Greek Literature Cards Set I Flashcards
1
Q
What Greek author wrote the Iliad and Odyssey?
A
Homer
2
Q
How many books long are both Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey?
A
24
3
Q
Which work of Homer tells the story of the wrath of Achilles?
A
Iliad
4
Q
In what meter are both Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey?
A
Dactylic Hexameter
5
Q
What Greek author, said to be blind, wrote namesake hymns to Demeter, Apollo, Hermes, Aphrodite, and Dionysus?
A
Homer
6
Q
What Greek poet wrote the Theogony and Works and Days?
A
Hesiod
7
Q
Which work of Hesiod, a poem in dactylic hexameter, tells of the births of the gods and the beginning of the universe?
A
Theogony
8
Q
To whom was Hesiod’s Works and Days addressed?
A
(His brother) Perses
9
Q
Which work of Hesiod talks about farming and mentions the five ages of man?
A
Works and Days
10
Q
According to Hesiod’s Works and Days, what are the five ages of man?
A
Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroic, Iron
11
Q
What Greek author, a slave from either Egypt or Thrace, is most well-known for his fables?
A
Aesop
12
Q
What Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos, wrote lyrical songs about politics, love, hymns to the gods, etc.
A
Alcaeus
13
Q
What Greek author from Mytilene had a feud with the tyrant Pittacus, fled to Egypt, then returned home after reconciling with Pittacus?
A
Alcaeus
14
Q
What Greek author from Sparta was mainly known for his parthenia, songs sung by a chorus of maidens at religious festivals?
A
Alcman
15
Q
What Greek lyric poet, born in Teos, moved to Samos under the Tyrant Polycrates before moving to Athens?
A
Anacreon
16
Q
What Greek author is known to be the first to have written a book in prose?
A
Anaximander
17
Q
What Greek pre-Socratic philosopher is said to have constructed the first map of the Earth?
A
Anaximander
18
Q
What contemporary of Anaximander believed that the primary substance was air?
A
Anaximenes
19
Q
What Greek poet from Paros famously details his abandonment of his shield in battle to save himself?
A
Archilochus
20
Q
What Greek poet is the first to use the term iambic for his poems?
A
Archilochus
21
Q
What legendary lyric poet, born on Lesbos, was a pupil of Alcman and lived in Corinth at the court of Periander?
A
Arion
22
Q
What kind of animal, charmed by Arion’s singing, rescued Arion after he was thrown overboard by pirates?
A
Dolphin
23
Q
What Greek author is credited with inventing the dithyramb, a form of choral lyric poetry?
A
Arion
24
Q
What lyric poet from Ceos was the nephew of the poet Simonides?
A
Bacchylides
25
What nephew of Simonides wrote odes for victors at games in a similar style to Pindar?
Bachylides
26
What man, considered by Aristotle to be a forerunner to tragedy, is more famous for his Pindarian style odes for victors at games?
Bacchylides
27
What presocratic philosopher believed that the universe consisted of four elements: air, fire, water, and earth?
Empedocles
28
Most famous for his beliefs on the four elements, what Greek philosopher also composed two poems, On Nature and Purifications?
Empedocles
29
What Ephesian philosopher was known as the 'weeping philosopher'?
Heraclitus
30
What Greek philosopher, who (like Empedocles) wrote On Nature, believed fire to be the primary element?
Heraclitus
31
Referred to as the "Father of History" by Cicero, what Asian born Greek author wrote histories on the Persian Wars?
Herodotus
32
What Greek author wrote a 9 book History of the Persian Wars?
Herodotus
33
What Greek author was allegedly avenged by a flock of cranes after he was killed by a group of robbers?
Ibycus
34
What presocratic philosopher from Elea founded the Eleatic school of philosophy named after his hometown?
Parmenides
35
The Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian odes were all written by what Theban lyric poet?
Pindar
36
What Greek poet, instructed by Corinna, is considered by many to be the greatest Greek lyric poet?
Pindar
37
Whose house in Thebes was the only one to be spared by Alexander the Great?
Pindar's
38
An ode to Hieron I of Syracuse in Doric Greek are among the works of what Greek poet famed for his odes to victors of games?
Pindar
39
What presocratic philosopher, who let no writings, famously believed in the transmigration of souls?
