Western Civ Graham Exam study guide

yeah u know

When did Greek philosophy begin?

prediction of eclipse by Theles of Miletus in 585 BC

• showed that rational explanations were available and phenomena might not just be from the gods

Italian Renaissance

4 of the 5 major cities of western europe with over 100k people were in italy

Started in Italy also because:

• Had lots of Ruins from Roman empire

• Italy was divided into many city-states, local politics encouraged, civic humanism

Petrarch

Writes letters to Augustine and Cicero as if they were friends

• called out cicero, showing both Imago dei and original sin (good, but still had sinful behavior)

• ad fontes: go back to the sources

• distrusts scholasticism

• started humanism

Humanism

intellectual movement, primarily literary, rooted in the love and desire for rebirth of classical and early Christian antiquity

Father of History

Herodotus

• unbiased approach “some good ideas Greek, some barbarian”

• histories: inquiry,

• Objective, done by man, looks at cause

Ionian Enlightenment

Ionia: region of citizen states

• people wanted rational explanations for how things happened

• pre-socratics: group of natural philosophers (scientists) trying to explain how world works

Poleis

GREEK!

• people are independent, but still need to be citizens

• only four of the poleis were democratic

• all poleis had citizens over subjects (unique for time)

Graeco-Persian Wars

• Persian empire conquered a lot in name of Ahura Mazda of Zoroastrianism (AM)

  • under king Darius first

    • Crushed those who believed the lie (did not submit

• In trying to get Athens, went with 30-40k against 9-10k Athenians, Ath rained supreme with only 192 dead compared to thousands of Persians

• other battles also lost

• Victory of Freedom over tyranny

• Celebrate with art, but also causes depravity

Delian League

created after Persian war as a way for regions to unify against Persia

• Poleis sent gold and silver to Delos, Athens ends up using it to beautify their area

• Athens become like Persians, killing countries who don’t provide materials

• Thocydides: wrote on Peloponnesian war, said cause was Athenian Hubris (he was Athenian!)

Peloponnesian War: between Athens and Sparta, Sparta wins

Platos Apology

• logos (words) vs ergos (deeds), basically talk the talk but don’t walk the walk

• “almost convinced me, but none of what u said was true”

• said law of (God'/nature) takes precedence over law of man

• Allegory of Cave: REAL KNOWLEDGE

  • mirrors apology as both killed

2 Lessons:

1. Who or what you are, not what you appear to be

2. Living right and true/wise for whole life w/ constant rewards is very rare

   • world rejects truth

Sophists

Group that gained popularity in Athens during Pelop war

• not particularly wise, but smooth talkers

• power from convincing the masses

Plato vs Aristotle

• P: deduction, A: Induction (top down vs bottom up)

• P: theory of forms, A: Empirical

• P: Reality static/unchanging vs. A: Potentiality

  • substance stays same, attributes change (acorn to oak) vs. opposite (transubstantiation)

• P: virtue=knowledge, A: Virtue=habit(action)

• P: form of the good, A: Golden Mean, relative

Plato and Aristotle TOgether

• Preachers of the polis

  • yet both hate democracy

• Defended pursuit of truth (vs. sophists)

  • believed Truth can b found through reason and empiricism ALONE

• Believed humans are basically good through education or good habit

How did the (rather graphic) stories told to Roman children show their values & what are they? (Sabine women, Romus and Remus, etc.)

Honor, inclusion of outsiders, virtue of families

mos maiorum: customs of our ancestors, or betters

ability to take and handle self criticism

PATRON CLIENT RELATIONSHIP

• pats/plebs

• PATRONIZE communities (how most of region was taken over by rome)

Punic wars

A series of three conflicts between Rome and Carthage that lasted from 264 to 146 BCE, significantly impacting the power dynamics in the Mediterranean region.

Julius Caeser

A Roman general and statesman who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He is known for his military conquests, including the Gallic Wars, and for his centralization of power, which ultimately led to his assassination in 44 BCE.

• following his death, Antony, Octavian, and Lepodus battle for power

  • Octavian and Lepodus team up, causes Antony to team up with Cleopatra (yes same one)

Octavian

• gets knew name Augustus, the first emperor of Rome

• unlike Caeser, did not lie about wanting power

• how did he not die?

  • Politics (tells senate established peace, tries to relinquish power to them, known as “princeps” or first citizen (does not call himself emperor)

  • Religion (claims to have pax deorum, or peace w. the gods, also claims to be chief priest, why would peeps oppose someone in favor with gods)

  • Military (calls EVERYONE who fought in war vets & gives pension, even those against him, squandering opposition)

Official religion vs popular religion

offish strict rituals, keeps state intact

pop (mystery cults) are joyful, fun, “easy”, something for “you” (savior, blessed afterlife)

Diocletian Laundes

A Roman emperor known for his reforms that stabilized the empire and for his persecution of Christians. Led great persecution of Christians, had all copies of scripture handed to emperor (those who obliged became traditores)

Eusebius

A Christian historian and bishop known as the "Father of Church History," who documented the early Christian church and its development.

Catholic vs. Classic Protestant

(which is Augustine associated with?)

Catholic

• says good works are necessary but NOT sufficient for salvation

• Gods prevelent grace gives effort to “climb stairs”, so Augustine needs to put in effort

• process of Justification: searches, comes to terms with, improvement

Classic Protestant

• person is “dead within sin” & God makes a person alive

• ACT of Justification

  • instantaneous, body of death/dead/sleep

Doratism

Traditores: people who gave up scripture that wanted back into church, they said no backsies and church consists of the perfect (plato and Aristotle perfectionism)

Pelgagianism

Pelagius: monk from Britain, rejects original sin, everyone should be perfect, so we all better be (plato and Aristotle Perfectionism)

Arianism

Christ is not equal with God, barbarians believe this

All Gothic groups take this style accept one: Franks!

communitus Fidelium

Community to the faithful ones, faithful to both church AND state, inseparate

3 parts:

1. Christianitas: Christian culture

2. romanitas: how classic Graeco-Roman culture shaped mid ages

3. Germanitas: German culture

Franks

Only group to not accept Arianism, first group for TRINITY

Merovingians

Frank dynasty that tries to uphold Roman education system but to no avail

literacy drops to 1% of pop

had a king (Rex), under king was major domo (like prime minister)

Carolingians

Frank dynasty that did better

Went CHarles Martel → PIppin → Charlesmagne

C mane crowned emperor on Christmas, claimed to be inspired by Roman

Carolingian Renaissance:

• gave us lowercase, also many works still alive from this period

• adorned bibles b/c could not read them but still wanted to exalt them

12th century Renaissance (Scholasticism)

Abelard and Aquinas were important figures here

• differs from Carolingian as they just wanted to go back to Roman time without originality, unlike here

• Abelard wrote (yes and no) showing that even authority figures disagree on major topics

  • revolutionized education with challenging

• Aquinas develops transubstantiation

  • Summa theologica for beginners, crafts both his and opposing arguments very eloquently (no straw man)

Calamitous 14th century

100 years war

Black plague

Famines w/ peasent revolt

Augion Papacy: 3 popes?!?! common folk rebel, sanctify a dog? (Lay piety)