Week 8: Hellenistic Warfare and Religions Flashcards
(75 cards)
1
Q
Where and when was the first catapult invented and employed?
A
399 BC in Syracuse
2
Q
Typically, in the Hellenistic era, the structure of city walls grew to adapt to ___________
A
Catapults
3
Q
Which famous Macedonian king was a large proponent of artillery?
A
Philip II
4
Q
What was the name for the Roman adaptation of the catapult?
A
The Onager (Mule Kicker)
5
Q
How were walls structured to defend against catapult impacts?
A
- Two hard walls filled in with a soft center to absorb the blow
- The soft center was typically composed of junk, rubble, dirt, etc
6
Q
_________ is the best preserved fort of the Hellenistic era.
A
Aigosthena, near Athens
7
Q
Why do the city gates overlap at Stymphalos?
A
- To create “killing courts”
- And to protect against catapult impacts (now the catapult had to blast through two layers of wall, not just the initial one
8
Q
Define: krios
A
- The ram on the front of a Trireme
9
Q
Define: Naumachia
A
- Sea battle
10
Q
Define: Tesserakonteres
A
- The name of Ptolemy IVs “forty banker” ship
11
Q
Which Hellenistic ruler constructed the infamous, but ultimately failed “forty-banker” warship?
A
Ptolemy IV
12
Q
Which ancient Greek writer wrote about why Rome was superior militarily to the Hellenistic kingdoms?
A
Polybios
13
Q
What reasons did Polybios give for Rome’s military superiority? (5)
A
- Romans kept reserve units
- Romans kept more space in between their ranks
- Roman armies could switch directions quickly
- Roman armies could operate on any terrain
- Roman armies have better cohesion
14
Q
What does Livy state is the biggest reason for Roman military superiority over the Hellenistic kingdoms?
A
- The Psychological fear
- He states that opponents are afraid of the Romans before even encountering them
15
Q
Before the battle of Cynocephalae, what does Philip V marvel at when observing the Roman camp?
A
- That each Roman soldier has a digging tool and palisade stake
- That the camp is so organized and portable
16
Q
What types of chemical/biological weapons could one expect to see in Hellenistic warfare? (6)
A
- Fire arrows
- Plague victims being sent into enemy lands
- Poisoning water supply
- Drugging wine left behind
- Flame throwers
- Fireships
17
Q
Define: Naptha
A
Hellenistic napalm
18
Q
Who pioneered the use of firebombs composed of sulfur, pitch, and sawdust?
A
Aeneas the Tactician
19
Q
Who famously used fire weapons while besieging Rhodes?
A
Demetrios the Besieger
20
Q
What is Ober’s Elephant Law?
A
The side with the most elephants loses
21
Q
Why was quicklime used in Hellenistic warfare?
A
- Fine dust of marble or limestone → will burn you to death from the inside if inhaled
22
Q
Unlucky victors may seal their fates consuming this substance, if left behind by the fleeing enemy in their camps:
A
- Rhododendron
–> A neurotoxin that can paralyze and kill
–> Often put in honey in camps that were abandoned as traps for the approaching enemy
23
Q
What are the general characteristics of Ancient Greek religion?
A
- Polytheism
- Absence of Atheism
- Pragmatic
- Non-Confessional
- non-exclusive
- no sacred texts
24
Q
True or False: There was a sharp decline of Traditional Religion in Hellenistic Greece.
A
FALSE
25
True or False: Many cults experienced a revival in Hellenistic Greece.
TRUE
26
Why did cults experience a revival in the Hellenistic era?
Because there was more money to fund temples
27
In the Hellenistic era, which deity replaced Hera's spot on the list of the 12 Olympians?
Dyonisos
28
What allows for the establishment of new cults in the remote Arcadia?
- Money brought in by Arcadian mercenaries
29
What are the 3 most trending cults of the Hellenistic era?
→ Aslkepeios
→ Isis
→ Serapis
30
True or False: The Cult of Asklepeios was also popular before the Hellenistic Era.
TRUE
31
A Hellenistic era slave could purchase freedom by paying a fee to _______________
Apollo at Delphi
32
Which Roman general proclaimed Greek freedom at Pythia?
Flamininus
33
Which Hellenistic ruler was so confident that he would defeat the Romans, that he constructed a statue before the battle?
- Perseus
34
What was the Delphic prophecy given before the Battle of Pydna? What happened?
- Whoever would start the battle was doomed to lose
- A horse broke loose from the Roman camp, the Macedonians interpreted this as initiating the battle, so they attacked first.
35
On Roman general Aemelius Paullus's victory steele at Pydna, why is there a lone horse depicted?
