Western Heritage Import 1

3500 BC

Mesopotamia first started developing cuneiform writing. This means they were first able to keep records.

1047-1007 BC

King Saul's reign

1007-970 BC

King David's reign

336-323 BC

Alexander the Great's reign

490 BC

Athens defeated the Persian empire in the Battle of Marathon.

399 BC

Trial and execution of Socrates

323-30 BC

Hellenistic Period

753 BC

Founding of Rome

509 BC

Rome becomes a republic

264-146 BC

Punic Wars

106-43 BC

Cicero

31 BC

End of Roman Republic

What mission was Hammurabi given by the gods?

To destroy the wicked and the evil, so that the strong may not oppress the weak.

How does Hammurabi present his kingship as holy? What does this suggest about the origin of the code?

He was called by and justified by the gods to bring justice to the land.

What is the relationship between the King and the Law (Code of Hammurabi)?

He writes it and he is separate from it

What can the Code of Hammurabi, as a primary source, tell us about a historical people and what can't it tell us?

It can tell us about issues in that time, like social issues and economical issues and the values of the people but not government structure, everyday life, government enforcement of the law or whether people followed it.

What purpose does "the river" serve in the Code of Hammurabi?

It was a punishment that left it up to the gods to decide whether or not to save someone

What is the Lex Talionis? Give examples from the Code of Hammurabi.

Lex Talionis is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 196 says If a man destroys the man of another eye, they shall destroy his eye and 200 is If a man knocks out the tooth of another man of the same rank they shall knock out his tooth

Name the different social classes in the Code of Hammurabi.

The King, the Rich class, the poor class, and the women

What is the rationale behind the hierarchy in the Code of Hammurabi (harsher punishments for poorer people)?

There are more poor people and they are less able to pay fines? Hammurabi needs to keep the majority in check

What is the difference between the two rules in sections 250 and 251 in the Code of Hammurabi? What is the legal concept implied here that is still maintained today?

Rule 250 is that if a bull gores someone out of the blue then no one is at fault but rule 251 is that if this particular bull is known to gore people and the owner takes no precautions against it then he will get fined. People can still get fined today for this kind of negligence.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." What does this mean and why is it important?

In the Bible, God began with creation and he was here first. In the myths, stuff came first and the gods organized it. The Hebrew God has complete power over creation

How does God create things in Genesis?

He speaks and things are.

What does the creation of Man in Genesis 1 suggest about human nature?

God created humans to be very good rather than as slaves as in the myths.

What is the task to which God appointed man?

To take care of the earth and rule over it

According to Genesis, of what two things is man made?

Dust and the breath of life

Describe God's fashioning of woman and man's reaction to the appearance of woman in Genesis 2. What does this suggest about the relationship between man and woman?

He says she is "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" We talked about how woman is under man in class

How does Man fall?

The snake tempts them into eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

After the fall, how do man and woman perceive themselves?

they see themselves as naked and ashamed

What penalties does God inflict on Man and Woman after the fall? What does this suggest about the nature of these penalties?

Shame and guilt, separation form God. Women now have labor pains and are lesser in the relationship and man must work for food. God provided fully for them in the garden and now they must work for it

What is the Covenant? What is the first requirement for entrance into the Covenant imposed by God upon Abraham?

The Covenant is a promise between God and Abraham and his descendants that he will be their God and give them the land of Canaan and Abraham. Abraham and his descendants had to be circumcised.

What is so remarkable about God's revelation to Moses in Exodus 3?

He says I Am who I Am. God is pure being and existence, not like the gods of other cultures. Moses is used to the Egyptian gods that came from something else and did not act this way.

According to Otanes, what is the problem with monarchy?

"it allows a man to do what he likes without being answerable" Every ruler gets so much pride and envy with the position and leads to violent destruction

What is the Greek word used by Otanes to describe the essence of democracy?

Isonomy - it means equality of all the citizens in the state

According to Megabyzus, what is the problem with democracy?

"there is nothing so void of understanding... as the unwieldy rabble" He thinks that mob rule would be the case in a democracy

According to Darius, how do oligarchy and democracy lead to monarchy?

If everyone is equal, one strong person will still seize control and a monarchy will happen. In an oligarchy, the people and oligarchs will be opposed and the people will send a champion to defeat the oligarchs and get a monarchy that way.

After the Persian conspirators vote in favor of monarchy, what does Otanes do? What is the result for him and his family?

