UVM HST2705A Greek History Exam 1 2025

Plato, in the Phaedo (109b) refers to the Greeks as dwelling as ants or frogs around a pond. Plato says this because:

the ancient Greeks lived all over the Mediterranean the Greeks viewed the Mediterranean as their highway

Whereas the first Greek historian __________ wrote about the Persian Wars and was interested in ethnography, geography, and natural history, ____________ the historian of the Peloponnesian War, was primarily interested in war and politics.

Herodotus, Thucydides

The belief that the ancient Greeks were white is a myth, "a traditional tale with secondary, partial reference to something of collective importance." This myth supports the story of __________-___________, "a made-up story of a set of intellectual traditions originating in ancient Greece and Rome that get passed on historically via Rome, and then via the European Renaissance throughout the western parts of Europe, reaching eventually the United States" (Kennedy 96).

western civilization

The story of the ancient Greeks as a source for a white, Western civilization associated with white, European culture, is problematic because

it denies the multicultural origins of Greek culture.

Greek speaking peoples lived all over the Mediterranean, including areas not deemed part of Western Civilization today.

the idea of whiteness did not exist in ancient Greece

Although most Neolithic era settlements were small, the village of _________________ shows signs of urbanization, including a megaron in a large building atop a hall. This megaron is significant because:

Dimini. Iron Age chiefs and great men met in the megaron, signifying continuity in culture following the collapse of the Bronze Age palace it was later used as the basic model for the temple (the gods' house) from the eighth century

In the fourth millennium (3000s) Greek settlements were small, but to the east settlements in____________________________ experienced population rise due to the waters of this alluvial plain which inhabitants learned to tame and channel, allowing for farming innovations.

Mesopotamia

The archaeologist responsible for excavations at Mycenae and Troy in the late nineteenth century was________________________________.

Heinrich Schliemann

The excavations of this archaeologist are important because:

these archaeological excavations allow us to learn about Greece in the prehistorical period

We refer to the Late Bronze Age civilization of mainland Greece as ____________________________after the site of ____________________________, where King Agamemnon's palace was supposed to have been

Mycenean, Mycenea

The archaeologist responsible for excavations at Knossos was ____________________________. He called the civilization which he found there ____________________________ based on the mythical king whose name was ____________________________.

Sir Arthur Evans, Minoan Civilization, Minos

We refer to the Bronze Age as the "Bronze Age" because people learned that adding 10% of__________ to __________ creates bronze, which is harder than copper

tin, copper

In roughly 2250 BCE ____________________________ and other sites in central Greece were abandoned. The area was likely abandoned due to an invasion. These invaders spoke a language belonging to the ____________________________ language family and introduced the Greek language. Only placenames or borrowed words such as melissa (bee), plinthos (brick), and sukon (fig) remain from the language spoken before the introduction of Greek.

Lerna, Proto-Indo-European

The first Greek speakers worshipped the weather god whose name was __________________________.

Zeus

In the 18th century, Sir William Jones noticed similarities between Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Old Irish,Anglo-Saxon, Lithuanian, and Russian. This led to the discovery of __________________________

Proto-Indo-European

The reconstructed lexicon of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) suggests that:

people were organized in families

they participated in farming, herding, weaving

Crete was perhaps originally settled in 7000 BCE by farmers from __________________________

Anatolia

Archaeological evidence suggests there was instability on Crete around 2200, followed by an increase in__________________________ around 2000. As an island equidistant from three continents, Crete was important because:

Population, It was a crossroad for Mediterranean trade

The Minoans adopted from the Near East a __________________________ as their economic model. In this model the palace center:

Redistributive System, gathered, stored, and redistributed to the villages produce from palace lands and private lands, stored grain and olive oil in case of famine

The remains from the __________________________ at Knossos date to 1700 BCE when it was repaired after a fire.

palace

The syllabic script developed around 1900 BCE and used by the Cretans is called __________________.This script was used to:

Linear A, Keep Economic Records

Frescoes in the Minoan palaces owed a debt to the Near East, especially ________________________,where frescoes were intended to glorify royal __________________________ and__________________________. In the Minoan palaces, however, frescoes depict:

Egypt, Families, Kings | Bull leaping, Plant and Animal Life

The palace at Knossos is 3.2 acres with 300 rooms which were organized around a central__________________________. The palace included which of the following?

