Untitled Flashcards Set

MODULE 1: ANCIENT GREECE 

Minoans: 1900-1400 BCE 

Lived on the island of Crete, capital of Knossos.  

Prosperous- vast building structures 

Seafaring- large harbors for ships 

Peaceful- no walls around the city, no weapons discovered by archeologists 

Evidence that they lived in a matriarchal society (ruled by women) 

Mycenaeans: 1600-1200 BCE 

Lived on the Peloponnese Peninsula, capital- Mycenae. 

Militant and aggressive- Had giant walls, loved war 

Conquered all of Minoans by 1400 BCE 

Trojan War- attacked Troy in a ten-year battle 

Heinrich Schliemann: 

German boy AD 1800s, loved the story of Trojan War and wanted to visit the site. His mom told him the story was fake, but he became an Archeologist and went there with a team of archeologists, using the texts of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, along with other traditions. Went to modern day Turkey, discovered the burned remains of the city of Troy. Also discovered the Ancient Greek city of Mycenae and a golden mask that could have belonged to Agamemnon. 

Homer: 

Either a blind poet named Homer or a collection of poets who wrote the accounts and formed the Iliad. 

Greek gods: 

Greek religion had no scripture, doctrine, or rituals 

The Greek gods were a lot like humans, immoral, unpredictable, jealous 

Lived on Mount Olympus, a real place 

Zeus (Jupiter)- King of gods, throws lightning, cheated on his wife, Hera a lot 

Hera (Juno)- Patron of women and goddess of marriage and maternity 

Poseidon (Neptune)- god of the seas, waters, and earthquakes. Brother of Zeus. Carries a trident 

Hades (Pluto)- god of the underworld, land of the dead. 3-headed dog (Cerberus) guarded the entrance to the underworld 

Apollo (Phoebus)- god of the sun, intellect/reason, music, prophecy, and medicine. Son of Zeus. Often depicted with a lyre.  

Aphrodite (Venus)- goddess of love and beauty 

Athena (Minerva)- Virgin goddess of wisdom, war strategy, and civilization. Patron of Athens. Often depicted wearing a helmet, carrying a shield and spear. Associated with owl (wisdom), olive tree (peace). Daughter of Zeus, born from his head 

Ares (Mars)- god of war. Son of Zeus and Hera. Often depicted wearing armor. 

Hermes (Mercury)- messenger god, god of fertility, theft, dreams, commerce, and the marketplace. Usually depicted with winged sandals and a winged hat. 

Artemis (Diana)- goddess of the moon, childbirth, hunting, and wild creatures. Often depicted with a bow and arrow or hunting dogs. Daughter of Zeus. 

Demeter (Ceres)- goddess of the harvest. Has the power to make crops grow. 

Persephone (Proserpina)- goddess of fertility. Daughter of Demeter. Wife of Hades. 

Dionysus (Bacchus)- god of wine, reveling, and sexuality. 

Heroic Code- Doing brave deeds in battle so the poet will sing your name forever. 

 3 Characteristics of the Archaic Style: 

1. Rigid and robot-like 

2. Fists clenched at side 

3. Weight equally on both feet 

Polis- During this time, Ancient Greece was made up of 200 independent city-states called poleis; the singular is polis. 

Acropolis- The highest hill in the city, where temples to the gods were built. 

Democracy- Invented by the Greeks. Demos meaning “people” and kratos meaning “power”->> “Power to the people.” 

Olympics: 

Instituted in 776 BCE in Olympia on the Peloponnesian Peninsula 

Happened every 4 years 

They were so significant to the Greeks, they counted time by them. Year one was 776, and every four years was called an Olympiad 

5-day festival, held even during times of war. Temporary truces were called and visitors were granted safe travel conditions. 

200-yard dash, 1-mile footrace, discus-throw, javelin, long-jump, wrestling, boxing, etc.  

Only men and boys were allowed to compete or attend 

Athletes competed nude (Ancient Greeks loved and celebrated the human body) 

Winners just received a crown of wild olive or laurel leaves, along with their pride. 

Persian Wars: 

War between Greeks and Persians 

Greeks were at a disadvantage because they had independent states, which had its own military, while the Persians had one unified army. 