He withdraws from "voting" who the king shall be and everyone allows him and his family to live completely free from the monarchy

According to Socrates, why should we disregard the opinions of the many?

The many act at random and don't take facts as they really are. The many are not wise.

What is the crucial belief to which Socrates holds steadfastly? According to Socrates, those who hold this belief cannot have common ground with those who reject it.

That a wrong should never be repaid with another wrong.

Why would Socrates escaping from jail mean harm or injury to Athens?

He wouldn't be upholding the sanctity of the law

Socrates imagines Athens and her Laws reprimanding him for contemplating escape. Describe the relationship between Socrates and Athens/Laws. What claims do the latter have over the former? Given this relationship, why would Socrates; escape seem especially wrong?

He has always upheld the law when it benefited him so he shouldn't stop now just because it doesn't anymore. He has agreed to follow the laws in order to enjoy the rights of citizenship and needs to follow that through. He would sort of be breaking a promise by running and Socrates believes you should never do wrong if you can help it.

Explain "violence is a sin even against your parents, and it is a far greater sin against your country."

His country gave him cultural and physical education and was the reason his parents met and equality of rights. He owes just as much to his country as to his parents, and his country was fair and objective while his parents could not have been.

According to Plato, how does oligarchy degenerate into democracy and then degenerate again into a despotism?

The oligarchs eventually become lazy and don't hold to their ideals while the poor get more and more angry and eventually overthrow the oligarchs to obtain a democracy

How does Plato describe a democratic regime in the Republic?

Each man will live according to his own pleasure. You aren't forced to do anything from taxes to going to war to enforcing laws. Everyone will become indifferent. He calls it "an agreeable form of anarchy" with "equality for equals and unequals alike"

Describe how an oligarchic soul becomes, by turn, a democratic soul and then an oligarchic soul.

Someone who starts out under a monarchy and wants more pleasure becomes democratic. This soul has no self-control or temperance or virtues in general basically. An oligarchic soul comes from the taming of desire and learning of virtue so it is vital to this that those are practiced often and taught by parents/mentors.

What is a "democratic soul" like according to Plato?

Without virtue and gives into every capricious whim

In Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," how does Socrates define the true nature of "Education"?

It is hard to gain and easier to "stay in the dark" but as the prisoner sees more and more light, the campfire, the sun, and learns the truth. This truth can make him unpopular with the people who haven't seen the light yet though...

What is a "polis"?

Greek city-state

What is Aristotle's conception of human nature? What does this conception imply about the nature of human community, including political communities?

We need community to thrive as evidenced by our language ability and to be able to judge between good and evil. In a democratic polis, people have the freedom to pursue things beyond food-gathering. Man needs law and justice in order to be the best he can become.

In a few sentences, articulate Aristotle's doctrine of "Natural Slavery".

Anyone who is a slave is by nature a slave because he belongs entirely to another man. He thinks that some people are marked at birth to be ruled. This is shown by their reasoning ability and their physical stature. He says that the soul rules the body and the body goes along with it and that's how it should happen with man as well

What specific faculty sets Humans apart form other animals? What does this difference have to do with the Polis?

Our reasoning. It is in a polis that we are able to reason and fulfill that part of ourselves

When Aristotle says that the Polis has "self-sufficiency," what does he mean?

The polis with its villages were able to survive alone without outside help.

Name the three good forms of government and the three bad forms of government according to Aristotle.

The three bad types are tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy and the three good types are monarchy, aristocracy, and polity

According to Aristotle, what is the key difference that sets good governments apart form bad governments? (include slavery)

Bad governments are for their own profit and the good governments are for the Common Good. Some people should be ruled and some people should rule, like slavery but the ones who rule should be looking out for the majority instead of their own interests

What kind of institution do Antiochus IV's agents establish in Jerusalem? What role does it play in the King's cultural program?

They set up gymnasiums/education and the King was trying to Hellenize the Roman empire

What sorts of things does Antiochus IV impose upon the Jews? Why are they so offensive to Jewish sensibilities and identity? (name at least 3 things)

They directly defied what was sacred to the Jews. He put a statue of Zeus in the temple, shed innocent blood there, forced them to eat unclean things and kept them from being circumcised

What is Antiochus IV's rationale for his imposing certain things on the Jews and prohibiting other things?

He wanted to get rid of Judaism completely

What does the priest Mattathias respond to the demands of the King's officers? What is the alternative to the course upon which Mattathias has determined?

