Classics 100 Exam #1

Front 1

When was the DARK AGE?

Back 1

1200 - 776 BC

Front 2

When was the ARCHAIC PERIOD?

Back 2

776 - 500 BC

Front 3

When was the CLASSICAL PERIOD?

Back 3

500 - 323 BC

Front 4

When was the HELLENISTIC PERIOD?

Back 4

323 - 30 BC

Front 5

Identify:
- Crete
- Asia Minor
- Aegean Sea
- Cycladic Islands
- Peloponnesos
- Mediterranean Sea

Back 5

A: Aegean Sea
B: Mediterranean Sea
C: Asia Minor
D: Peloponnesos
E: Crete
F: Cycladic Islands

Front 6

Which period does the Late Helladic correspond to?

Back 6

Mycenaean Period

Front 7

Which period does the Middle Minoan correspond to?

Back 7

Minoan Period

Front 8

LECTURE #2:

What is a “Bronze Age” and when did the Bronze Age begin in the Aegean? When and why did it end?

Back 8

- Bronze Age: bronze was material used for making tools and weapons
- 3000 - 1200 BC
- Ended when palace economies collapsed; political issues led to schism with Cyprus, thus no more access to copper.

Front 9

LECTURE #2:

Which periods of Greek history fall in the Bronze Age? What are their dates and their centers of power?

Back 9

1) Cycladic Civilization (2700 - 2400 BC)
2) Minoan Period (2000 - 1600 BC)
3) Mycenaean Period (1600 - 1200 BC)

Front 10

LECTURE #2:

Where are the Cyclades? What did archaeologists discover on the Cycladic islands in the early 20th century?

Back 10

LOCATION: between Peloponnese and Asia Minor

DISCOVERED: female marble statues
- "Fertility figures"
- "Mother goddesses"

Front 11

LECTURE #2:

Why do archaeologists refer to Bronze Age civilization on Crete as “Minoan”? Is this what the people of prehistoric Crete called themselves?

Back 11

No, MINOAN is a term coined by Sir Arthur Evans because it reminded him of a myth about King Minos (mythical Greek king, although Minoan is pre-Greek)

Front 12

LECTURE #2:

In what sense are the Cycladic and Minoan civilizations “pre-Greek”?

Back 12

Neither civilization spoke Greek.

Front 13

LECTURE #2:

What myth did Sir Arthur Evans think of when he uncovered the labyrinth-like palace architecture at Cnossus?

Back 13

- Poseidon sent King Minos a white bull to prove to Crete that he (Minos) was their true king.
- Minos refused to sacrifice bull back to Poseidon.
- In retaliation, Poseidon made Minos’ daughter, Pasiphae, lust for the bull, who impregnated her.
- Their child was half man and half bull (aka. Minotaur)

Front 14

LECTURE #2:

What did Greeks of the classical period believe about their Bronze Age past? What were their sources of knowledge?

Back 14

- Age of heroes who fought at Troy and Thebes and ruled the seas.
- Their myths and epic poetry about their past are vaguely similar to what archaeologists have discovered.
- Sources of knowledge: Hesiod's poetry

Front 15

LECTURE #2:

What do archaeologists mean when they describe the Minoan palaces as “redistributive economies”?

Back 15

Their "taxes" were in the form of manufactured goods, produce, and raw materials, and were then redistributed to populace or used for trade.

Front 16

LECTURE #2:

Explain what Linear A refers to and how it relates to Minoan civilization.

Back 16

- Form of writing used by Minoan civilization
- Language of Minoan Crete administration
- Never been deciphered, but not Greek
- Accident that they survived (fire in palace baked them)

Front 17

LECTURE #2:

Name the archaeologists who excavated at Cnossus and in the Cyclades in the early 1900s.

Back 17

1) Sir Arthur Evans
2) Christos Tsountas: discovered Cycladic figurines

Front 18

LECTURE #3:

Explain how archaeologists know that Mycenaeans took over Cnossus ca. 1450BC. How long did they rule on Crete?

Back 18

HOW THEY TOOK OVER:
- Definitive proof: Linear B tablets

Also:
- Artifacts exhibit significant differences from those of immediately preceding period
- Evidence of destruction

PERIOD OF RULE: ??

Front 19

LECTURE #3:

What, if anything, did geological events on Thera have to do with the Mycenaean takeover of Crete?

Back 19

Volcanoes:
- Destroyed palaces
- Weakened economy
- Exploded island apart

Front 20

LECTURE #3:

What language does Linear B record? How was it deciphered, and by whom?

Back 20

- Linear B = earliest form of Greek
- Deciphered by Michael Ventris; he isolated familiar words from Linear A
??

Front 21

LECTURE #3:

Who were the “Mycenaeans”? How did they get their name?