Battle of Marathon: 

490 BCE, 10,000 Greeks get lucky and defeat 90,000 Persians at the plains of Marathon, 26.2 miles outside of Athens.  

One of the Greeks, Phidippides, runs 26.2 miles back to Athens to tell them the news (26.2 miles is the distance of a marathon today) 

Battle of Thermopylae: 

150,000 Persians return to Greece, led by Xerxes 

Go up against 300 Spartans, led by King Leonidas 

The Persians have to travel through a tight mountain pass to reach the Plain of Thermopylae. The 300 Spartans hold them off long enough for word to reach the city of Athens, so the citizens can evacuate in time.  

The 300 are all killed in battle, but the delay allows word to reach Athens so the citizens can escape the city in time.  

The Persians conquer Northern Greece and destroy an abandoned Athens. 

Battle of Plataea: 

Greeks defeat Persians, who never again return to Greece 

Athenians claim to be the saviors of Greece and set about liberating the rest of the country 

This launches the Golden Age in Athens 

The Golden Age in Athens: 

Period of relative peace, great intellectual enlightenment and artistic expression blossoms 

Athens becomes the dominant city-state and ushers in a Golden Age of drama, philosophy, music, architecture, and art between 480-430 BCE 

Significant in history because they spent their time creating things and helping people, rather than killing foreigners  

Delian League: 

478 BCE Several independent city-states band together with Athens to form the Delian League (name comes from a treasury that was set up on the island of Delos) 

Independent city-states would send money to support a standing army to protect the Greeks from outside invaders, if the need were to arise.  

454 BCE Pericles, an Athenian leader, steals the Delian League treasury money, brings it back to Athens, and uses it to rebuild the city, including the Parthenon, a monument to Imperialism. 

He justifies himself by telling the people that since Athens did most of the work in the Persian Wars, it is rightly theirs 

This launches the Peloponnesian Wars (written about by Thucydides) 

Peloponnesian Wars: 

431 BCE Sparta, angry about the stolen money, launches war against Athens (independent city-states vs independent city-states) 

404 BCE Spartans conquer Athens 

4 Characteristics of the Classical Style: 

1. Humanism: Human beings have unlimited potential. Humanism believes that people are the ultimate measure of everything and continue to travel toward perfection. “Man is the measure of all things”- Greek philosopher, Protagoras. “Many are the wonders of the world, and none so wonderful as man.”- Greek playwright, Sophocles. 

2. Idealism: Representing things in a perfect state. Idealized figures have no blemishes, in their prime of life, not sick or wounded.  

3. Rationalism: Placing faith is reason. Can usually see the rationalism in the faces. Figures have a thinking face rather than an emotional expression. 

4. Contrapposto: “weight shift”, more weight on one leg than the other. Not rigid, look like they could twist with their flexible spine.  

3 Orders of Greek Architecture: 

1. Doric: The capital is plain---like a rectangle 

2. Ionic: The capital looks like a scroll 

3. Corinthian: The capital looks like a plant (acanthus leaves) 

Know the parts: Capital, Base, Frieze 

Naturalist Philosophers; 

Applied reason to the outside, natural world to try to understand it. 

Key members… 

Thales “The Father of Philosophy” wanted to find the fundamental substance of all things. (Believed it was water) 

Pythagoras developed math and music. Believed that proportions developed through number, is the true basis of reality. Known for Pythagorean theorem. (absolute truth) 

Hippocrates “The Father of Medicine” thought disease came from an imbalance in the bodily humours (blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile). 19thh century physicians would “blood let” if you had a fever. Hippocratic Oath: “first, do no harm” 

Sophists: 

Turned from the world of nature to the inner world (the mind)  

Believed in relative truth 

Protagoras believed sensory appearances and beliefs are only true for the person whose appearances and beliefs they are (relative truth) 

Socrates: 

(1 of the Big 3) 

Believed in absolute truth and cared about the inner world of people. 

Opposed the views of the naturalists bc they disagreed with each other so how could truth be absolute? And they cared about the outside world when he cared more about the inner world (how we should conduct our lives, what is good, what is just) 

Opposed the views of the Sophists because they believed in relative truth. 