Pythagoras
40
From what island is Sappho?
Lesbos
41
What lyric poet is known as the "tenth muse"?
Sappho
42
Poem 51 of Catullus is a translation of what lyric poet's work concerning her love of a girl at first sight?
Sappho's
43
What lyric and elegiac poet from Ceos is the uncle of Bacchylides?
Simonides
44
Although most famous for his epigrams, what Greek poet wrote epitaphs for the Athenian dead at Marathon and the Spartan dead at Thermopylae?
Simonides
45
What Greek poet, born in Matauros in Italy, apparently changed his name from Teisias?
Stesichorus
46
What Greek lyric poet, who lived in Himera in Sicily, is most famous for slandering Helen in one of his poems for which he was struck blind?
Stesichorus
47
What elegiac poet from Megara wrote love poems addressed to a young boy named Cyrnus?
Theognis
48
What Spartan elegiac poet wrote five books on war, exhorting the Spartans to conquer Messenia?
Tyrtaeus
49
What name is given to Bias, Chilon, Cleobulus, Periander, Pittacus, Solon, and Thales?
Seven Sages
50
Which of the Seven Sages brought Corinth to its greatest prosperity under his tyranny?
Periander
51
Which of the Seven Sages feuded with Alcaeus and became dictator in Mytilene on Lesbos?
Pittacus
52
Which of the Seven Sages was an Athenian lawgiver, archon, and poet?
Solon
53
Which of the Seven Sages enacted the seisactheia in Athens which ended enslavement for debt and all current debt?
Solon
54
To what man did Solon say "no man may count himself lucky until he is dead"?
Croesus
55
What man went into voluntary exile after enacting his laws, the most important of which was the seisactheia?
Solon
56
Which of the Seven Sages is known as the earliest Greek scientist?
Thales
57
Which of the Seven Sages allegedly predicated an eclipse of the sun in 585 BC?
Thales
58
Which of the Seven Sages believed the primary element was water?
Thales
59
At what festival in Athens was theater performed to honor the god of wine and revelry?
Great Dionysia
60
In the theater, what term was given to the dancing floor which later would be granted to the chorus?
orchestra
61
In the theater, what term was given to the altar to Dionysus?
thymele
62
In the theater, what term was given to the 'watching-place' for spectators?
theatron
63
In the theater, what term is given to the entrance, literally a 'way in'?
parados
64
In the theater, what term is given to the dressing rooms, literally a 'tent' or 'hut'?
skene
65
What Attican, whose name is the root of modern actors, is credited with inventing the play and the mask?
Thespis
66
What type of poetry may have been the precursor to the play?
Dithyrambic poetry
67
What Greek author is the earliest tragedian whose work survives?
Aeschylus
68
What Greek author was killed when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head while visiting Hieron I of Syracuse?
Aeschylus
69
What play of Aeschylus, the only surviving Greek tragedy with a historical theme, focuses on Xerxes and his downfall?
Persians
70
What play of Aeschylus explores the story of Eteocles and Polyneices, the sons of Oedipus, and their inability to share the throne?
Seven Against Thebes
71
What play of Aeschylus focuses on the Danaids and their attempt to flee their forced marriages?
Suppliants
72
What play of Aeschylus, the first of the Oresteia trilogy, details the titular character's return from Troy and subsequent murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra?
Agamemnon
73
What play of Aeschylus, the second of the Oresteia trilogy, tells of Orestes avenging his father Agamemnon by killing his mother Clytemnestra?
Choephoroe (Libation Bearers)
74
What play of Aeschylus, the third of the Oresteia trilogy, focuses on the Furies' hunt for Orestes and his trial for matricide?
Eumenides
75
What play of Aeschylus focuses on the titular Titan who received punishment from Zeus for giving fire to mankind?
Prometheus Bound
76
Although Thespis added the first actor to the chorus, what Greek tragedian added the second actor to the play?
Aeschylus
77
What Greek tragedian never placed lower than second in every contest and earned first 80% of the time?
Sophocles
78
Which play of Sophocles focuses on the titular Greek warrior's descent into madness and suicide?
Ajax
79
Which play of Sophocles tells the story of Deianeira and her attempt to reclaim the love of Heracles?
