collapse leads to a dark age
74
Describe key events and features of the Archaic Period (750 - 480 BCE)
Olympics, introduction of the alphabet, homer, lyric poetry, philosophy, origins of democracy, birth of tragedy
75
Describe key events of the early iron age I (1200 - 900)
Population falls, foreign trade stops, loss of technology, technological innovations, potter's wheel, iron
76
What is a Basileus
A mayor or head of a town/village within a Mycenaean kingdom (lowest rung)
77
What was the chieftain's house like in the early iron age I
Small differences between chief's house and ordinary house, had a megaron and a small porch, still center for religion/communal/cermonial stuff
78
What was found at Nichoria and Lefkandi
Early iron age chieftain houses
79
Describe key events of the early iron age II (900 - 750)
Homeric society (basileus and demos), community and household (oikos and farms, demos and kleros), chiefs and followers (status and raiding), government and foreign relations (the boule)
80
What is the 'boule'
A council in homeric society made up of chiefs and other influential men that met in the great hall (megaron) of the ruling chief to formulate policy for the demos, members called 'elders'
81
Describe key events of the end of the early iron age II (750 - 700)
Rise of land owning aristocracy (scarcity of 'kleros' land), colonization and growth of trade
82
Why and when was an alphabet adopted
Increased contacts with the east in the early iron age II
83
Describe the formation of the city state (polis, poleis)
Political unification (synoecism), government in the early city states included basileus and archons, the boule of the landowning aristocracy (oligarchy), and the assembly, the ideal of the polis was law (custom, justice, obedience)
84
What is 'apoikia'
Colonization
85
What is the reason for colonization
Private enterprise and disputes
86
What is 'metropolis' and 'oikistes'
Metropolis is a collection of city-states all attached to a 'mother city', each individual city-state has a founder called 'oikistes'
87
What is 'thetes'
The hired workers in poleis, looked down on
88
Describe the hoplite army
An army that would use a phalanx formation to attack (basically shields up spears out and ram into each other)
89
Describe archaic age tyrants
A person who takes over the government and becomes a single ruler over the state through a coup (modern day dictator), tyrannies were short lived, nearly all formed dynasties, fighting among aristocratic families in the polis were major factors contributing to the emergence of tyrants, hoplite army could be used to help overthrow government and create tyranny
90
What is panhellenism
A movement in the eight century describing the rise of religious sanctuaries and festivals that attracted worshippers from all over the Greek world ('pan' = all)
91
Name some panhellenic institutions
Oracle at Delphi, Sanctuary to Zeus at Olympia
92
Describe polytheism
Not transcendent (gods/olympians, animistic spirits, heroes, ghosts, magic), no orthodox doctrines (the afterlife), greek mythology
93
Describe the characteristics of lyric poetry
- Roots of lyric poetry
- Personal vs. Choral lyric
- Fragmentary primary sources
- Composed for dinner/drinking parties
- Personal tone
94
Who is Archilochus of Paros
- Lyric poet
- Known for his discussion of war
- Wrote Neobule & the 1st Cologne Epode (discovered 1974)
- Wrote the freaky poem
95
Who is Sappho
- from Lesbos
- Female poet
- Talks about political and economic changes affecting women
- Talks about female-to-female relationships
96
Describe protogeometric pottery
- made with potters wheel
- early iron age (1050 - 900)
- concentric circles
- did not experiment much
97
Describe geometric pottery
- new artistic/aesthetic becomes apparent
- more linear/angular motifs than circles
98
What is orientalizing pottery
- Iron Age (720 - 600)
- Asian inspiration of pottery
- big creatures
- centered in Corinth
99
What is black-figure pottery
- centered in athens around 6th century
- minute details
- silhouetted figurative and decorative forms
- mass produced -> decline in quality
100
What is 'kouros' and 'kore'
'kouros' is a freestanding stone statue of a naked male figure, 'kore' is a freestanding stone statue of a clothed female figure
101
What was a gymnasium
Part of greek sport and used for greek education
102
Where were the olympic games held and for who
At the Sanctuary at Olympia, in Olympia, for Zeus
103
What was day 1 of the olympic games
Worship
104
What was day 2 of the olympic games
Morning: Chariot/Horse races
Mid-day: Pentathlon (footrace, discus, long jump, javelin, wrestling)
105
What was day 3 of the olympic games
Morning: Parade to altar of Zeus
Mid-day: Boys' events
106
What was day 4 of the olympic games
Morning: Footraces (200, 400, 4800 yards)
Mid-day: Contact sports
107
What was 'pankration'
Wrestling + boxing
108
What was 'hoplitodromos'
Race in armour
109
What was day 5 of the olympic games
Concluding worship and banquet
110
Who was Pythagoras
Philosopher and mathematician, numbers and music (2x2=4), 'harmony of the heavenly spheres'
111
Who was Heraclitus
- 'the obscure'
- philosopher
- Being is change
- "The universe is a dust-heap piled up at random."
- "Opposition is good; the fairest harmony comes out of differents; everything originates in strife.“
- “The road up and the road down is one and the same”
112
What was the typical education and upbringing of boys in sparta
- Eugenics
- Uniform education for all Spartan boys
113
What was the typical education and upbringing of girls in sparta
Uniform education for women
114
Describe early athenian government
- 9 Archons (incl. Basileus)
- “Eupatrids”
- Council of Former Archons
- Assembly
115
Describe the reforms of Solon
- Athens was poor in grain, but rich in olives
- Civil crisis in Athens leads to solon’s constitution
- ‘Shaking off of debts’
- Restrictions on exporting grain
- Immigration encouraged
- Four wealth-based classes of citizens created
116
Describe Pisistratus and his sons
- 3 Factions: Hill, coast, and plains
- Pisistratus becomes tyrant w/ hill faction
- Pisistratus’ Policies
- Land redistribution & interest-free loans
- Government-backed currency
- Public works
- Public fountains
- Renovated Acropolis
- Public theatrical and sports festivals
- Collapse of the dynasty
117
Describe the reforms of Cleisthenes
- Reconfigures Attica from 4 tribes into 10
- Creates new council:
- 500 men
- 50 from each tribe
- Chosen at random
- Legislative power given entirely to the assembly
118
Describe Hittite Empire
Anatolian empire covering much of modern Syria, major power in Eastern mediterranean along w/ Egypt, Troy possibly under Hittite control for much of 2nd millennium BCE, dominant during rise and height of Mycenaeans
