What is a ‘Greek’?
What is a polis?
A city-state.
What is Herodotus’ work called today?
The Histories.
What does pan-Hellenic mean?
Something open to, or shared by, Greeks from different city-states.
Which god was worshipped at Delphi?
Apollo
Which city-state led the Peloponnesian League?
Sparta
Was Ancient Greece one united country like modern France?
No. It was made up of independent city-states.
Where was Herodotus traditionally born?
Halicarnassus in Asia Minor.
Name one event that took place at the Olympic Games.
Long-distance running, chariot racing, hoplite racing, or pankration.
What was the Pythia?
A priestess/oracle at Delphi who could tell the future.
Which two states competed to dominate the Peloponnese?
Sparta and Argos.
What is a Greek colony?
A new city-state formed from a previously existing city-state, often independent of the original city.
What kinds of sources did Herodotus use in his research?
Literary, epigraphic, archaeological, and oral sources.
What does Pindar suggest when he says there is no contest “greater than Olympia”?
That the Olympic Games were seen as extremely prestigious and important in Greek culture.
Why was Delphi significant to the Greeks?
It was seen as the centre of the world and became one of the most important sanctuaries.
What happened if a Peloponnesian League member was attacked by a non-member?
Sparta was duty-bound to come to its aid.
According to the Olympic Games material, what three things did someone need to be to compete or be present?
Greek, male, and free.
Why should historians be cautious when using Herodotus? (Give 3 points)
He wrote decades after the events, relied heavily on oral accounts, and may have been hostile to some enemies of Athens.
What cultural differences existed between different Greek groups such as Dorians and Ionians?
They had different dialects, calendars, and festivals.
How could Greek religion be both shared and local?
Greeks shared the same broad religion and mythology, but each polis had its own cults, heroes, and patron gods.
Herodotus says Greeks “speak the same language” and should use “heralds and messengers” rather than war. What does this suggest about Greek conflict and identity?
Shared Greek identity existed, but it did not stop Greek city-states from fighting each other.
In Herodotus 5.22, why was Alexander I of Macedon allowed to compete at Olympia?
He proved his Argive descent, so he was accepted as Greek.
What does Herodotus mean when he says, “My business is to record what people say, but I am by no means bound to believe it”?
He records traditions and stories he has heard, but he does not always claim that they are definitely true.
How could Homer’s Iliad, especially the catalogue of Greek forces in Book 2, support the idea of Greek identity?
It presented many Greek forces as part of a shared heroic story, suggesting a wider Greek cultural connection despite political division.
Give one example of religion being linked to Greek conflict.
The Megarian Decree involved claims about sacred land, or the Phocians were attacked after plundering Delphi.
Why did the Corinthian contingent withdraw from Cleomenes’ expedition against Athens in Herodotus 5.74–75?
They decided they were acting wrongfully and changed their minds.