Trachinian Women/Women of Trachis
80
Which play of Sophocles details a Theban king's discovery of patricide and marriage to his mother?
Oedipus Rex
81
Which play of Sophocles highlights the final days of a Theban king's life in exile with Theseus?
Oedipus at Colonus
82
Which play of Sophocles focuses on the daughter of Oedipus refusing king Creon's orders not to bury her brother Polyneices?
Antigone
83
Which play of Sophocles centers on Orestes and his titular sister seeking vengeance for Agamemnon's murder by Clytemnestra?
Electra
84
Which play of Sophocles tells the story of the titular Greek who was abandoned by the Greek forces at Troy on account of his smelly wound?
Philoctetes
85
What Greek tragedian is said to have written his plays in a cave on Salamis?
Euripides
86
What Greek tragedian is known to use Deus ex machina the most of any Greek author?
Euripides
87
19 plays of what Greek tragedian still survive, the most of any Greek dramatist?
Euripides
88
What Greek tragedian was torn apart by the dogs of Archelaus, the king of Macedon?
Euripides
89
What play of Euripides focuses on a queen who sacrifices herself to save her husband Admetus?
Alcestis
90
What play of Euripides tells the story of Dionysus avenging himself on city of Thebes for rejecting his worship?
Bacchae
91
What play of Euripides centers on Orestes and his titular sister seeking vengeance for Agamemnon's murder by Clytemnestra?
Electra
92
What play of Euripides highlights the suffering of the Trojan queen following the fall of Troy?
Hecuba
93
What play of Euripides details the titular character's false accusation of raping his stepmother, Phaedra?
Hippolytus
94
What play of Euripides tells the tale of the illegitimate son of Apollo and Creusa?
Ion
95
What play of Euripides details Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter to ensure safe sailing to Troy?
Iphigenia at Aulis
96
What play of Euripides highlights Agamemnon's daughter's life after her "sacrifice" and her escape with Orestes?
Iphigenia in Tauris
97
What play of Euripides tells of a sorceress's revenge against her husband Jason?
Medea
98
What play of Euripides tells of a son's murder of his mother Clytemnestra?
Orestes
99
What play of Euripides focuses on a Thracian king whose horses were destined to bring greatness to Troy?
Rhesus
100
What play of Euripides covers the mothers of the Seven Against Thebes looking to provide proper burial to their sons?
Suppliant Women/Suppliants
101
What play of Euripides shows the fate of Hecuba, Andromache, Cassandra, et al. following the Greek capture of their city?
Trojan Women
102
What Greek author is the greatest writer of Old Comedy?
Aristophanes
103
What play of Aristophanes ridicules Socrates?
The Clouds
104
What play of Aristophanes ridicules the jury and court system?
The Peace
105
In what play of Aristophanes does the protagonist ride to heaven on a dung-beetle?
The Peace
106
In what play of Aristophanes do two Athenians travel to Nephelokokkygia (i.e. 'cloudcuckooland') to escape the war?
The Birds
107
In what play of Aristophanes, his most famous, do Spartan and Athenian women band together to spurn their husbands in an attempt to end the war?
Lysistrata
108
What play of Aristophanes imagines Athens in need of a tragedian in the wake of the deaths of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides?
The Frogs
109
In Aristophanes's The Frogs, what god chooses Aeschylus as the greatest tragedian?
Dionysus
110
In what play of Aristophanes, one of two belonging to Middle Comedy, does Praxagora lead a group of women to take over the government?
Ecclesiazusae
111
What play of Aristophanes, his final extant play, is translated as 'The Wealth'
Plutus
112
Who is the greatest writer of New Comedy?
Menander
113
What Greek comedian of New Comedy died by drowning in the harbor of Piraeus?
Menander
114
What play of Menander is the only one still extant?
Dyscolus ('Bad-Tempered Man')
115
What Greek author wrote an impartial account on the Peloponnesian War despite his status as an Athenian general?
Thucydides
116
What Greek historian was removed from his post as Athenian general for failing to take Amphipolis?
Thucydides
117
With what event in 411 BC does Thucydides end his History of the Peloponnesian War?
The recall of Alcibiades
118
What philosopher, the son of the sculptor Sophroniscus and the midwife Phaenarete, married Xanthippe?
