Classics Test 2

pray for me.

What form of government was bronze age reality but myth by classical period

Kingship

What is the title of someone who seizes control of an existing government?

a tyrant / tyrannos

What is Oligarchy

rule of the few

what was the most common form of gov. in Archaic period?

Oligarchy

What did Aristotle believe democracy was?

rule by the poor

what is democracy?

rule by the people

what was the demos according to democrats?

the whole citizen body, adult citizen males, even if only a minority showed up

what was the demos according to critics

a class who could out-number and out-vote the country folk and landowners

what was political liberty

to participate in democratic institutions

what was private liberty

to live as one pleased

what was the most important aspect of liberty

freedom of speech

what was the democrats’ concept of equality?

all should have an equal opportunity to participate in politics

democrats’ concept of equality was strictly what?

political

who made the framework for democracy?

Clesisthenes

what was the problem with Chesisthene’s democratic government

the city has more population than rural areas so holds more power in terms of direct numbers

what were the three civil regions in Athens?

the city, the exterior, and the coast

why was ostracism introduced?

Athens did not want another king

When was ostracism used

when a politician was getting too influential and powerful

was ostracism always permanent?

no, sometimes served simply to break political momentum

around what percent of Athenian population could vote after the Peloponnesian war?

11%

What does assembly / ekklesia mean

calling / summoning together

What did legislators do?

pass laws

what did courts do

dispute resolution

what were magistracies

ruler of sorts, elected by popular vote, administrative functions

why is the term ‘the king of all’ important in regards to law

used to refer to law but also to refer to zeus, emphasizing the importance of law

what is a custom

custom is what we have always done and what is traditionally right

what is a law

taking what we always thought was right and giving it preciseness that can be inscribed

where were first written laws in a greek city said to be drawn up

southern italy

who are the Athenians first written laws attributed to

Draco

what were Draconian laws replaced by

Solon’s laws

what was the issue with assemblies passing laws

passed laws when things looked good in the moment, leading to complex and contradicting system

principal distinction in law was between what

public actions and private actions

what was a public action in greek law

an offence that concerned the community as a whole

what was a private action in greek law

a wrong or injury suffered by an individual with little to no penalties imposed

what did some people do to illicit more serious legal harm to someone

tried to change the character of what happened to make it seem more than it was, changing story from a physical assault to an attack of honour

what could a litigant use to help self in trial?

a speech-writer, logoraphos

what was a common death penalty

drinking poison

what two concepts did the work Oikos suggest

the physical house and those living in the house

What is the word for Greek houses

Oikia (with an a)

where did houses in hellenstic periods face

inward, living areas not visible from street

what was the construction of houses

mud-brick on stone foundation

which rooms tended to be on the ground floor with heavier floors

bathing, heating water, cooking

what does archeology suggest about hearths

they were typically simple or portable

how many spaces did the guest receiving room typically have

5, 7, or 11, avoided odd numbers

where were women’s quarters often in houses

second, less stable story

what did Olynthus give us

foundations for houses and situates houses in relation to each other, insight on how they constructed communities

why was the house’s layout important in the case of Euphiletus’ house

the wife moving downstairs to have easier access to cooking etc for the baby allowed her to have an affair as husband was sleeping upstairs

why are many ascriptions to women problematic

transcribed by men, may not be authentic female voice, male filter

who was Hesioid

the first woman created as a result of the crime of Prometheus - a punishment inflicted on men

what were often greek occurrences with hope?

