Terms
Describe what a "polis" was:
Independent city-state of early Greece
What is the meaning of the word "phalanx"?
Method of fighting wherein soldiers locked their shields together to form an impenetrable defensive position.
Name the polis known for its powerful navy, as well as being the birthplace of democracy:
Athens
What percentage of land in Greece is "arable", or capable of having crops grown on it? Hint: It is very similar to that of Japan.
10%
Among the most powerful dramas were the ________: stories in which the frailty of humanity, most importantly the problem of pride, served to
undermine the happiness of otherwise powerful individuals.
Fill in the blank.
Tragedies
What does "Panhellenic" mean?
Literally, "all Greece". The Olympic games were Panhellenic in that they were meant to unite all Greeks.
Provide the name of soldiers arranged in a phalanx:
Hoplites
Called the greatest leader of Athens, he had 3 goals:
1. Strengthen Athens
2. Expand the empire
3. Beautify the city (public works, architecture)
Who is that person?
Pericles
What is meant by the phrase Greek's "Golden" or "Classical Age"?
A period of significant achievements in philosophy, government, arts, and other areas.
Playwrights often composed a type of play that was meant to inspire mockery and gleeful contempt of the failings of others, rather than sympathy. This was called:
Comedy
A "stoic" believes in .... what?
A person who knows their duty and does the right thing.
Which city-states fought in the Peloponnesian War?
Who won the war?
Sparta and Athens; Sparta won
The author of The Odyssey and The Illiad was:
Homer (no, not from the Simpson's) :)
What word described the fundamental concept of Greek thought, as reflected in drama, literature, and philosophy?
Humanism; Humanism is the idea that, first
and foremost, humankind is inherently beautiful, capable, and creative.
Give a working definition of the word "philosophy":
"Lover of wisdom"
If someone is described as an "epicurean", what does that mean?
He/she enjoys the finer things in life and pleasure.
Who was the Persian leader who brought stability to the Persian Empire, expanded it, and used his power to modernize it? Hint: He is eventually defeated by Alexander the Great and a relative poisons him!
Darius
Likely the greatest philosopher ever, he instructed his students to question everything in their lives; he even had an instructional method named after him. Who was that?
Socrates
List at least two of the gifts of ancient Greece:
1. Culture (language, games, philosophy, ...)
2. Arts (poetry, pottery, sculpture, drama/comedy...)
3. Science and technology (heliocentric view, Euclid's geometry, development of lever, pulley ...)
4. Democracy, expanded citizenship
Galen, a famous Greek who studied the human body, suggested that the "four humors" make up all things. Name at least two of the forces called humors:
Earth, air, fire, water
Define "proskynesis" as it related to Greek soldiers:
Greek soldiers marrying Persian women and adopting their cultures.
Name the battle where King Leonidas of Sparta and his brave "300" stood against thousands of Persians in 480 BC:
Thermopylae
Who were the "10,000" and what were they known for doing?
Mostly Greek soldiers who fought for Cyrus, the brother of Artaxerxes, who was on the throne of Persia. They went to remove Artaxerxes, but when Cyrus was killed, the mission fell apart.
Name at least two of the most famous Greek philosophers of the Classical Age:
1. Socrates
2. Aristotle
3. Plato
Seeking to explain human actions in terms of how people tend to react to the political and social pressures they experience is the basis of history. The Greeks excelled in the study of history with _________ being the world's first historian. Fill in the blank.
Herodotus