Socrates
119
The thoughts of what philosopher, who famously never wrote anything down, were maintained by his students Plato and Xenophon?
Socrates
120
What name is given to the pseudo-gods which Socrates believed in?
Daimones
121
What philosopher was tried for corrupting the youth of Athens and was forced to drink hemlock in 399 BC?
Socrates
122
What school in Athens did Plato found?
The Academy
123
What philosopher is the teacher of Plato?
Socrates
124
What work of Plato is Socrates's address at his trial?
Apology
125
Which tragedian is said to have increased the chorus from 12 to 15 members
Sophocles
126
What work of Plato takes the form of a dialogue with the titular character visiting Socrates in prison?
Crito
127
What work of Plato is a dialogue in which the titular character talks rhetoric with Socrates who states that it is better to suffer evil than to do evil?
Gorgias
128
What work of Plato is a dialogue concerning whether virtue can be taught?
Meno
129
What work of Plato is a dialogue between Socrates and his friends as he is dying about the nature of death and the immortality of the soul?
Phaedo
130
What work of Plato, his most famous, discusses the perfect government?
Republic
131
What work of Plato is a discussion of love at a dinner party?
Symposium
132
What work of Plato contains the beginning of the Atlantis story and discusses the origin of the universe?
Timaeus
133
What work of Plato, his last and longest work, his a modification of his political ideas in his Republic?
Laws
134
What two titles are shared by Plato and Xenophon, both students of Socrates?
Apology and Symposium
135
Who was the teacher of Xenophon?
Socrates
136
What Greek author, a member of the Ten Thousand, took command and led the mercenaries out of Persia?
Xenophon
137
What work of Xenophon, which covers the expedition of the Ten Thousand, contains the famous cry "Thalatta, Thalatta"?
Anabasis
138
What work of Xenophon consists of recollections of Socrates including his character and some of his philosophical ideas?
Memorabilia
139
What Greek author, born in Stageira in Chalcidice, was nicknamed Reader by his teacher Plato?
Aristotle
140
What Greek author was the tutor of Alexander the Great?
Aristotle
141
What Greek author founded a school named Lyceum and a school of philosophy called Peripateticism?
Aristotle
142
What work of Aristotle discusses matter, forms, and the four causes (Material, Formal, Moving, and Final)?
Physica
143
What work of Aristotle concerns the movements of celestial bodies?
De Caelo
144
What work of Aristotle consists of treatises about weather and the Historia Animalium, which discusses animals and their taxonomy?
Meterologica
145
What work of Aristotle, edited by his son, covers his views on personal morality and ethics?
Nicomachean Ethics
146
What work of Aristotle , edited by his student, was written before his Nicomachean Ethics and shows a more Platonic view of ethics?
Eudemian Ethics
147
In what 8 book work does Aristotle claim that limited democracy is best because no perfect ruler can exist?
Politics
148
What political work of Aristotle discusses the development of Athenian government and democracy in general?
Constitution of Athens?
149
What work of Aristotle is a discussion of oratory in general, focusing on persuasion?
Rhetoric
150
What work of Aristotle serves as his commentary on literature, particularly tragedy and comedy?
Poetics
151
What work, a lost poem about a fool's adventures, does Aristotle claim to be a proto-comedy in his Poetics?
Margites
152
What work does Aristotle claim to be the supreme tragedy in his Poetics?
Oedipus Rex
153
Who founded Stoicism?
Zeno
154
What is the meaning of the Greek word at the root of Stoicism, a reference to where Zeno taught?
Porch
155
Harmony, detachment, and self-discipline are principal elements of what school of philosophy founded by Zeno?
Stoicism
156
That the universe is periodically doused in fire is a tenet held by members of what philosophical belief?
Stoicism
157
Stoics believed in a divine law known by what name?
Logos
158
What Greek was the founder of Cynicism?
Antisthenes
159
Who, the most famous Cynic, lived in a tub?
Diogenes
160
Alexander said that if he could not be Alexander, he would like to be what most famous Cynic?
Diogenes
161
Originally believing that virtue makes happiness, Diogenes shaped what school of philosophy into a general contempt for knowledge and morality?
Cynicism
162
What man, believing happiness to come from pleasure (the absence of pain) founded his own school of philosophy?
