Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Literature Flashcards
Why is “oral literature” a contradiction in terms?
because literature is by definition written language
Why do people without literacy tend to love stock phrases, traditional sayings, and proverbs?
they are an essential to preserving cultural memory
Before riding there was no such thing as an……..
Author
Why would all storytelling be lost?
There is no writing or record to preserve the stories
If writing was not originally intended to preserve literature , what was its purpose?
to preserve economic, political and legal information
Where was writing first developed and when?
Mesopotamia in around 3300 to 2990 B.C.E.
What is “wedge-shaped” writing called?
Cuneiform
Why was cuneiform a script that could only be deciphered by experts?
you had to be familiar with a large number of signs. Also one sign could represent many sounds and a sound could be represented by many signs.
What does the word “hieroglyphic” mean?
Sacred Carving
Who improved upon cuneiform and hieroglyphic writing?
The Phoenicians
Who added the needed vowels to the Phoenician script?
Greeks
Who adapted the Greek alphabet for their own language and carved their inscriptions on stone in the same capital letters that we use today?
the romans
What institution “should remind us not to idealize ancient cultures”?
Slavery
What two regions of the Mediterranean basin were “particularly receptive to agriculture and animal husbandry”?
The valley of the Nile River, and the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers
Hence, supported by the surplus the land produced, they became centers also for ______, _______, _____
government religion and culture
Why does it make sense to consider the ancient Mediterranean and Near East as a single, albeit complex, unit?
It makes sense to consider them as one unit because there were large-scale cultural exchanges between the Mediterranean and near east as a result of trade, colonization and imperialism
The Egyptian Hymn to Aten and the Hebrew Bible appear as exceptions to the polytheism of most ancient cultures. Which of these two, the Egyptian or the Hebrew, suggested that “other gods do not exist”?
Neither
Which of these two was more important, orthopraxy or orthodoxy?
Orthopraxy was more important than orthodoxy.
For the ancient cultures under discussion, the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans, composing alternative stories about the gods was deemed heretical? True or False. Justify your answer:
False, composing alternative stories about the gods was not deemed heretical because cult practices were highly localized and there was no written record of the myths or creed.
The Greeks of historic times were presumably a blend of ________ and ________
Native Tribes and Indo-European Invaders
When did the ‘dark ages” of Greece end?
8th Century BCE
Were the Greek city-states ruled by a centralized government?
No they were independent from eachother
What major empire dominated the Near East and Mediterranean in the sixth century?
The Persian Empire
Sparta was an oligarchy or a democracy?
Oligarchy
Was Persia able to defeat the Greeks?
No, Greece won decisive battles at Marathon and Salamis and kept them free from invasion.
Athens (Attica) was an oligarchy or a democracy?
Democracy
Athens was a direct or a representational democracy?
A direct democracy
After defeating the Persians, Athens and Sparta became friends or enemies?
Enemies
Who was the first anthropological historian?
Herodotus
Who was the first political historian?
Thucydides
Besides history, what other genres of literature developed in 5th century Athens?
Medicine and philosophy also developed in the 5th century.
Who was the most famous of the Sophists?
Socrates
What is dialectics?
Dialectics is formal system of reasoning which uses questions and answers to investigate the truth of theories and opinions.
Athens underwent an oligarchic revolution from 411-404 BCE only to return to its democracy. True or False
True, shortly after Athens was overtaken by Sparta it returned to a democracy.
Who was executed as one of the first actions of the new democratic government
Socrates
Who inherited a powerful army and the political control of all Greece and then went on to defeat the Persian empire?
Alexander, King Philip’s son
The simple vernacular Greek is known as:
koine (“the common language”)
Rome emerged as a world power in 201 BCE after its defeat of
Carthage
Was Rome ever a democracy
No, from 509 B.C.E it was a republic.
The Roman republic lasted until:
The Roman civil wars in the first century B.C.E
Whereas Athenians prided themselves on adaptability, versatility, and grace, the Roman idea of personal and civic virtue was based on a sense of:
tradition, a myth of old Roman virtue and integrity
List here the names of any Roman authors mentioned on this pages;
Cataullus, Virgil, Ovid, Marcus Aurelius
List here the names of any Greek authors that these Roman authors may have borrowed from:
Sappho, Homer
