Chapter 4: Greece and Iran, 1000-30 BCE

Question 1

The Persians of southwest Iran created the largest?

Answer 1

They created the largest empire the world has yet seen.

Question 2

Who were the first to achieve a complex level of political organization in Iran?

Answer 2

The Medes, who settled in the northwest and played a major role in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire.

Question 3

How did Persian rulers (Archaemenids) strengthen their relationship with the Median court?

Answer 3

Through marriage.

Question 4

Who was Cyrus and what did he do?

Answer 4

Cyrus was the son of a Persian chieftain and a Median princess, who united the Persian tribes and overthrew the Median monarch around 550 BCE. He kept the framework of Median rule. He redrew the map of west Asia.

Question 5

How were the early inhabitants of western Iran organized?

Answer 5

They had a patriarchal family organization. They were divided into 3 social classes: warriors, priests, and peasants. It was a landowning aristocracy.

Question 6

What battles did Cyrus wage?

Answer 6

In 546 BCE he won a calvary battle vs. Lydia.
All of Anatolia, including the Greek city-states on the western coast came under Persian control.
In 539 BCE he took the Neo-Babylonian dynasty in Mesopotamia.

Question 7

Unlike the Assyrians, Cyrus and his son Cambyses were?

Answer 7

They were practical and respectful when conquering territories. They allowed conquered peoples to keep their traditions and ways of life.

Question 8

Cambyses prevailed versus who?

Answer 8

The Egyptians.

Question 9

What did Darius I do after Cambyses’ death?

Answer 9

He seized the throne and extended Persian control eastward and westward. He promoted the development of maritime routes and completed a canal linking the Indus Delta to the Red Sea.

Question 10

The empire of Darius I was?

Answer 10

It was the largest the world has yet seen, composed of many ethnic groups and forms of social and political organization.

Question 11

Darius I is considered the 2nd ____ after Cyrus?

Answer 11

The second founder of the Persian Empire after Cyrus.

Question 12

Darius I divided the Persian Empire into what?

Answer 12

He divided it into 20 provinces, each under supervision of a satrap.

Question 13

What did satraps do?

Answer 13

They collected and sent tribute to the king in an amount prescribed by Darius. Most of it was hoarded, which caused the price of gold and silver to rise, which caused a gradual economic decline.

Question 14

Darius lived and traveled with who?

Answer 14

He lived and traveled with numerous wives and children.

Question 15

What were the lives of Persian women like?

Answer 15

Persian women were politically influential, had substantial property, and mediated conflict.

Question 16

What did Darius refer to others as?

Answer 16

He referred to them as his slaves.

Question 17

What was Persepolis?

Answer 17

A complex of palaces, reception halls, and treasury buildings made by Darius I and Xerxes.

Question 18

What did the relief sculpture at Persepolis represent?

Answer 18

It was representative of all peoples in the empire bringing gifts. (Propaganda)

Question 19

What was the religion of the Persian Empire?

Answer 19

Zoroastrianism. Their god was called Ahuramazda. They believed that the world was created by him, and was threatened by Angra Mainyu. Ideas of the struggle between good and evil were prevalent, and they believed people were judged after death for their actions.

Question 20

What did the Persians worship besides Ahuramazda?

Answer 20

The good elements, water and fire. They were concerned with the purity of the body.

Question 21

After the destruction of the Myceneans, the Greeks lapsed into what?

Answer 21

The “Dark Age.” They were isolated. In 800 BCE, their isolation ended when they reestablished contact with the Aegean and the Middle East, beginning the Archaic Period.

Question 22

What happened during the Archaic Period?

Answer 22

The Greeks created the first alphabetic language, from Linear B and the Phonecians. This caused more widespread literacy. There was also a population explosion and trade was re-established.

Question 23

What was the Greek polis?

Answer 23

The polis was a city-state, urban center, and its controlled rural territory.

Question 24

What was in the polis?

Answer 24

Most polises contained an acropolis and agora. The acropolis was a place of refuge in emergency, and the agora was a gathering place and marketplace.

Question 25

What were hoplites?

Answer 25

Hoplites were heavily armored infantrymen who fought in close formation. They used a spear and shield. They were not professional, mostly farmers. They carried a round shield on their left side, which protected their own left side as well as the right side of their neighbors.

Question 26

When did hoplite campaigns take place?

Answer 26

They took place when farmers were available, between major tasks in the agricultural cycle.

Question 27

Why did the Greeks colonize?

Answer 27

Overpopulation. Some chose to leave, some didn't. They left with the approval of Appolo, with fire of communal hearth from the "mother-city."

Question 28

The Greeks started to use the term ____ to distinguish them from barboi?

Answer 28

Hellenes.

Question 29

The invention of what in early 600 BCE in Lydia spread?

Answer 29

Coins. Silver, gold, bronze and other metals were used because they were rare enough to be valuable, and were lightweight and portable, indestructible, and easily divided. It was faster and allowed for better recordkeeping and storage of wealth. IT stimulated trade and increased total wealth.