Back 21

MYCENAEANS: proto-Greeks who arrived in 2000 BC

NAME: came from prominence of Mycenae in story of Troy and other myths.

Front 22

LECTURE #3:

Name the sites of the major Mycenaean palaces.

Back 22

- Mycenae
- Pylos
- Athens
- Thebes
- Tiryns

Front 23

LECTURE #3:

In what ways are Mycenaean palaces similar to Minoan? How do they differ?

Back 23

SIMILARITIES: manner of centralized authority located in a substantial palace.

DIFFERENCES:
- "Cyclopean" walls
- Megaron: ceremonial center of palace (rather than Minoan central court)

Front 24

LECTURE #3:

Who was Heinrich Schliemann and where did he excavate? What was his motivation for digging at these sites?

Back 24

- Archaeologist in 19th century who was a strong advocate for the historical reality of places mentioned in Homer's writing.
- Excavated Troy and Mycenae.
- Motivated by childhood dream and desire for wealth.

Front 25

LECTURE #3:

What is a “tholos” tomb? Name one example of such a tomb at Mycenae.

Back 25

"THOLOS" TOMB: beehive-shaped tomb; statement of overwhelming power and magnificence.

ex. Treasury of Atreus

Front 26

LECTURE #3:

What features of the architecture and material finds at Mycenae have given historians the impression that the Mycenaeans were a warlike people, obsessed with honor and status?

Back 26

?

Front 27

LECTURE #3:

When did the palaces collapse and why? What kinds of theories have been proposed to explain the fall of Mycenaean civilization?

Back 27

?

Front 28

LECTURE #3:

What features of the architecture and material finds at Mycenae have given historians the impression that the Mycenaeans were a warlike people, obsessed with honor and status?

Back 28

Cyclopean walls...??

Front 29

LECTURE #3:

When did the palaces collapse and why? What kinds of theories have been proposed to explain the fall of Mycenaean civilization?

Back 29

- All palaces collapsed or were destroyed in 1200 BC.
- Theories:
1) Invasion of "Sea peoples"
2) Natural disasters
3) Better military technology

Front 30

LECTURE #4:

What do we know about Hesiod from his poems? How does the concept of authorship differ when applied to Hesiod than to, say, John Updike?

Back 30

- Author of the "Theogeny" and "Works and Days"
- Lived in Ascara (near Thebes) ca. 700 BC
- Worked with traditional material

Front 31

LECTURE #4:

What does “Theogony” mean? In what sense is the Theogony an aetiological poem (define “aetiology”)?

Back 31

- THEOGENY = "birth of the gods"
- AETIOLOGY = a story that explains the beginning of things
- Answers the question of: how did the world come to be the way it is today?

Front 32

LECTURE #4:

What does Ouranos do to his children? How is he eventually dethroned?

Back 32

- He stuffs them back into Gaia (wife) for fear he'll be overthrown.
- Kronos overthrows him by cutting off his testicles.
- Aphrodite (Venus) grows from severed testicles.

Front 33

IDENTIFY:
- Evans
- Tsountas
- Ventris
- Schliemann
- Dorpfeld

Back 33

- Sir Arthur Evans: excavated at Cnossus; coined term “Minoan”
- Tsountas: discovered female marble statues
- Ventris: deciphered linear B
- Schliemann: excavated troy and mcyenae (found “treasure of priam”)
- Dorpfeld: excavated at Troy after Schliemann

Front 34

9) What features of the architecture and material finds at Mycenae have given historians the impression that the Mycenaeans were a warlike people, obsessed with honor and status?

Back 34

WARLIKE PEOPLE
- Heavy fortification on high ground: cyclopean walls; in place to deal with sustained and predictable threats.
- Tablets at Pylos: records of weaponry and armies
- Art was all based around war scenes and hunting
- Large amount of weapons in tombs

STATUS and HONOR = burial goods and splendid tombs

Front 35

What is the Theogeny?

What is Works and Days?

Back 35

Theogeny: origin of gods
Works and Days: origin of human condition

Front 36

Who are Kronos' parents?

Who are Zeus' parents?

Back 36

Kronos = Ouranos and Gaia

Zeus = Kronos and Rhea

Front 37

Who was Metis and why is she significant?

Back 37

- First wife of Zeus (who he eats so he won't be overthrown)
- Gets Kronos to throw up his children (for Zeus)

Front 38

Tell me about the ages of man.

Back 38

GOLDEN: humans like gods but can’t reproduce
SILVER: reproduce, but live most of life as children
BRONZE: violent, no honor
HEROES: half human half divine
IRON: present time of Hesiod

Front 39

How is the Hymn to Demeter an aetiological poem?

Back 39

1. Seasons and agricultural year
2. Marriage (female point of view)
3. Eleusinian myths