Courtyards, conduits and drains to supply running water, Multiple Stories

In 1628 a volcano on the island of Thera erupted, preserving the town of _______________________.The influence of Minoan civilization on the island suggests that

Akrotiri, cities on the island of Thera and Crete were trading partners

The depiction and representation of nature—both plant and animal—on items of ritual significance suggest that Minoan religion focused on __________________________. Communal rituals took place in__________________________ and in shrines called __________________________, as well as in palaces, villas, and houses.

Fertility, Caves, Peak Sanctuaries

The open courtyard in Minoan palaces may have been the setting for rituals as well as __________-____________

Bull Leaping

In 2000, the _________ began trading in southern and central Greece

Minoans

The Bronze Age Greeks shared many similarities with the Minoans including:

Palace Structures, The writing system

The similarities between the Minoans and Mycenaeans led Sir Arthur Evans to believe that the Minoans conquered the Mycenaeans. Was he correct?

No

At Mycenae, deep rectangular pits containing bodies were found. These pits are called _______-_______. Dating from the 1600s-1500s, these contain immense wealth suggesting trade with communities all over the Mediterranean and the Near East. These graves have confounded researchers because

Shaft Graves, the village of Mycenae has no discernible structures suggesting infrastructure necessary tosupport such wealth in the 1600s

The pits containing bodies at Mycenae include metals and items from Crete, Cyprus, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, and western Europe. This is important because:

it suggests extensive trade networks for a period about which little is known

____________________________ tombs suggest the growing power of an elite class at Mycenae. This style of tomb was likely derived from a similar type in __________________________. Unfortunately, these were pillaged, although items that have been found suggest wealth on par with earlier graves. Heinrich Schliemann mistakenly called one the ____________________________________________

Tholos, Crete, Treasury of Atreus

In 1939, 600 Linear B tablets were found at the Mycenaean palace of ________________________, the legendary home of the Trojan War leader, Nestor. In 2015, archaeologists at this site discovered a tomb from 1500. Over 75% of the objects in the tomb came from __________________________. Archaeologists do not know who the warrior was who was buried inside.

Pylos, Crete

Michael Ventris built on the previous work of Alice Kober to decipher Linear B. This decipherment ledto the following discovery:

Greek was the language of the Mycenaeans

the Mycenaean Greeks adapted Linear A to the Greek language to keep records

the Mycenaean Greeks ruled Crete by the 15th century BCE

In 1375 ________ was burned and looted, leading to the decline of Minoan Civilization

Knossos

Mycenaean palaces differed from Minoan palaces because Mycenaean palaces

had walls and Minoan palaces did not

were situated on hilltops

were smaller

Mycenaean frescos focus on the following themes

personal combat

hunting

siege warfare

While Minoan palaces have a central courtyard, Mycenaean palaces have a ________, a rectangular hall with an antechamber and porch. Inside the hall was a raised circular hearth flanked by four columns that supported a balcony.

megaron

During the Bronze Age, the most important Mediterranean powers were Egypt and the Hittie empire which covered most of __________ and _______

Anatolia, Syria

According to Hittite records, a group of people known as the __________ were involved in a series of conflicts. Scholars believe this group of people refers to the __________. If this is true, then it would suggest that the Trojan War would have happened roughly in the later 13th century, and it suggests that the Greeks, along with the Egyptians and Hittites were important Mediterranean powers

Ahhiyawa, Achaeans

The Linear B word for king is _______. This is significant because Homer uses the title of ________ in his epics. This king, however, did not consider himself divine.

