Quiz 3 Answers

Question 1

Bryan wishes to employ the normal criteria of historical criticism to determine the veracity of ancient texts and sources. What are these criteria?

rhetoric, multiple attestation, and consistency among sources

multiple attestation and consistency among sources

rhetoric and consistency among sources

rhetoric and multiple attestation

Answer 1

multiple attestation and consistency among sources

Question 2

In Graeco-Roman religion, which of the following terms originally denoted spirits who might guard people in life and escort them to Hades after death, but later came to signify any intermediary spiritual powers populating the earth, and were ultimately considered the most harmful beings in the universe?

daimones

heroes

lares

none of the above

Answer 2

daimones

Question 3

Which of the following statements about the cult of the Roman emperor is true?

Intense imperial promotion early on caused the cult to grow in popularity among the people.

The imperial cult was just like earlier Asian and Hellenistic ruler cults in virtually every respect.

The cult originated in a request from local leaders in the province of Asia.

Augustus and Tiberius were very enthusiastic about the cult.

Answer 3

The cult originated in a request from local leaders in the province of Asia.

Question 4

Which of the following statements about the institution of slavery in the Roman Empire during the New Testament era is true?

A slave could actually own slaves.

As much as 20% of the population were likely to have been slaves at any given time.

People could sell themselves into slavery.

All of the above.

Answer 4

All of the above

Question 5

Which of the following statements about Roman slavery is true?

Freed slaves could not become Roman citizens.

Some slaves actually held important governmental positions.

Slaves occupied the bottom place in the socioeconomic hierarchy.

Roman slavery was fundamentally race-based.

Answer 5

Some slaves actually held important governmental positions.

Question 6

According to Bryan, why might standard postcolonial methodologies (i.e., methodologies developed to uncover the experiences of non-Westerners subject to European empires which endured into the 20th century) be of limited application in connection with the scholarly study of the Roman Empire?

They feature sociological research techniques such as interviews which cannot be employed in historical research seeking to reconstruct hidden transcripts of 1st-century Roman subjects.

They were not developed to account for situations, like that observed in many ancient empires including the Roman Empire, where both the rulers and the ruled shared fundamental cultural assumptions about the organization of society.

They presume that imperial powers viewed subject peoples’ civilizations and cultures as peripheral to, and less developed than, their own, whereas many Romans viewed Greek and Hellenistic civilization as sophisticated, highly developed, and foundational to their own.

Bryan’s reasons include all three listed above.

Answer 6

Bryan’s reasons include all three listed above.

Question 7

Which of the following statements accords with Christopher Bryan’s view of the “biblical-prophetic tradition” which, he claims, animates the Old Testament’s approach to rulers and political power?

The existence of international empires in world history always impedes God’s will.

The biblical-prophetic tradition is concerned with refining, perfecting, and replacing governmental structures of political power in an attempt to institute the best ones.

The biblical-prophetic tradition demands that the nation of Israel establish a monarchy.

It is possible for rule by non-Israelite pagans to effect God’s purposes in the world.

Answer 7

It is possible for rule by non-Israelite pagans to effect God’s purposes in the world.

Question 8

Which of the following social roles were exclusively reserved to men in ancient Rome?

I. Temple Priest of a Pagan Deity

II. Military Service

III. Political Officeholder

II and III, but not I

I and II, but not III

I and III, but not II

all of I, II, and III

Answer 8

II and III, but not I

Question 9

a broad concept of organization, administration, and management, often exemplified in connection with the affairs of a household

Answer 9

oikonomia

Question 10

compulsory extraction of money or other property payable to a foreign power

Answer 10

Tribute

Question 11

people who contracted with the Roman state to collect from inhabitants financial obligations imposed on them under Roman law

Answer 11

publicani

Question 12

the typically voluntary turning over of a specified fraction of one’s income or harvest (usually one-tenth) to temple or governmental authorities for a designated purpose

Answer 12

tithe

Question 13

compulsorily exacted extraction of money or other property payable to a local authorities

Answer 13

tax

Question 14

a tariff on the transportation of goods, and these levies constituted a significant source of funds for Jewish leaders in Roman Palestine

Answer 14

toll

Question 15

Which of the following statements about women’s roles in typical Roman households is true?

