Midterm 1 Flashcards
What material sources are used to recover information and history from Ancient Greeceq
Metals like gold, silver, and bronze. But especially, decorative pottery. Papyrus, wood, cloth, and other softer materials do not hold up well underground
“It is mainly on the basis of _______ that [historians] are able to construct a chronology for prehistoric and early historic Greece that can be translated into actual dates.”
Pots
“The most common medium for writing was _____________”
Papyrus
“The most common medium for writing was _____________”
Papyrus
True or False: Letters and contracts tended to be preserved more than literature
False
Why was papyrus more likely to survive in Egypt and Northern Africa
Sand
What were the Greeks’ primary method of travel
Seas
Put the following eras/ages in order:
- Neolithic Era
- Paleolithic Era
- Bronze Age
- Mesolithic Era
- Paleolithic Era (40,000 - 10,000)
- Mesolithic Era (10,000 - 7,000)
- Neolithic Era (7,000 - 3,000)
- Bronze Age (3,000 - 1,200)
Who was Sir Arthur Evans
Discovered a huge complex at Cnossus on Crete in 1900. It verified the existence of the Minoans, adding thousands of years of history to Greece
Who was Heinrich Schliemann
A German archaeologist who uncovered Troy and Mycenae
What was the House of Tiles
A monumental house in Lerna, a small village that expanded rapidly in the early Bronze Age, with two stories and stone-fortified walls built for high-class individuals (royalty) and/or communal feasts
Describe the Minoan Civilization
A civilization on the island of Crete that organized itself into several small city-states, each with palace centres that controlled the surrounding area
Describe Minoan Palaces
The political and administrative centre of the city-state, the focal point of all economic, state, and religious activities. It had a maze-like structure with a central court, which may have given rise to the legend of the labrynth
Describe Linear A scripts
Used by Minoans on Crete between 1800 and 1450, still undeciphered and unrelated to Greek, it was used mainly for accounting and religious purposes
Describe Linear B scripts
Used by Mycenaeans (not Minoans), language was an early form of Greek, used for accounting
What are shaft graves
Deep, rectangular pits in which bodies were lowered into, typically 2-5 people per shaft grave
What happened between the Minoans and the Mycenaeans between the years 1500-1450
The Mycenaeans took control of Crete, leading to the Mycenaeans adopting the Minoans’ culture and religion for subsequent generations
Explain the differences between Minoan and Mycenaean architecture
Mycenaean architecture was similar with a few key differences:
- smaller
- less well-built
- located on a commanding hill
- fortified by high, thick walls
- replaced Minoan courtyard with ‘megaron’
What is a megaron
A large, rectangular hall with a smaller anteroom, a portico in the front, and an opening onto a courtyard. It was the ceremonial centre of the palace, but would serve as the Chieftain’s house during later years when Mycenaean palaces were destroyed/abandoned
What is a tholos
An impressive Mycenaean tomb, they were large, stone, beehive-shaped tombs carved into a hillside
Place the following classes in order of the Mycenaean hierarchy:
- Lords
- Craftsmen
- Leader of the Army
- Slaves
- Knights
- King
- King
- Leader of the Army
- Lords
- Knights
- Craftsmen
- Slaves
Describe Mycenaean religion
An adoption of the Minoan religion, in that they worshipped primarily female deities, with one in particular referred to as “mother goddess” that controlled fertility of plants and animals. There were still the Greek gods, like Zeus, Poseidon, etc. that were acknowledged but not depicted in art/architecture as frequently
Describe Mycenaean religion
An adoption of the Minoan religion, in that they worshipped primarily female deities, with one in particular referred to as “mother goddess” that controlled fertility of plants and animals. There were still the Greek gods, like Zeus, Poseidon, etc. that were acknowledged but not depicted in art/architecture as frequently
What is a wanax
A Mycenaean king and warrior who controlled the accounting of the common peoples’ possessions for the purpose of maintenance and sacrifices to the Mycenaean gods
Describe Mycenaean warfare
The wanax and his military commander were present on the battlefield, officers/high-ranking individuals would be decorated in elaborate armour, while common soldiers wore primarily leather armour, chariots were used as a form of transportation/display/presetige rather than a weapon on the battlefield
What was the cause of the catastrophe in Greece and the Near East (~1,200 BCE)