Famous sayings: “know thyself”, “The unexamined life is not worth living” 

Socrates would go down to the Agora (marketplace) and ask the citizens of Athens questions to help them think about what matters most in life. 

Question-and-answer technique is known as the Socratic Method (aka dialectic method) 

Considered himself a large gadfly, stinging Athens into consideration of why they did the things they did.  

399 BCE Socrates was brought to trial for 2 crimes: 1) corrupting the youth, and 2) not believing in the local gods. He was sentenced to death by drinking the poison hemlock. 

Socrates’ pupil, Plato begged him not to drink it because it was an unjust sentence. Socrates drank it and died anyway because he believed it was better to have injustice done to you than to do injustice. He believed that Athens had done so much good for him, he should have to take the bad (unjust sentence) with the good. To violate the will of the community would be unjust and he’d prefer death to that.  

Plato: 

Student of Socrates, founded the academy in Athens (world’s first school of philosophy) 

One of Plato’s biggest ideas was The Theory of Forms: we can’t trust our senses because they don’t tell us the truth. Everything is an illusion. 

Allegory of the Cave: Group of prisoners chained up in a cave, all they have known since they were young, never been outside the cave. Because of their chains, they can only look forward at the cave wall, where they see shadows of the outside world. They think these shadows are the real things, but if one of the prisoners broke out of the chains, they could go and see the real things rather than the shadows. He would run back and tell the others, but they would want to kill him because they think he’s crazy. 

The Allegory of the Caves illustrates Plato’s Theory of Forms. It shows how everything in this world is all just illusions and shadows. 

Aristotle: 

Student of Plato. Tutors Alexander the Great (Socrates taught Plato, who taught Aristotle, who taught Alexander the Great) 

Rejects Plato’s Theory of Forms. Thinks we can only know things through our senses. Doesn’t know of a higher realm that we can access through our senses, the only world we need to be concerned about is this world of experience, here and now. 

Empirical Method- Truth comes through experience (through our senses) 

Golden Mean- (way to know how to live- ethics) A virtue is a midway point between 2 vices. Ex. Between pride and self-abasement is self-respect. 

4 Characteristics of the Hellenistic Style: 

1. Individualism- Focusing on a singular person, not the whole community (comes from Alexander the Great) 

2. Realism- Emphasis of showing things how they truly are (not perfect) 

3. Internationalism- Having an understanding and respect for all people 

4. Emotionalism- Emphasis on emotions and feelings 

Module 2: ANCIENT ROME 

2 Roman Myths: 

(about the founding of Rome) 

1. Romulus and Remus: 2 brothers raised by a she-wolf. When they grow up, Romulus kills Remus and founds the city of Rome. 

2. Aeneas: Myth of a Trojan who escaped the destruction of Troy during the Trojan War (1200 BCE) and sails to Rome where he founds the city. (Virgil’s Aeneid) 

3 Groups From Whom Rome Borrowed Ideas: 

1. Etruscans- Taught the Romans about city planning, chariot racing, the toga, and the arch. 

2. Greeks- Gave the Romans a system of gods (but they changed the names), linguistic and literary principles, and the classical style of art. 

3. Phoenicians- Bestowed the Romans with an alphabet and sailing skills. 

Republic: 

Romans overthrew the Etruscan kings and established their own monarchy. Slowly began to conquer all the Italian peninsula. A Republic slowly develops with a Senate, where elected senators would make laws. This is closer to the US representative democracy than the direct democracy that we saw in Module 1 with Athens. 

Patricians vs Plebians: 

Patricians- wealthy landowners (had control of the Senate for most of its existence) 

Plebians- workers who farmed the land. 

Julius Caesar: 

Successful general who defeated many of his rival generals. Led a Roman army just north of the Rubicon River. Once him and his army marched across the river, there were only 2 possibilities: He would successfully conquer the city or be put to death for treason.  

He conquered Rome and became its leader. 

His famous quote: Veni, vidi, vici, which means “I came, I saw, I conquered” 

Later leaders of Rome gave themselves the title “Caesar” 

He instituted a Julian calendar and named July after himself 

His enemies were nervous because of his growing power. Brutus and Cassius, two senators, are the ones who history says plotted his assassination. 