Question 30

What eventually took the place of the king in the archaic Greek world?

Answer 30

Councils of noble farms. Wealth and power came from owning large amounts of land, worked by peasants and debt slaves. Free peasants who owned small farms, craftsmen, and merchants made up the emerging "middle class."

Question 31

In 700-600 BCE, what type of people gained control in ancient Greece? What did this lead to?

Answer 31

Tyrants. They were often members of the aristocracy backed by the middle class. Authority developed towards oligarchy or democracy- the exercise of power by all adult free males.

Question 32

What was Greek religion like?

Answer 32

Greek religion was a wide range of cults and beliefs. Ancestors brought the collection of sky-gods. Some were forces of nature, like Zeus and Poseidon. They were anthropomorphic and more powerful than mortals.

Question 33

What was a central ritual of Greek religion?

Answer 33

Sacrifice. This was performed at altars in front of temples. The Greeks gave gifts, as well as performed animal sacrifice, burning parts of animals' bodies. This created a sense of community from the shared participation in the taking of life.

Question 34

The Archaic Period featured a growing emphasis on?

Answer 34

Individualism. Colonists were ripped out of their communal networks and forced to establish new life, and tyrants seized power for themselves alone. This led towards the concept of humanism- the valuing of uniqueness, talents, and rights of the individual.

Question 35

Who challenged Greek religion and what did they question?

Answer 35

Pre-socratic philosophers, such as Xenophanes, questioned the gods popularized by Homer, rejecting religious explanations and seeking rational ones. ;) ;)) ;)))))))) They wanted to know how the world was created, what it is made of, and why changes occur.

Question 36

Pre-socratic philosophers came up with an advanced theory of?

Answer 36

An advanced theory of atoms similar to modern atomic thoery.

Question 37

What did logographers do?

Answer 37

They gathered data on many topics, and were the first to write in prose instead of poetry.

Question 38

Who was Herodotus?

Answer 38

The "father of history." He directed techniques of history, publishing histories focusing on wars between the Greeks and Persian Empire. He sought the causes behind historical events.

Question 39

In 700 BCE, Sparta didn't send out what, and instead did what?

Answer 39

They didn't send out colonists and invaded the fertile plain of Messenia. They dominated the native population, descended from helots, and abused and exploited most of them.

Question 40

The Spartans had the best what and why?

Answer 40

They had the best army. Boys were taken at 7 years old and put into barracks. As a result, Sparta did not participate in the economic, political, or cultural renaissance. In attempt to maintain equality, they banned metals, coins, and commerce.

Question 41

The Spartans wanted to keep peace in Peloponnese through what?

Answer 41

The Peloponnesian League, a system of alliances. They were reluctant to march far from home because they feared an uprising.

Question 42

Who was Solon and what did he do?

Answer 42

He was a lawgiver who was given the powers to avert a civil war. He divided Athenian citizens into 4 classes based on the yield of farms. The top 3 classes could hold state offices, and the lowest class could only participate in Assembly meetings. Rights and privileges were based on wealth and were not democratic. However, this system broke the monopoly of power from aristocratic families, and abolished debt- slaves.

Question 43

Who was Pisistratus?

Answer 43

He was a tyrant who seized power in 546 BCE. He tried to shift the allegiance of a largely rural population to Athens, where he dominated.

Question 44

Who was Pericles and what did he do?

Answer 44

An aristocratic leader in the 450s BCE. He guided the Athenian state to a participatory democracy. He transferred all power to the Assembly, Council of 500, and the People's Courts. All men could hold office and participate in the political process.

Question 45

What did Cyrus' conquest of Lydia do?

Answer 45

It gave the Persians control of Greek cities on the Anatolian sea coast.

Question 46

How was Cyrus' Persian Empire ruled?

Answer 46

It was ruled by local groups or individuals who collaborated with the Persian government. They stayed in power with minimal Persian interference.

Question 47

What was the Ionian Revolt and what did it lead to?

Answer 47

It was an uprising of the Greeks and their subjects on the western frontier. It took the Persians 5 years with massive troops to stop them. It led to the Persian Wars.

Question 48

What were the Persian Wars?

Answer 48

2 Persian attacks on Greece in the early 500s BCE. Darius sent a naval fleet to punish Eretria and Athens. The Eretians were betrayed by their own citizens. and the Athenian hoplites defeated lighter armed troops at Marathon, 26 miles from Athens.

Question 49

What did Xerxes do?

Answer 49

He succeeded his father Darius and turned his attention to the Greeks. He asked them to offer up "earth and water," tokens of submission. Many Greek communities acknowledged the rule, except for the Hellenic League.

Question 50

What was the Hellenic League?

Answer 50

It was an alliance of states in southern Greece bent on resistance led by the Spartans. 300 Spartans and the king gave their lives to buy time for others to escape. The Persian navy was defeated.

