Western Humanities 201 06 (Midterm) (Key Words) Flashcards
Polis
A small well defined city state. All ____ shared the following features: Acropolis (High fortified point, often where kings or temples dwelled), Agora (Market Area where political, social and economical life took place) and Chora (agricultural hinterland that made a true _____ city state). They were important because they brought diverse people together and generated pride and loyalty among citizens.
Cleisthenes
Solon’s principal successor. Established democracy in Athens beginning in 508 BCE. He created a council in which he lumped together small farmers, merchants, day laborers, and landed nobles in order to get them to collaborate. His reforms were one of the two major events that heralded the end of the Archaic Age and the coming of the Helenic Age.
Socrates / Socratic Method
Athenian, 469-399 BCE. __________ was short, chubby and did not care about his appearance. He searched for the truth with reason and logic. Claimed “Virtue is Knowledge” (a person who knows the truth, acquired through personal struggle for self-enlightenment, will not commit evil deeds). ________ _______ - Cross examines, asking questions, making people defend their views logically. Radicalism - Questioned authority. Belittled fellow citizens. Accused of impiety and corrupting the Athenian Youth and sentenced him to death. He is important because he taught Plato, who in turn taught Aristotle.
Plato
427-347 BCE. Student of Socrates. Believed in harmony, truth, order and justice. “Forms” - Invisible world (what we see around us is nothing but shadows. There was an ideal form of each object), Abstractions (The truth of something is an abstraction. You can never really see it, there is always imperfection. _______ was important because his philosophy is the fountain head of Western idealism (a thought system that emphasizes spiritual values and makes ideas, rather than matter, the basis of everything that exists)
Paul of Tarsus
5-67 CE. Born Jewish and Spoke Greek. Roman citizen and Christian convert. Believed that Jesus was the son of God and that Christianity was for everyone, including Jews and Gentiles. Believed that the Resurrection was the heart of Christianity. Wrote the Epistles, which are considered Christianity’s first theology. He was important because he popularized Christianity (because he was a roman citizen he could travel easily), showed the universality of Christianity, and spread the faith throughout the roman empire.
Sophists
Focused on the human mind. Taught the art of persuasion and argument. No absolute right or wrong, everything is relative. _________ are important because they helped free the human spirit to be critical and creative. They began to move thinking away from the absolute power of the gods.
Homer
Believed to be the originator of epic poetry. Created Iliad and Odessey. Iliad - battle between troy and Greece. Odessey - the story of odessus and his return home. ________’s stories taught morality and the role of the Gods. Values, instructional tales. Homers stories were what people taught to their children, made up history, were used as an educational tool, stressed courage, strength and honor.
Aristotle
384-322. Student of Plato and tutored Alexander the Great. He disagreed with Plato. He was skeptical of the “other world” and had a more grounded philosophy. Believed that the natural world was the only world. Empirical Method - Nature could be studied and understood by observation, classification, and comparison of data from the physical world. ________ was important because he emphasized human beings not gods and the worth of the individual.
John the Baptist
Writer of the fourth Gospel. ______’s Gospel treated Jesus as a wisdom teacher, a reveler of cosmic truths. His gospel has Jesus teach the ability of eternal life. ______ believed that Jesus was God.
The Gospels
Written between 70-90CE.First three books of Christian scriptures outlining Jesus’s life (mainly ministry and last days) Written by Matthew, Mark and Luke. They were called Evangelists after the Greek word meaning those who preach the good word. Each claimed slightly different things: Matt portrays Jesus as God’s anointed king. Luke depicts Jesus as a priest, and Mark sees Jesus as a profit.
