Ancient Greece – Final Exam Review

Identifications:

You should be prepared to give a three to four sentence identification of any of the following.

You should also be prepared to locate any of the following places on a map of the Mediterranean.

Essay Questions:

For to the people I gave so much honor as is sufficient, neither diminishing their timÍ nor adding to it in profusion. As for those who held power and were admired for their wealth, I saw to it that they, also, had nothing shameful. I took my stand, covering both in the protection of my mighty shield, nor did I allow either side to win unjustly. (Solon, fr. 5)

Explain how Solon's reforms provided a compromise between the factions in Athens. What advantage did each group obtain? What did each have to give up? In what ways did Solon's reforms fail to resolve the problems of Athens?

How do the "wooden walls" of the Delphic Oracle (Hdt. VII.140-143) define the polis of the Athenians? Discuss at least three examples in which the "wooden walls" are more significant than the walls of the city itself.

What are the common elements of Greek narratives of colonization? Why do these elements appear in so many colonization stories? What is the significance and function of these elements? Use at least three stories of colonization as examples to make your points.

In Pericles' funeral oration (Th. 2.45.2), Pericles claims that the greatest glory is for the woman "who is least talked about among the men whether for good or for bad." What does this statement show about the changing status of women in Athenian society? What factors influenced this change of status?

What can the tales of the birth of a leader tell the modern reader about how that leader was perceived by his contemporaries? What common elements in the stories provide clues? Explain with regard to at least two such stories found in Herodotus or other sources.

Discuss how innovations in military technology or tactics changed the socio-political and economic situations of Greece in at least three cases.

What roles did women play in Spartan society? What do the conflicting sources have to say about Spartan women?

Thucydides describes the symptoms of the plague in Athens in vivid and horrifying detail (Th. 2.49 ff.), but he also uses the idea of disease to describe the moral conditions of Greek cities during the war. Describe the symptoms of this disease and discuss some of its worst outbreaks.

Why did the Greeks colonize? What conditions, economic, social, and political, led to the process of colonization in the Archaic period?

Using at least three examples from comedies or tragedies, explain the advantages and disadvantages of using dramatic sources as historical evidence. How does such evidence differ from that of a historical chronicle such as Thucydides or Diodorus Siculus in scope, detail, or credibility?

How did the Spartans develop hoplite warfare to the peak that they did? How did the reforms of `Lycurgus' and the social customs of Sparta contribute to its military prowess? What were the limitations of the Spartan system?

In Herodotus III.80ff., the Persians debating the best form of government give speeches that put forth the advantages and disadvantages of monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy. Briefly cite examples from Greek history both before and after the Persian Wars that illustrate these advantages and disadvantages.

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Herodotus or Thucydides or Plutarch or Xenophon or the Aristotelian Athenian Constituition as a source for historical information.

What impact did the expansion of trade with the Near East and the Italian peninsula have on the development of the Greek polis?

How does the difference between the poetry of Alcman and the poetry of Tyrtaeus reflect the changes in Spartan society between the times of those poets?

Personal relationships (friendship, hatred, romance, marriage, etc.) between prominent individuals played an important part in politics within the polis and between states. Describe the effects of at least three such personal relationships from different periods in Greek history.

What narrative pattern do the tales of tyrants, in Herodotus and elsewhere, display? What does this pattern reveal about the way in which the Greeks regarded absolute rulers? Use examples from stories of at least two tyrants. How does Herodotus' story of Deioces provide a contrast?

How did the reforms of Cleisthenes the Athenian differ from the reforms of his grandfather from Sicyon? What effects did these reforms have within the society of the polis and in the polis' relations with other states?

What does the appearance and positioning of monumental temples in the Archaic period reveal about the development of the Greek polis?

What role did PanHellenic sanctuaries such as Delphi and Olympia play in the political and social history of Greece? Discuss their significance using examples from at least three situations.

According to Hesiod (Works and Days, ll. 11-24), competition is a fundamental element of Greek culture. Discuss at least three examples in which competition shaped historical events that we have discussed in class.

The Peloponnesian War pitted Athens' naval power against the Spartan land empire. What strengths and weaknesses of naval and land empires were revealed during and after the Peloponnesian War?

Alcibiades' speech (in Th. 6.15-18) attempts to justify his personal extravagances to the people of Athens. What does this speech reveal about the conflicts of individual and public interest in the Greek city-state?