Athenian Democracy
What term, coined by Cleisthenes around 507 BCE, translates to "rule by the people"?
Demokratia
In what year did Taiwan hold its first direct presidential election, officially confirming its democracy despite missile threats from China?
1996
What Greek concept refers to explaining the world's "why" through storytelling, tradition, and the actions of gods and supernatural forces?
Mythos
While Egyptian pyramids were built for kings, the Greeks built this famous temple using human-centered proportions to create harmony. What is it?
The Parthenon
Because rocky mountains and distance made travel by land difficult, the ancient Greeks relied heavily on this geographical feature, treating it as a "highway" rather than a border to spread their culture. What was it?
What was the name of the lottery machine used in ancient Athens to randomly select citizens for government roles?
The kleroterion
Taiwan lived under a type of military rule which suspends normal civil rights for 38 years, making it one of the longest periods of its kind in history. What is it?
Martial Law
Known as the "father of medicine," who challenged the idea that illnesses were curses by looking for natural, observable causes using logos?
Hippocrates
What architectural technique did the Greeks use when they made their columns bulge slightly in the middle and tilt inward?
Entasis
Which massive war was a showdown between the rival city-states of Athens and Sparta that dragged on for years and ultimately left both sides weaker?
The Peloponnesian War
What is the specific vocabulary term for the selection of government officials by random lottery rather than by an election?
Sortition
In 1990, thousands of students occupied the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for six days to demand that the 1947 legislators step down. What was this movement called?
The Wild Lily Student Movement
The ancient Greeks used the myth of Hades and Persephone to answer what "Big Question" about the natural cycles of the world?
Why the seasons change (and crops die during the winter)
The Greeks believed they found the "Natural Code" of beauty in seashells and flowers, and they used this mathematical ratio (approximately 1.618) to design their buildings. What is it called?
The Golden Ratio (or Phi)
What was a major consequence of the Persian Wars for the independently governed Greek city-states?
It meant that Greek city-states had to unite, despite their differences.
To protect against tyrants, Athenian citizens could cast an annual exile vote by scratching a name onto a pottery shard. What was this practice called?
Ostracism
What was the name of the event where police violence against a woman selling cigarettes sparked island-wide protests and a subsequent government massacre?
The 228 Incident
What is the name of the method that involves a sequence of questions intended to explore a person’s thinking and help them find their own deeper truth?
Socratic Dialogue (or Socratic Questioning)
What is the term for the Greek belief that the human experience and perspective, rather than gods or kings, is the most important measure of the world?
Humanism
The famous Uluburun shipwreck, which reveals the massive scale of ancient Mediterranean trade, was found carrying one ton of tin and ten tons of what other metal from Cyprus, which combined are the crucial ingredients for making bronze?
Copper
According to the Ekklesia records, how many citizens were selected by lottery to serve together on an Athenian jury?
500 citizens
Founded in 1986 while still technically illegal, what was Taiwan's first major opposition political party?
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
The Greek shift toward rational thought and the scientific method directly laid the groundwork for what major intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries?
The Enlightenment
Why did the Greeks refuse to use perfectly straight vertical lines when building rows of columns?
Because the human eye is flawed, and perfectly straight columns create an optical illusion making them look like they are sagging or leaning
Greek colonization was not an attempt to build a single unified empire, but was rather driven by three specific, practical pressures back home. Name at least two of these three pressures.
Limited farmland, growing populations, and the need for resources