STUDY GUIDE FOR 200 MID-TERM EXAM I The exam will include all material from the beginning of the class through the lecture on The Successors & Hellenistic Culture. It will also include primary source material from Gilgamesh up to and including the Pericles’ Funeral Speech.. The following are all the possible questions that might be given on the short-answer portion of the mid-term. They are organized by class-theme, as will be the questions on the exam. Society – Hammurabi’s Law Code is not. Why? – According to the Epic of Gilgamesh, what should a king be and what should he not be? – Who united the Upper and Lower kingdoms of Egypt? – What group took over Lower Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, and why are they significant? – To what does the term “Great House” refer? – Who were the first 3 kings of Israel? – How did urbanization affect the government and the religion of the Israelites? – What was the reason for the rebellion against Solomon’s son, Reoboam? – What does the commandment “thou shalt not kill” really mean? – How did the Minoan redestributive system work? – Why do scholars think Mycenaean society was dominated by a warrior class? – The Polis was built on what notion? – How did the use of iron change Greek society? – How did the city state evolve? – According to the Iliad, what happens when kings act childish? – What institution freed Spartan males to spend their time in military training, and how? – How many men comprised the Council of 500? – What institution did the Athenians use to prevent any one person from becoming too powerful? – Why did the Persians decide to invade Greece? – Why was the agora important for the political & intellectual life of Athens? – Why did the other Greek city states resent Athenian power? – What kind of government did the Spartans impose in Athens after the Peloponnesian War? – At the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, why was Sparta unable to besiege and capture Athens? – How does Pericles define democracy in his Funeral Speech? – What does democracy guarantee its citizens, according to Pericles? – According to Pericles, on what is social advancement NOT based? – In what ways did Philip (Alex’s father) prepare the way for his son’s conquests? – How did the Greeks of the southern peninsula look at the Macedonians? – Was Alexander’s expedition into Persia merely one of conquest? Why or why not? 1 – What was the nature of Hellenistic culture? – What factors allowed Hellenistic culture to arise? Religion: Church and State – What kind of buildings does Gilgamesh construct that leads to the idea that church and state are one? – Who built the Great Pyramid? – What change to Egyptian religion did Akenaten initiate? – What did the god Horus represent? – Did the Egyptians regard the Pharaoh as a god? Why or why not? – How does the city of Jerusalem reflect the union of church & state in ancient Israel? – What is the significance of God providing laws governing things like slavery, or how to pay damages for someone being gored by an ox? – According to the prophet Isaiah, what does turning away from God lead to? – As part of Athens’ glory, according to Pericles, what events does the state sponsor? Religion: World View – How were the gods of Mesopotamia different from how we conceive of God today? – Briefly describe the nature of myths. – Give an example from the Epic of Gilgamesh of how people communicate with the gods – Give an example from the Epic of Gilgamesh of how the gods communicate with people – What is the significance of the two names of the sun-god: Re and Horus? – What did the god Amun represent? – What is the “ka”? – Why according to the Tale of Two Brothers, did Bata call out to Pre-Harakhti? – What was the Ennead doing when it came upon Bata? – What did the Ennead do for Bata, and why is this significant? – What is the name of the God of Israel? – Into how many parts is the Tanak divided? – What was the covenant that God made with the Israelites? – What is the “ban”? – What is henotheism and what in Exodus would suggest that the early Israelites were henotheists? – What event does Passover commemorate? – According to Exodus why did all the first-born of Israel belong to God? – What is the primary problem that Isaiah is addressing? – According to Isaiah, how does God punish the Israelites for their sin? – In the Iliad, why did Apollo send a plague on the Greeks? – What did Calches (in the Iliad) watch in order to understand the will of the gods? – As you read in the Iliad, were the Greek gods omnipresent? Why or why not? – How did the ancient Greeks commune with the gods in the Iliad? – When discussing the achievements of Athens on whom does Pericles not focus & on whom does he focus? 2 Gender – What aspects of the feminine (i.e. the nature of women) are described in the Epic of Gilgamesh? – Who was the woman who ruled Egypt as Pharaoh, and why is she significant? – What qualities made Bata a good man according to the Tale of Two Brothers? – Why did Anubis become angry at his brother, Bata? – How did Bata’s wife betray him? – Who only could participate in Passover, and why is this significant? – What is the significance of the fact that only the first-born males had to be redeemed? -What constituted the Greek notion of excellence for men? – What constituted the Greek notion of excellence for women? – In the Greek polis, what was the nature of women-citizenship? – How did Agamemnon and Achilles treat the women they captured? – In the Iliad, what qualities does Thetis possess? – What kind of freedoms/power did the women of Sparta have? – Spartan males spent much of their life living where? – How did the ancients perceive homosexuality? – How much freedom did Athenian women have? – In Pericles’ Funeral Speech, what comprises manliness? – What is the best woman, according to Pericles in his Funeral Speech? 3 …