- Whoever would start the battle was doomed to lose
- A horse broke loose from the Roman camp, the Macedonians interpreted this as initiating the battle, so they attacked first.
36
The 138 BC Hymn to Apollo is one of the few ______________________ of the Hellenistic era.
Artifacts with musical notations
37
This Hellenistic ruler made a ruler-cult of himself, grafting a new holiday to celebrate it over an old one
Antigonos One-Eyed
- The Cult Festival for Antigonos
38
Which ruler requested divine status for himself and his wife Laodike in 193 BC?
Antiochus III
39
Which ruler famously believed himself to be equated to Zeus?
Antiochus IV
40
Where was the first cult of Alexander the Great located?
The Bahia Oasis, Egypt
41
Which Ptolemy famously put their parents on the obverse of his coinage?
Ptolemy II
42
Define: Tyche
- luck, or good fortune
- Personified as a goddess
- The guardian "angel" of each city
43
How was Tyche often depicted in art?
- Wearing a veiling cloak to reflect her mystery
44
Who said, “Fortune trumps Virtue”?
Demetrios of Phaleron
45
Define: Galenismos
Calm after the storm
46
Which philosophical doctrine vows never to mingle with Tyche?
Epicureans
47
True or False: One can please Tyche with gifts
FALSE
48
If you treat the ______________ right, Egypt will prosper.
The Apis Bull right
49
True or False: Worshipers of Serapis are almost all Greeks, not Egyptians
TRUE
50
Which Hellenistic tyrant was a big worshiper of Serapis? Why?
- Demetrios of Phaleron
- Serapis allegedly cured his eyesight
51
Where was Isis notably worshiped outside of Egypt?
Piraeus
52
Which female Ptolemaic ruler was equated with Isis upon her death?
Arsinoe II
53
_________ was commonly called the “New Isis” in her lifetime.
Cleopatra VII
54
Which ancient writer wrote a bestselling story about a man turned into a donkey by a witch and on the verge of suicide, when he is saved by Isis in return for pledging allegiance? What is the name of this story?
- The Golden Ass
- Apuleius
55
Which deity is known as the "Mistress of Beasts"?
Cybele
56
Define: Baetyl
A sacred stone often used to worship the goddess Cybele
57
What does Delphi tell the Romans to do in order to defeat Hannibal?
- Adopt the cult of Cybele
58
Identify the according cult by this practice:
They dance naked, self-castrate with flint knives, etc.
Cult of Cybele
59
Which cult originally held the notion of Soma Sema
that the Stoics would later adopt?
- Cult of Dyonisos-Zagreus (Orphics)
60
What did the Orphics believe about the origin of humans?
- They are half descended from Titans, half from Dyonisos-Zagreus (thus we have some barbaric behaviour, and some godlike)
61
Who famously said one must “Care for the soul”?
Plato
62
What is the oldest oracle?
Dodona oak tree of Zeus
63
At which oracular site did King Phyrrus center his domains?
Dodona
64
True or False: Most of our evidence for Dodona is from the Hellenistic period
TRUE
65
What was found archeologically at Dodona?
- Oracular questions from tablets with writing on them in the Hellenistic era
- Spoils of war from Antigonos
66
At which oracular site did people descend into a liminal space to seek the death oracle?
Nekromanteion of Ephyria (near Albania)
67
Why was the Nekromanteion of Ephyria chosen as the location of a death oracle cult?
Because there was an underground cavern river there
68
True or False: At the Nekromanteion of Ephyria, they used to hoist pictures of ghosts while descending.
TRUE
--> It became more of a haunted house marketing strategy gimmick than an actual cult
69
When did the Sanctuary of Asklepios in Epidauros become increasingly popular?
300s BC
70
What is said to have happened at the Sanctuary of Asklepios in Epidauros in myth?
The first doctor, Asklepeios, was sucked up to Olympus
71
Define: Abaton
The covered hallway where they would release the sacred snakes, agents of Asclepius, to those incubating in it
72
In return for being cured at the Sanctuary of Asklepeios, what were patients expected to leave behind?
- Inscriptions promoting their belief in the sanctuary
73
Also promoted at the Sanctuary of Askleipeios were healing powers from the mythical hero ___________
Amphiaraeus (one of the legendary 7 of Thebes)
- While fleeing his life from Thebes, the earth opened up, his chariot fell in, and he was swallowed up, and disappeared. → He was thus still there under the earth, sending up prophecies and healing
74
Define: Katagogeion
The guest house at the Sanctuary of Asklepeios
75
This Hellenistic Kingdom was very allured by the Sanctuary of Asklepeios, and thus, minted coins with the sacred snakes on them:
Pergamon