Epicurus
163
What man wrote 'On Nature' expounding the beliefs of Epicureanism?
Epicurus
164
What Roman author continued in the footsteps of Epicurus with his 'De Rerum Natura'?
Lucretius
165
What school of thought, founded by Pyrrhon of Elis, was later adopted by the Academy?
Scepticism
166
That true knowledge is unattainable and the proper attitude is one of indifference are positions taken by what school of thought founded by Pyrrhon of Elis?
Sceptism
167
Who founded Sceptism?
Pyrrhon of Elis
168
What school of philosophy, whose most famous member Hypatia was murdered by a Christian mob, was essentially wiped out by Christianity?
Neo-Platonism
169
What Greek is the original developer of the atomic theory?
Leucippus
170
What Greek improved on the atomic theory put in place by Leucippus?
Democritus
171
What Greek wrote Elements, establishing plane geometry?
Euclid
172
What group, who consist of travelling teachers, may have brought oratory/rhetoric from Sicily?
Sophists
173
What man may have been the originator of oratoryrhetoric?
Corax
174
What man from Leontini in Sicily is the most famous Sophist?
Gorgias
175
"Man is the measure of all things" is a quote from what famous Sophist from Abdera?
Protagoras
176
Which of the Ten Attic Orators, the earliest, is said to have been a teacher of Thucydides?
Antiphon
177
Which of the Ten Attic Orators was convicted for the Mutilation of the Hermae and therefore disgraced?
Andocides
178
In what work of Andocides does he ask for a return to Athens following his disgrace for the Mutilation of the Hermae?
On his Return
179
What work of Andocides refers to his time spent in the Eleusinian Mysteries?
On the Mysteries
180
Which of the Ten Attic Orators, originally from Syracuse, fled from the Thirty Tyrants after they killed his brother Polemarchus?
Lysias
181
Which of the Ten Attic Orators wrote 'On the Murder of Eratosthenes'?
Lysias
182
Which of the Ten Attic Orators, who stayed out of public life due to his weak voice and lack of nerve, wrote a Panegyricus urging Greeks to unite?
Isocrates
183
Which of the Ten Attic Orators, staunchly pro-Macedonian, wrote the Philippus to Philip II of Macedon urging him to unite Greece?
Isocrates
184
What work of Isocrates, given in 355, urged Athens not to pursue an aggressive foreign policy and to abandon their maritime empire?
On the Peace
185
What Greek author is known as the greatest orator after overcoming a speech impediment by speaking with stones in his mouth?
Deomsthenes
186
What Greek studied under Isaeus on his way to becoming the greatest Greek orator?
Demosthenes
187
Which work of Demosthenes is a series of speeches against the king of Macedon?
Philippics
188
Which speech of Demosthenes, his greatest, was delivered against Aeschines's 'Against Ctesiphon' proving that he deserved the reward?
On the Crown
189
With what man did Demosthenes feud and even have impeached from Athens?
Aeschines
190
Who delivered a speech against Timarchus, an ally of Demosthenes, sucessfully convicting him of immorality in 345 BC?
Aeschines
191
What Greek orator convinced Athens to commit to a sacred war with Amphissa which eventually led to a costly war with Macedonia?
Aeschines
192
Who delivered a speech against Ctesiphon for opting to give Demosthenes a crown for his efforts on behalf of Athens?
Aeschines
193
What member of the Eteobutadae family and pupil of Isocrates was in charge of Athenian finances from 338-326?
Lycurgus
194
'Against Leocrates' is the only extant speech delivered by what pupil of Isocrates?
Lycurgus
195
What Ionian scientist came to Athens around 460 BC and became a close friend of Pericles?
Anaximenes
196
What Ionian scientist wrote 'On Nature' and believed in a divine intelligence called Nous?
Anaximenes
197
What Ionian scientist and friend of Pericles was the first to explain solar eclipses?
Anaximenes
198
What Greek wrote 'On the Gods' and 'Chronicle' while living in Athens c. 140 BC?
Apollodorus
199
What Greek is said to have succeeded Eratosthenes as head of the Alexandrian library?
Apollonius of Rhodes
200
What Greek author wrote the Argonautica, an epic in four books about Jason and the Golden Fleece?