Most likely is a combination of negative socioeconomic agents which together brought down the system as a whole. The negative socioeconomic agents could be food shortages, marauders (‘sea people’), and trade issues. The system collapse lead to a dark age
What was the Franchthi Cave
A cave that was inhabited almost continuously for 17,000 years between the Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods, it has allowed archaeologists to reconstruct life in Greece from the stone age to the bronze age regarding agriculture, seafaring, trade, and diet
What was the Franchthi Cave
A cave that was inhabited almost continuously for 17,000 years between the Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods, it has allowed archaeologists to reconstruct life in Greece from the stone age to the bronze age regarding agriculture, seafaring, trade, and diet
What was Ahhiyawa
A still unidentified Mycenaean kingdom, most scholars theorize, that would have been involved in the trojan war if that theory is correct
What was Hittites
A massive empire in Anatolia, it would have experienced turmoil during the Trojan war if Ahhiyawa was indeed a real Mycenaean kingdom
Who was Michael Ventris
Deciphered Linear B tablets, which verified that Mycenaeans took over Minoan Crete
Who was Michael Ventris
Deciphered Linear B tablets, which verified that Mycenaeans took over Minoan Crete
What was Pylos
A large Mycenaean kingdom where hundreds of Linear B tablets were discovered that helped decipher the language (Michael Ventris)
What was Thera
An island that helped prove the influence of Minoan culture, as its people adopted many of the Minoan styles of art, architecture, religion, dress, and lifestyles. It was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, and the protective membrane formed by the hardened ash allowed us to see what life was like here and for the Minoans
What type of primary source survives the best and in abundance?
A) metal
B) papyrus
C) pottery
D) wood
C) pottery
How did the Minoans and Mycenaeans differ?
A) the mycenaeans were not segregated by class and wealth
B) the mycenaean palaces were fortified
C) the minoans and mycenaeans were the same culture, just located in different areas
B) the mycenaean palaces were fortified
Linear A script provides scholars with:
A) much info about mycenaean culture
B) little information about mycenaean culutre, because it has not been translated
C) much information about minoan culture
D) little information about minoan culture, because it has not been translated
D)
Homer’s songs are often inaccurate, redundant, and self-contradictory because:
A) the poet made up the poem as he went along while reciting it to his audience
B) mistakes were made when later Greeks, who were barely literate, made copies
C) it was actually made up of a combination of many shorter independent poems
A)
What is the root meaning of the Greek word oikos?
A) community
B) council
C) household
C)
What is our main source of information on Iron Age Greek society?
A) archaeological remains
B) homeric poetry
C) linear B tablets
D) the histories of herodotus
B) homeric poetry
Which of the following was not a typical feature of ancient Greek religion?
A) multiple gods who were unpredictable
B) a central essence of morality and truth
C) conflicting mythologies
D) animistic spirits, ghosts, and magic
B)
In the first book of the Iliad, why does the god Apollo send a plague to afflict the Greeks?
A) the Greeks destroyed a temple of Apollo
B) Achilles refused to offer sacrifice to Apollo
C) Thetis, Achilles’ mother, insulted Apollo
D) Agamemnon insulted Apollo’s priest, Chryses
D)
Early greek “geometric” pottery often have what kinds of scenes depicted on them
A) athletic contests
B) combat and warfare
C) fantastic, monstrous creatures borrowed from Oriental pottery
D) rituals from a funeral
D)
Women present at a symposium’s festivities were:
A) aristocratic wives and daughters, who would perform songs with lyre accompaniment
B) unmarried daughters of symposiarch
C) non-citizen entertainers and mistresses
C)
The belief that every citizen ought to be treated as equal under the law was called:
A) ethnos
B) oikos
C) isonomia
C)
In the online reading of Homer’s Iliad, the priest Chryses asks for his daughter, whom the Greeks have kidnapped. What eventually happens to his daughter?
A) she is returned to him
B) she remains with the Greeks
C) she is captured and killed by the Trojans
A)
According to the textbook heading “The First Greek Speakers”, can archaeologists determine when Greek first began to be spoken in Greece?
A) yes. Most likely, invaders brought the language with them in the middle of the Bronze Age
B) no. Greek was already present at the time of the earliest archaeological sources, so it is impossible to determine when it arrived
C) no. There are many literary sources, but they are mythical and are therefore not reliable historical evidence
A)
