Euro Notes Quiz 1

Greek and Roman contributions to Western civilization

Provided foundations in law, philosophy, literature, science, political ideas, and art.

Battle of Marathon (490 BC)

Athenian victory over Persia that preserved Greek independence and boosted Athenian prestige.

Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)

480 BC Spartans (Leonidas) against Persians; symbol of heroic resistance.

Athenian democracy

Direct participation by male citizens in assemblies and juries; early model of citizen rule.

Homer

Traditional author of the Iliad and Odyssey; foundational epics for Greek culture and Western literature.

Herodotus

Father of History; wrote about Greco-Persian conflicts and included vivid anecdotes.

Thucydides

Historian of the Peloponnesian War

Hippocrates

Considered father of Western medicine; emphasized clinical observation and medical ethics (do no harm).

Galen's contributions

Major medical writer whose theories, including humoral theory, dominated medicine for centuries.

Four humors theory

Medical idea that health depends on balance of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

Socrates' teachings

The examined life matters; used the Socratic method of questioning; inspired Plato.

Plato

Founded the Academy in Athens; wrote philosophical dialogues on justice, knowledge, and the ideal state.

Aristotle

Emphasized empirical observation, realism, and logic; tutor to Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great

Macedonian conqueror who spread Greek culture across the Near East; died 323 BC.

Rise of Rome

Rome's institutions, law, engineering, and administration shaped later Western political and legal systems.

Diocletian's reform

Reorganized and divided the Roman Empire to improve administration and stability.

Constantine's major actions

Supported Christianity, promoted Christians to office, founded Constantinople, and shifted focus east.

Theodosius I (380 AD)

Made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Justinian's legacy

Legal reform (Corpus Juris Civilis), building projects, and temporary reconquests that strained the treasury.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The West fell, while the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) continued through cycles of revival and decline.

Charlemagne

Crowned emperor in 800 AD, united much of Western Europe, and promoted learning and administrative reform.

Battle of Lechfeld (955)

Otto I defeated Magyar forces, consolidating German power and forming the Holy Roman Empire.

Great Schism (1054)

Formal split between Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic churches due to theological and political disputes.