Question 51

What was the Delian League?

Answer 51

A voluntary alliance of Greek states formed in 477 BCE, led by Athenian generals. They swept Persians from the eastern Mediterranean and freed most Greek communities.

Question 52

What does the Classical Period of Greek history begin with?

Answer 52

It starts with the successful defense of the Greek homeland versus the Persian Empire. The Athenians became the imperial power.

Question 53

Athens' naval technology did what?

Answer 53

It transformed Greek warfare and politics, and brought power and wealth. They used triremes, sleek, fast vessels powered by 170 rowers.

Question 54

What was the emergence of the democratic system at Athens connected to?

Answer 54

It was connected to the importance of the naval fleet. Rowers were the main protection of Athens, and could demand full rights.

Question 55

Who was Socrates?

Answer 55

He was an Athenian philosopher who shifted the emphasis of philosophical investigation from questions of natural science to ethics and human behavior.

Question 56

What happened to Socrates?

Answer 56

He made enemies by revealing the ignorance of others and was put on trial for corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in the gods. He was sentenced to death.

Question 57

What did Plato do?

Answer 57

He founded the Academy.

Question 58

What did Aristotle do?

Answer 58

He studied at the Academy and was chosen by the king of Macedonia, Phillip II, to tutor his son Alexander. He returned to Athens and founded his own school, the Lyceum. He wanted to collect and categorize.

Question 59

Who was Athenian democracy for?

Answer 59

A small percentage of free adult males of pure Athenian ancestry. (10-15%) No women, children, slaves, or foreigners could participate.

Question 60

How did the Greeks rationalize slavery?

Answer 60

They argued that barbaroi (non-Greeks) lacked the capacity to reason and were better off under the direction of Greek owners.

Question 61

What was the position of women like in Greece?

Answer 61

In Sparta, they were expected to raise strong boys, were encouraged to exercise, and had public visibility and outspokenness. In Athens, they were suppressed.

Question 62

What were Athenian marriages like?

Answer 62

They were unequal. The husband had absolute authority of the household and was around the age of 30. The marriage was arranged with the parents of a teenage girl with no education. Women had no political rights and limited legal protection. Men and women had limited contact with each other.

Question 63

The imperial power of Athens caused what?

Answer 63

Hostilities between former allies.

Question 64

What was the Peloponnesian War?

Answer 64

The struggle for survival between Athenian and Spartan alliances, which encompassed most of the Greek world.

Question 65

Pericles refused to do what?

Answer 65

Engage the Spartan armies. Athens was eventually defeated in a naval battle because the Persian Empire funded the Spartans. rip

Question 66

The Spartans took over Athens after the Peloponnesian War which led to what?

Answer 66

The opposition of other city-states. There was internal conflict and the Persians took over.

Question 67

What did Phillip II do after the Peloponnesian War?

Answer 67

He transformed Macedonia into a main political power. He equipped soldiers with longer spears and less armor. He used horses, and developed new siege equipment, like catapults.

Question 68

The Confederacy of Corinth was established in 338 BCE by Phillip II to do what?

Answer 68

To control Greek city-states. An all-Greek campaign versus Persia was planned, but rip Phillip.

Question 69

Who was Alexander "the Great" and what did he do?

Answer 69

Alexander was the son and heir of Phillip. He defeated the Persian forces of King Darius III in revenge for Xerxes' invasion. He maintained the framework of Persian administration.

Question 70

Alexander's sudden death led to what?

Answer 70

A half-century of chaos. The Persian Empire was divided into 3 dynasties ruled by a Macedonian dynasty: the Seleucid, Ptolemaic, and Antigonoid.

Question 71

What was the Hellenistic Age?

Answer 71

An era from 323-30 BCE in which Greek culture spread across western Asia and northeastern Africa. It was a period of large kingdoms, diverse populations, great cities, powerful rulers, and vast wealth disparities. This contrasts greatly to the homogeneous, independent city-states of Archaic and Classical Greece.

Question 72

Who was Ptolemies?

Answer 72

The ruler of Egypt for 3 centuries, descended from one of Alexander the Great's officers. He ruled one ethnic group, which was easy to control, and took over the administrative structure of the pharaohs.

Question 73

Where did Ptolemies rule from?

Answer 73

He ruled from Alexandria, the first of new cities laid out by Alexander. He didn't adopt Greek ways but encouraged their immigration, which led to a separation between the ruling class and population.

Question 74

What did ambitious members of Hellenistic states do?

Answer 74

Ambitious members of the native population learned the Greek language and adopted elements of Greek life, which put them in a position to be part of the ruling class.

Question 75

Increased profits in Athens during the Classical Period allowed for what?

Answer 75

Cultural advancements.

Question 76

What happened during the Battle of THermopylae?

Answer 76

Athens was sacked and the Persians were defeated in sea (Salamis) and land (Plataea)