Apollonius of Rhodes
201
What author wrote the Phainomena, a work describing stars and constellations?
Aratus
202
What Greek author wrote Diosemal, which Cicero translated into Latin in his youth?
Aratus
203
What Greek scientist was killed in Syracuse when Marcellus and the Romans took the city?
Archimedes
204
With the help of what Greek scientist, who developed mirrors to set the Roman ships on fire, was Syracuse able to be defended from Rome for 2 years?
Archimedes
205
"Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I can move the Earth" is a quote attributed to what Greek scientist?
Archimedes
206
After observing the displacement of water in his tub due to his body, who screamed 'Eureka'?
Archimedes
207
What Greek, who developed the theory that the sun is the center of the solar system, was not confirmed until Copernicus centuries later?
Aristarchus (of Samos) (the more famous one)
208
What head of the Alexandrian library edited the works of Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, et al.?
Aristarchus (of Samothrace) (the not as famous one)
209
What Greek author wrote the Milesian Tales, a series of short stories similar to the Satyricon of the Roman Petronius?
Aristides of Miletus
210
What pupil of Socrates founded the Cyrenaic philosophy, which believed pleasure to be the ultimate good?
Aristippus
211
What Samian writer of epigrams invented a new type of meter named after him?
Asclepiades
212
What poet, an imitator of Theocritus, wrote a 'Lament for Adonis'?
Bion
213
What head of the Library of Alexandria wrote 'Lock of Berenice', which Catullus translated in his poem 66?
Callimachus
214
What man, who feuded with Apollonius of Rhodes, wrote 'Hecale' and 'Aetia'?
Callimachus
215
What author of the 'Lock of Berenice' is also famous for his saying "Big book, big evil"?
Callimachus
216
What nephew and pupil of Aristotle accompanied Alexander on his conquests until he was executed in 327 BC for knowledge of an assassination plot against Alexander?
Callisthenes
217
What Cynic philosopher instructed Zeno?
Crates
218
What Greek (who shares his name with a comic poet and a philosopher) was the last head of the Old Academy?
Crates
219
What Greek, who succeeded Zenodotus as head of the Library of Alexandria, wrote the Chronographiae, the first scientific attempts to fix the dates of Greek history?
Eratosthenes
220
Which head of the library of Alexandria was most famous for calculating the circumference of the Earth?
Eratosthenes
221
What Greek, whose name lends itself to a modern medical oath, is known as the father of medicine?
Hippocrates
222
"Way to Write History" was written by what Greek author?
Lucian
223
The 'Alexandra', in which Cassandra foretells the fall of Troy, was written by what Greek author?
Lycophron
224
What Cynic philosopher is most famous for writing works with both prose and verse?
Menippus
225
What Greek poet from Colophon wrote 'Theriaca' (about the bites of venomous animals) and 'Alexipharmaca' (about antidotes to poison)?
Nicander
226
What lost epic poem of unknown authorship deals with the returns of various heroes from Troy?
Nostoi
227
What Greek author wrote 'Descriptions of Greece', a 10 book long guidebook for tourists?
Pausanias
228
What Syracusan-born poet is famous for writing idylls, short poems usually describing pastoral scenes?
Theocritus
229
What Greek poet wrote such idylls as 'Lament for Daphnis' and 'Adoniazusae'?
Theocritus
230
What pupil of Aristotle eventually replaced him as head of the Peripatetic school?
Theophrastus
231
What Greek author wrote treatises on plants, metaphysics, and style, but is most famous for his 'Characters', a series of character sketches with each character humorously illustrating a different fault?
Theophrastus
232
Which Greek historian wrote about the plague in Athens during the late fifth century?
Thucydides
233
The Homeric Hymn to which deity discusses the Eleusinian mysteries?
Demeter
234
The Homeric Hymn to which deity talks his mother Leto's struggles to give birth?
Apollo
235
The Homeric Hymn to which deity discusses the theft of Apollo's cattle and the subsequent invention of the lyre?
Hermes
236
The Homeric Hymn to which deity has Zeus upset that they induced love between deities and mortals so is herself condemned to fall in love with the mortal Anchises?
Aphrodite
237
The Homeric Hymn to which deity has them captured by pirates whom they eventually turn to dolphins except for Acoetes?
Dionysus