Wanaka, Wanax

Before 1600 there is little evidence of Mycenaean religion. After 1600 the Mycenaeans seem to have adopted elements of elements of _______ religion

Minoan

Only ________ gods are represented in Mycenaean art. In the Linear B tablets, however, over around thirty gods and goddesses are mentioned including Hera, Poseidon, Hermes, Athena, Artemis, Dionysus, Apollo, and Artemis. ______ is also mentioned, known as the Proto-Indo-European sky father

female, zeus

Pottery from the Mycenaean palace at Tiryns depicts soldiers riding in chariots. The Bronze Age Greeks adopted the battle chariot from the ______-_____ where soldiers fought from chariots. In Greece, however, the chariot was used to:

Near East,

transport warriors to the edges of the battle

By the end of the twelfth century the Bronze Age palaces had collapsed. In addition, many cities

throughout the Mediterranean suffered catastrophes. The capital of the Hittite Empire, Hattusa, was

destroyed. In Egypt, a group of people led by Libyans and perhaps including Greeks attacked Egypt several

times. These men are describes as ________________ in Egyptian inscriptions.

peoples of the countries of the sea (potcots)

The Bronze Age palaces may have collapsed for the following reasons

invasion

revolts of peasants and slaves

depletion of arable land

natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods

When the Bronze Age palaces collapsed, the ancient Greeks also lost knowledge of

how to write linear B

The Iron Age lasted 1200-750/700. We call this period the Iron Age because

They discovered Iron Smelting

For a long time historians referred to the Iron Age as the "Dark Age" due to the lack of __________ evidence.

archaeological

Literary sources for the Iron Age include the works of _________ who wrote about the time period in which he was living and ________ who wrote about events that would have occurred in the Bronze Age.

Hesiod, Homer

After the collapse of the palaces, for most Greeks

The rhythms of life remained the same

By 950, almost every weapon found in graves was made not from bronze but from _______

iron

We refer to pottery during the Iron Age generally as _________. Innovations in this style of pottery include

geometric,

the use of a compass

arcs and circle designs

glazing at higher temperatures

The migration of 1050 is called the ________________. In this migration people moved from mainland Greece to ____________________

Ionian Migration, the west coast of Asia Minor

While most of Greece experienced population declines in the Early Iron Age, _________ remained stable. In fact, some Mycenaean Greek migrated there, building temples on the foundations of earlier Phoenician temples

Cyprus

In the Iron Age, communities were led by chiefs, referred to in Greek as ___________. The archaeological evidence for the existence of chiefs comes from sites like _________ and _________

Basileus, Nichoria, Lefkandi

At _________, the finds include a spacious megaron with a porch. This "chieftain's house" wasremodelled several times. This structure is believed to be a chieftain's house because:

Nichoria

it is identical to other houses, but bigger

At _________ the finds include a cremated man, a woman buried, and two pairs of buried horses. Soonafter the funeral the entire building was demolished and a cemetery appears shortly after. This site issignificant because

Lefkandi, it suggests stratification

The period from 900 to 750 is distinct from the earlier period of the Iron Age because:

new designs and shapes appear on pottery, including animals and humans

the alphabet emerges

Which of the following are elements of the oral-formulaic theory used by bards reciting what came to beknown as the Homeric epics?

stock phrases, lines, and blocks of text

typical scenes and story patterns

What can we learn about Homeric society from Peleus' advice to his son Achilles, "Be both a speaker ofwords and a doer of deeds" (Il. 9.443)?

chieftains where those who were skilled in battle and able to persuade

Which of the following is believed to have been the political organization of Homeric society?

a paramount basileus would lead communities, each of which would have its own basileus

How did warriors acquire hetairoi?

by raiding the livestock of others and providing a feast

___________ governed all relationship in the Homeric. According to its principles, giving and receiving should be balanced, and following a raid, the leader receives a share of plunder and then he distributes prizes for valor. The rest is divided equally among the men. This system helps us understand the conflict between __________ and ___________ in Book One of the Iliad

Reciprocity, Agamemnon, Achilles

________ was a reciprocal relationship in which men from different cities and regions pledged to offer one another protection, lodging, and assistance whenever they traveled to one another's demos. The relation ship was passed down generation to generation, and it was cemented through the exchange of ________.