He says that he and his family will continue to follow Jewish tradition and the Maccabees overthrew the Romans

What are humans made up of, according to Epicurus?

atoms

Why, according to Epicurus, is death "nothing"?

your atoms break apart and you stop being

What role does pleasure play in the Epicurean understanding of good and rational behavior? What do moderation, simplicity, and tranquillity have to do with pleasure?

you can be a little happy all the time or you can get really high and then really low. The good epicurean does everything in moderation to gain maximum pleasure and minimum pain

Some philosophers maintain Necessity as the determining factor for human wellbeing; others claim that it is Chance. How does Epicurus criticize both of these views?

necessity destroys responsibility and chance is inconstant. We need to take responsibility (praise/blame) our own actions

For Epictetus, what does the nature of the cosmos have to do with the existence of God?

it's intricate enough to demand God's existence

According to Epictetus, how does Man relate to God?

God has introduced man as a spectator and interpreter of his works.

According to Epictetus, why should we not be envious or fearful of other men?

we all have different talents and everything that happens is in God's control, so everything happens for a reason

According to Epictetus, why should we accept calamities with gratitude?

they are happening for a reason and a purpose

According to Epictetus, how are women misled? What error are they making?

they think they can only give men pleasure when they should be trying to be virtuous, not beautiful

What is the "Law of the Universe"? According to Epictetus, what is the result of resisting it?

It passes through seasons and decides what's best. Resisting is "a vain struggle"

According to Epictetus, is personal suffering a choice? How or how not?

no. You can suffer outwardly but not inwardly unless you choose to.

What does Polybius believe to be the three governing elements of the Roman Republic and how do they relate to each other?

The Consuls, the Senate, and the democracy. They kept each other in check. It had accountability, knowledge, and stability of order

What is Polybius' view of religion?

Mos Maiourum (way of the ancestors) - keeps people in check morally?

What kind of man was Cato? How does he represent an ideal Roman man? What are his failings, at least in the view of Plutarch?

a virtuous one. he enforced morality and did all the things a Good RomanTM should do

What is Cato's attitude toward Greek learning? Why?

He did not like it. He thought it improper and stupid.

Name the four cardinal virtues.

Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance

According to Cicero, what are the levels of human society, from the most expansive to the most narrow and circumscribed?

household most important, then relatives, city, race/tribe/language. Fatherland could be considered as important as family?

According to Cicero, what is the relationship between philosophy and statesmanship?

A king can do more good or more harm than a philosopher

How does Cicero's view of religion differ (or not) from that of Polybius?

Cicero thinks that a good Roman would do the right thing no matter what because of the goodness of the soul while polybius thinks that it was invented to keep men in line

For Cicero, what do the fox and the lion represent? Which is worse?

The fox is sneaky about wrongdoing and the lion is obvious about it. The fox is worse

How does Cicero resolve the supposed conflict between the good and the useful? How can he maintain this in view of his own experience of bad men gaining power in the Republic?

The useful is what is necessary to live a good life for everyone??

According to Sallust, why were the Romans not known for their writing?

They were busy getting things done

For Sallust, what led to the downfall of the Roman Republic? What led to its rise? What is the peace of religion in Sallust?

ambition and avarice led to its downfall. Stops caring about others and camaraderie and starts becoming selfish

(Long answer) What does the Western Heritage teach us about God and Man's relationship to God?

(Long answer) What does Western Heritage teach us about Political Authority?

(Long answer) What does Western Heritage teach us about Human Community and the Common Good?

(Long answer) What does Western Heritage teach us about right or virtuous behavior and wrong or shameful behavior?

(Long answer) What does Western Heritage teach us about the causes of social or political community, and what does it teach us about the causes of disorder?

(Long answer) What does Western Heritage teach us about the nature and demands of justice?

The History - Herodotus

"Father of History", he wrote the History "in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the Greeks..." and put it on record. Talked about Otanes, Megabyzus, and Darius, each arguing for different government

Pericles' Funeral Oration by Thucydides

spoke about unity and the ideal/democracy of Athens and how it was a polis worth dying for

Crito by Plato

Dialogue in Socrates' prison cell where he convinces Crito that it is not just to escape from prison to avoid execution because he has agreed to follow the laws of Athens.

Letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus

was an atomist, founded epicureanism

The Discourses, Epictetus

teacher of stoicism

The Histories, Polybius

talked about Rome and hellenism

marcus cato by plutarch

Decorum. A good Roman

On Duties by Cicero

responsibility to homeland vs. family