History exam 2 McWhorter Flashcards
What was the first exam about?
change over time
What is the second exam on?
Change over time, but also the origins of everything
Persian empire
-who was Cyrus?
the first ruler of the Persian empire
What did the greeks call Cyrus?
Cyrus the Elder
He annexed Mesopotamia, Assyria, all the way to India
Cyrus
Warmly remembered in the Old testament books of Ezra and Isiah for ending the Babylonian captivity of the Hebrews and restoring them to Jerusalem (586/538 BCE)
Cyrus
Cyrus’ son
Cambyses II
Who continued the expansion of the Persian empire?
Cambyses II
Who was the lance bearer to Cambyses II?
Dairus
Orchestrated a coup détat
Dairus
After he orchestrates the coup détat, they become the what?
Achaemenids
How did Darius create this empire?
-Created Persepolis to rule this empire
-Created Royal Road
-“neither rain, nor snow, nor heat, nor dark of night prevents these couriers…”
Who was this quote referring to? “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night strays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
the messengers in the Persian Empire.
Where is this quote engraved in the US?
James A. Farley Post Office in NYC
is there an official motto of the U.S Postal Service?
No
Where is this quote taken from?
An ancient book by the Greek historian Herodotus
Who were the Immortals?
Dairus elite troops
How many immortals were there?
10,000 soldiers
How were these 10,000 soldiers maintained?
One dies, he is replaced
Who defeated the Persians?
the Greeks
Where did the Greeks defeat the Persians in 490 BCE
Battle of Marathon
Where did the Greeks defeat the Persians in 480 BCE
Battle of Salamis
Once Greece defeated Persia, what did they begin to do?
spread their culture
What, from the Greeks, profoundly affects almost everyone today
Their idea of democracy and rationalism
“just Greece”
Hellenic Greece
What Greek time periods are in hellenic Greece?
-Early Greece (Mycenaean; Dark Ages, Recovery)
-Archaic Greece
-Classical Greece
Minoan Crete (early Greece) was when?
2000 to 1500 BCE
Considered the Island of Peace
Minoan Crete
Where was Crete?
on the Aegean Sea
What civilization did Sir Arthur Evans believe he found in Crete?
Minoan Crete
What is Knossas
the largest Bronze age archaeological site in Crete
Sir Arthur Evans was trying to find what?
Mycenaean civilization
What did Sir Arthur Evans find?
Minoan Crete
-a famous archaeologist
-found Minoan Crete
-discovered fresco paintings
Sir Arthur Evans
when did Sir Arthur Evans find minoan crete?
1899
When did Sir Arthur Evans die? was he happy when he died?
1941, and no
Why did Sir Arthur Evans not die a happy man?
WWII was occurring and it was destroying his work of Crete
Wet plaster in sistine chapel, when paint dried they would paint on top of it.
fresco paintings
What was a gift to us from Minoan culture?
Fresco Paintings
the architecture was absent of ruler exalting monuments, but there were graves of bones
Minoan architecture
there were 4 major palaces here
Minoan Crete
Social stratification of Minoan Crete?
men and women shared public life
why was Minoan Crete considered the Island of Peace?
No ruler and absence of fortifications
was a thalassocracy
Crete
What is a thalasoccracy?
Ruler of the sea (Crete was surrounded by water)
What was the first sea-born empire?
Carthage
what sea was Carthage on
Mediterranean Sea
How were these early civilizations in Greece made possible?
Agricultural revolution
What did Greeks give us?
rational thought
When we get sick we go to our physician with the scientific degree instead of our pastor
rational thinking
this rational thinking that was transmitted through non genetic means is
culture
what was Robert Sapolsky’s goal
to end human suffering
After Greece and the civilizations we enter the
Scientific revolution
after the scientific revolution, we enter the
enlightenment
which revolution also changed our lives tremendously?
Industrial revolution
-centered around commerce
-commerce rather than agriculture
-traded crafted goods
-had a monopoly on trade
-traded olive oil
Crete civilization
What civilization was also founded on commerce?
Jamestown
Founded in 1607, they tried to sell olive oil but ended up selling tobacco
Jamestown
Jamestown wanted to make olive oil and grapes for wine, but instead discovered tobacco which ended up making them money.
Commerce over agriculture
a seasoning, fragrance, dye, and medicine; given to us from the Greeks
saffron
-no big anthromorphic gods
-personal small shrines
-centered on nature
religion of crete
The shrines/figures represent who?
strong priestesses
What was an activity the Minoans did?
bull leaping
What was the writing used by the Greeks that remains uninterpreted? ; it is a list of names followed by numbers.
Linear A (syllabic writing)
What was this writing being used for in Crete?
record keeping of cows, jars, etc.
Mycenaean Greece was in what time period?
2000 to 1200 BCE
between 2300 and 1700 BCE, what happened?
a new population settled in mainland Greece
The Mycenaean culture collapsed either from fighting among each other or were taken over by invaders. What began after this collapse?
the Dark Ages began
When was the Trojan War?