Xenia, Gifts

A man who is _______ exhibits bravery and skill in fighting and athletic contexts. A man who is ________ is useless in battle. Men must strive to be the best, or _________, when they participate in contests. This is how they acquire _______, defined as honor or esteem, in the eyes of other men.

Agathos, Kakos, Aristos, Time

Do you know the way of the devil

Do you know the wae

In the Iron Age, only sons could inherit property. Daughters, however, would receive a share of theproperty through her ______.

Dowry

Free persons who did not own land and had to work for another person were known as _______

Thetes

In the Iron Age and Archaic Age, fathers would divide their ancestral land, known as ________ evenly among their sons.

kleros

At the end of the Iron Age, there was

a population increase

This shift in population meant that land which had been used to graze animals was converted to fields to grow grain. The POOR/ARISTOCRATS (circle one) had acquired the best fields for grazing over the years, which meant that they were able to grow the most grain

Aristocrats

In the Iron Age, people emigrated because

There was a land shortage

trade

The Euboean Greeks traded all over the Mediterranean. In the east they traded at _______ in Northern Syria, and in the west they traded at ___________ in the bay of Naples

Al Mina, Pithecusae

The evidence of Euboean Greeks' trading routes comes primarily from

Pottery

The Greeks adapted the __________ alphabet to their language shortly after 800

Phoenician

The new alphabet was more accessible than Linear B because

it had 24 letters rather than 87 signs

it included letters for vowel sounds

Which of the following are features of the archaic period

tyranny

hoplite warfare

colonization

synoecism

he process by which territories were incorporated into a capital city from the ninth century until around 750 or 700 is called ___________. For example, people living in the territory of ________ accepted Athens as their political center and referred to themselves as Athenians. Some cities did not undergo this process. Cities with a common culture and heritage sometimes formed federations and joined forces when needed. These are called _________.

synoecism, Attica, Ethne

The council or boule was powerful because

all office-holders became members of the council for life after holding office

In many city-states in the early Archaic period, gene such as the ___________ of Corinth dominated political offices. The later Greeks referred to this type of government as either ___________or ____________. In 657, this family was overthrown by ____________ whose son was _____________.

Bacchiads, oligarchy, aristocracy, Cypselus, Periander

Which of the following were responses to inequality during the archaic period?

colonization

intense raiding

synoecism

Evidence for the process of establishing a colony comes from the colonization of __________, a city in North Africa colonized by people from the island of ______

Cyrene, Thera

In general, it was much easier to become poor in the Archaic period than wealthy. The reason for this is:

the poor relied on the wealthy for loans of seed after a bad harvest, which left them in debt

Which of the following were included as citizens?

free adult men

While many people want to believe that Achilles was blond, the word for blond in Greek, xanthos, describes not only color, but also the smell of __________-_____ and the shimmering quality of _________

cooking oil, Water

After the death of Hector, Memon, the king of ___________ arrives to help the Trojans fight the Greeks in the Trojan War.

Ethiopia

Women in Homer's ___________ have more agency, but they are also depicted as dangerous and threatening. One possible explanation for this is that this dynamic reflects:

Odyssey, male anxiety about women who were not under the control of man

Hesiod is generally considered one of the mesoi because:

-there are roughly 10—12 people living on his farm and would have had 10-15 acres

-he expresses anger at the rulers, a common theme among the middle class

In both the _____________ and _______________ Hesiod tells the story of Pandora. According to Hesiod, Zeusgave Pandora to men

Theogony, Works and Days, as a punishment for Prometheus' theft of fire

One of the best sources for ideologies of hoplite warfare is the poet ________________

Tyrtaeus

Hoplites are called hoplites because

their unique shield, which is called a hoplon

Hoplite formation consists of tightly packed rows. We call this formation

phalanx

Aristocrats may have been upset about hoplite warfare because:

everyone wore roughly the same armor and weapons, making it difficult to distinguish themselves