negative, the expectation that things will improve but they do not, built up expectation that does not follow through

what was the only animal woman not viewed in a negative light

the bee, as it did not wish to talk about Aphrodite things

what was the main role of women in Classical Athens

to bear legitimate children and make heirs

what did Thucydides say the greatest glory of a woman was

social invisibility, the greatest glory is to be the least talked about by men

what was a priest in ancient greece

a civic duty you took up for a limited time rather than an oath you committed yourself to for lfie

which male god had a cult of women

Dionysus

What was Dionysus’ cult of Maenadism

a cult for women meaning ‘ a mad woman’, crazy

where did the cult of Maenadism take women

into the mountains in the winter to temporarily escape traditional roles

where did we get our meaning of the word orgy

from the Maenadism, snowstorm hit trapping women in the mountains and after roman legions went to find them and had wine one thing led to another

what was the original meaning of ‘orgies’

acts of devotions, divine doings attached to Dionysus

how were maenads depicted in art

with wild hair as opposed to the contained hair of respectable wives

what is sparagmos

the tearing apart of a sacrificial animal

what were the two generalizations of slavey in Greek world

1. all times and places in ancient greek world relied on some form of dependent labour to meet its needs

2. there were always free men engaged in productive labour

what was dependent labour

work performed under compulsions other than those of kinship or communal obligation

what was a slave in greek society

a given, a person who is a possession, a chattel of another person

who were considered appropriate to be slaves

non-greek ‘barbarians’ , believed to be natural slaves

what was the ‘ideal’ slave

socially dead, ripped forcibly from organic ties of kin and community and transported to an alien environment, treated as property, no legal or civic personality, no sense of self

what is the term doulos (douleia)

most common term when referring to slaves

what is the term andrapoda

‘man-footed’

what is an oiketes

a household slave

What were the demosioi in Athens

publicly owned slaves who served as minor functionaries in the courts

what was debt-bondage

people enslaved for debt, temporary in principle but not always in practice

Who were the helots at Sparta

an enslaved community who could be killed at any time by master but enjoyed some privileges such as family life

what was the connection between maleness and strength

when threatened, males would display an erection as a way of signalling that it was a group that could defend itsefl

what is the satyr typically a representation of

exuberant male sexuality

what is sexuality heavily related to

power and hierarchies

what was the relation between depictions of married and un-respected women in sex

un-respected women were dominated, in marriage it was more equal

what signalled the ending of a homosexual relationship

the boy beginning to grow a beard

what is a more accurate word for homosexual relationships in greek age

paederasty, a young boy and a mature male

Who was Sappho

female poet who wrote of the island of Lesbos, one piece of women being interested in women

why did greek men choose to seduce boys

could not court women of own class

What is the Symposium

vase painting of eating and drinking, a dinner party of sorts

what does the word symposium mean

dining together

what did a symposium typically consist of

sharing fellowship of a table, reclined couches, related to the warrior’s feast

what ended the proceedings of the symposium

pouring drinks for the gods and a procession through the streets

what did the symposium demonstrate

the solidarity and power of the group

what conversations were typically had at a symposium

political and strategy, typically resulting in violence and change

how does a tale become traditional

by being retold and accepted, handed down through time

what do nature myths explain

meteorological or cosmological phenomena, like Poseidon causing storms at sea

what do aetiological myths explain

myth as proto-science, used to explain things we cannot explain

what is Helle’s fall that names Hellespont

father wants to kill children, mother sends flying ram to intervene and children escape on flying ram but Helle falls off and drowns, sacrificed ram in thanks, skinned it and dedicated the skin to a tree, origin of the golden fleece

how do myths serve as charters

narrowly focused on society, in traditional society every custom or insitiution tends to be validated by a myth, like social order

what is Strutualism

myth as a kind of primitive computer, opposites in relation to one another, providing mediation, often misleads point of myth

psychological theories of myth

Jung proposed theory that myths preserve basic patterns that are universal to the human mind

what is the ritual theory of myth

important connection between myth and religious ritual, brings out latent symbolism of action

What is the minotaur

offspring of king mino’s wife, and a bull, lived in great maze beneath Mino’s palace and dined on offerings of youths and maidens from Athens

How was minotaur defeated

Mino’s daugher, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus and gave him luminous thread to light way in labyrinth, killed minotaur in combat

what does religion do

defines and builds community, but also keeps people out

what is the concept of hylozoism

literally means ‘wood’ but later becomes word ‘matter’ and ‘life’, no distinction for them between matter and spirit

what is the greek world informed by

numerous deities and powerful supernatural forces

what is anthropomorphism in relation to the gods

portrayed as human figures