13th/12th BCE by Homer
What were the Minoans known for being?
superior gymnasts
(Greek mythology) the king who led the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War
Agamemnon
When was the Dark Ages?
1200-800 BCE
-a time when trade became a standstill
-all signs of civilization disappeared
-Mycenaeans might have forgotten how to write?
-Gods behaved like humans except they were immortal and strong
-worship was not emotional
-private morality was to do good to friends and harm to enemies.
Dark Ages
-people lived in isolated villages
-written language disappeared
-famine
-no artwork was produced
-Minoan and Mycenaean civilization ended
Dark Ages
what occurred in 800 BCE
Signs of Recovery in Greece
what was the mainland of Greece? Also the root word for Greece
Hellas
Hellas had 3 distinct regions, what were they?
-Peloppesus (had largest city, Corrinth and greatest military power, Sparta)
-Attica, home to Athens
-Then, there are cities on northern coast of Gulf of Corinth
Greek worship celebrated their gods, hence, the birth of the olympics
Mount Olympus
3 old sisters who spun and wove the thread of destiny
Fates
Patron goddesses of the arts
Muses
female deities who lived in the underworld and exacted vengeance on the evil-doers.
Furies
Hercules
Heroes
When were the olympics?
786 BCE
when was Archaic Greece?
750 to 500 BCE
Turning point in Greek History
Archaic Greece
Identity shifts from membership in a tribe to citizen of a polis/city state
archaic Greece
Revolution in politics, artistic traditions, intellectual values, and social structure
Archaic Greece
Greece passed down the politics to us, by non genetic means…… which is
culture
In 8th century BCE, as the polis/city states emerge, Greeks are crowded, beginning to spread out, move into other areas, and establish colonies. For 2 reasons:
- Too overpopulated, less food supply
- Needed more land, desperately needed more farmland
The Greeks colonized around where?
-Aegean Sea
-parts of Asia Minor
-southern parts of Italy, France, and Spain
As the Greeks were colonizing, what were they doing?
trading with others as they go
Steven Hawkings and Robert Sapolsky get the idea of what from Greeks?
rational thinking; you don’t need a god to understand anything
what does the polis provide?
a defense
what did the collective interest and identity come from with the polis?
military requirements
what was each citizen required to own?
a long spear and shield
what did the polis need?
a new defense
what did they create for the new defense?
a phalanx of soldiers
what are the archaic Greek soldiers and their formation called?
-Hoplites
-formation was a Phalanx
What does all of this mean for archaic Greece?
A social development with political results
What was a disadvantage that the hoplites/soldiers had in their polis?
-They are fighting for their city-state but have no voice in it or say in who sends them to war.
-if they risk their life, shouldn’t they have a voice?
How does the situation of the hoplites/soldiers relate to the Vietnam war?
Before the end of the Vietnam War, you had to be 21 to vote.
Who was citizenship reserved for in this period?
the military
When did all of this emerge?
700-600 BCE
What else did the polis provide?
justice
What was required of the people (remember each citizen had to own a spear and shield)
be prepared to fight
Why would citizens be ostracized?
-if the ancient athenian citizens felt that democracy was threatened
-political differences
-dishonesty
-or just general dislike
Once a year, the ancient athenians nominated people that they felt threatened their democracy. What happened to them?
They were exiled for 1 year.
If a proposed legislation was not passed, what were the consequences?
fines were given to discourage other frivolous proposals in the future.
(society in Archaic Greece)
Who became more important?
artisans and merchants
Who remained most important in archaic Greece society?
farmers
What did farmers grow?
wheat, grapes for wine, olives for oil–cooking and lighting, green vegetables and fruit
what animals did farmers use for milk and cheese?
sheep and goats
where did the meat come from in archaic Greece?
sacrificed animals
How is life for farmers in Archaic Greece?
hard
who employed laborers, sharecroppers, and slaves?
Aristrocrats
the center of their life was social
Aristocrats
They put on contests consisting of: boxing, wrestling, and chariot races
Aristocrats
How is life for the aristocrats?
Pretty good
How did battles go about in Archaic Greece?
-Battles were limited, not long and drawn out
-win or lose
Who wrote about the Trojan War and Agamemnon?
Homer
Homers writing inspired who/what because they thought it was better than theirs?
Renaissance
two very different cities
Sparta and Athens
-using the military to organize a society
-2 types of people (society)
-would attack their neighbors because they needed farmland
Sparta
What were Helots?
Messinians that were the slaves doing the work/farming
There were 2 types of people in Sparta:
Equals and Helots
Why would women helots sometimes have Spartan/equals children?
because they needed new military
who was left on hills, outside, exposed to the elements, probably killed
girl babies
What did the helots have to endure
humiliation and murder.
Because of the constant threat of revolt, to manage the helots Sparta became
more militaristic
the Spartan equals weren’t born they were
made