Women were prohibited from owning property.

Women were prohibited from engaging in commercial activity.

Women managed household operations.

All of the above.

Answer 15

Women managed household operations.

Question 16

What challenges efforts in postcolonial studies to seek to uncover the voices of those who were ruled?

measures taken by rulers with the aim of silencing those who were ruled

in societies pre-dating modern times, the prevalence of both illiteracy and the inability to write among those who were ruled

the frequent goal of those who are ruled to keep their resistance efforts hidden in the interest of survival

all of the above

Answer 16

all of the above

Question 17

Even if the Roman Empire was not simply “a good thing” for first-century Christians, why does Bryan reject the conclusion that it must have then necessarily been simply “a bad thing”?

Roman hegemony did manage to bring an improved measure of peace and security to the lives of subject peoples.

Economically, the Romans replaced one form of exploitation of subject peoples with another but also delivered improvements to public infrastructure.

Roman brutality toward subject peoples was not appreciably worse than the brutality of other imperial overlords in the ancient world, but Roman law and justice sometimes offered better remedies when subject peoples were oppressed by poor local rulers.

All of the above.

Answer 17

All of the above.

Question 18

According to Said as quoted by Bryan, what is the difference between imperialism and colonialism?

Only imperialism, but not colonialism, is based on ideological notions that less advanced societies require governance by more advanced societies.

There is no difference.

Imperialism refers to the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory, whereas colonialism refers to the practice of implanting settlements on a distant territory.

Colonialism refers to the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory, whereas imperialism refers to the practice of implanting settlements on a distant territory.

Answer 18

Imperialism refers to the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory, whereas colonialism refers to the practice of implanting settlements on a distant territory.

Question 19

In what way did first-century Christians pose a “security threat” to the Roman Empire in the eyes of pagans?

Christians repeatedly sought to instigate armed rebellion against the empire.

Christians regularly sought to infiltrate the government bureaucracy to bring down the imperial government.

Since pagans believed that pax Romana (the Roman peace) rested on pax deorum (the peace of the gods), Christians’ persistent refusal to demonstrate respect and honor to the pagan gods threatened to bring down the wrath of those gods on the empire.

All of the above.

Answer 19

Since pagans believed that pax Romana (the Roman peace) rested on pax deorum (the peace of the gods), Christians’ persistent refusal to demonstrate respect and honor to the pagan gods threatened to bring down the wrath of those gods on the empire.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about Roman practices regarding marriage and parenthood is true?

A valid marriage required a license from state authorities.

Mothers played no role in supervising children’s education.

Mothers had no involvement in arranging children’s marriages.

Fathers could reject a newborn child, who would be left outside the house to die of exposure.

Answer 20

Fathers could reject a newborn child, who would be left outside the house to die of exposure.

Question 21

Which of the following statements accurately characterizes Greek (and, therefore, Roman) religion?

Ethics and morality were at the heart of its teachings.

It did not involve any sense of personal faith or personal conversion.

A centralized empire-wide authority regulated and supervised temple services, as well as the selection and the activities of all priests and priestesses.

It utilized a common set of scriptures universally recognized as sacred and divinely inspired.

Answer 21

It did not involve any sense of personal faith or personal conversion.

Question 22

Which of the following statements about pagan temples and their cultic affairs is true?

Although a priest or a priestess was primarily affiliated with the temple and cult of a particular god or goddess, the priest or the priestess was authorized to conduct sacrifices in any of the city’s temples.

Temples were typically maintained by local citizenries in their respective cities as a kind of civic obligation.

Priests and priestesses received extensive religious education and training before undertaking their duties.

Temples were reserved exclusively for performance of ritual religious purposes.

Answer 22

Temples were typically maintained by local citizenries in their respective cities as a kind of civic obligation.