Empire: 

After years of civil war, Octavian/Octavius won control from Mark Antony, who committed suicide. He renamed himself Caesar Augustus (Latin- “Sacred One”)  

Named the month of August after himself 

Declared himself emperor. Rome falls from a republic to an empire 

Octavian/Caesar Augustus: 

Institutes Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”), which comes at a terrible price. 

All power is transferred to one man, the Emperor. No legal safeguards against the emperor’s will, Roman citizens find their lives subject to his personal whims.  

Augustus uses excessive, violent force against those who don’t want to be part of the Roman empire or who aren’t loyal to him.  

3 Roman Values: 

1. Pietas: A deep sense of respect for all people. The opposite of furor (“unrestrained passion” or “fury”). A Roman especially had pietas, or a deep sense of respect for the paterfamilias, “head of the family” “father” 

2. Duty: A true Roman would do their duty to Rome 

3. Gravitas: A deep sense of seriousness 

Pompeii: 

City was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 CE 

Buried everything in volcanic ash 

MODULE 3: WORLD RELIGION 

Judaism: 

God made a covenant with Abraham to give him all the land of Canaan and Abraham promised that they will be a people for God.  

Moses wrote the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) 

Monotheism- Belief in one God 

Ethical and spiritual obligations- Commandments they had to follow 

Covenant- promise between 2 parties 

The Shema- Jewish prayer that affirms belief in God 

Tefillin or Phylacteries- Tiny black boxes with the Shema in them 

Mezuzah- brass rectangle with the words of the Shema on the doorpost of your house as a reminder of the covenant. 

Diaspora- Spreading of a people from their original homeland 

Early Christianity: 

Messiah- Meshiach (Hebrew for Messiah), Christos (Greek for Christ) All of these words mean the same thing, “Anointed One” 

Yeshua/Jesus- Yeshua (Hebrew for Joshua or Greek for Jesus) 

Jesus’ 3 Important Teachings: 

1. Nonviolence: Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Love your neighbor and your enemy. For the first 400 years after Jesus, Christians took this literally. Refused violence and refused to serve in the military. St. Augustine wrote about “just war” in his work, City of God. He taught that if you have virtue in your heart, you can “put to death wicked men… and by no means violate the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not kill’” Which is the opposite of what Jesus taught on the Sermon on the Mount, but it has been passed down to Christianity today.  

2. Rich needs to share wealth with the poor: A rich young man came to Jesus and said he had kept all the commandments, what else did he have to do to have eternal life, Jesus told him he hadn’t kept the most important commandment “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and given the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me” 

3. Help the marginalized: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-46) 

Emperor Constantine: 

Roman Emperor, not a Christian. Believed in Roman gods but understood that if he could unify the beliefs of the Christians throughout Rome, he could unify his empire. 

Council of Nicea: 

325 BCE Constantine called all 318 Christian bishops to meet, debate, and decide the nature of God once and for all. (Nicea- a city in modern-day Turkey) 

Nicene Creed: 

Council of Nicea produced this creed, saying they believe in one God the Father, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. (Trinity: their “compromise”) 

Emperor Theodosius: 

How does Christianity become a worldwide religion? 

380 CE Christianity becomes the official Roman religion and is forced upon all Roman citizens by Emperor Theodosius 

Council of Carthage: 

Early Christians used the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). New Testament wasn’t really seen as a collection of books until hundreds of years after Jesus. 

Paul and others wrote letters and other books which were hand-copied by Christians (until the printing press was invented, almost 1400 years later) Problems with copyists and translators and forgeries.  

397 CE Council of Carthage gathered the bishops together again to decide which Christian writings were true, and which were forgeries.  

The excluded books are called the New Testament Apocrypha. 

Byzantium- the name of the city that became a second capital of the Roman Empire and developed a new flavor of Christianity. 

Constantinople: 

330 CE Emperor Constantine moves the seat of government from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium which he renamed Constantinople (“City of Constantine”)  

Today, it is known as Istanbul, Turkey 

Schism between East and West: 

1054 CE Christian church splits because of 2 doctrinal problems that the church in Constantinople (East) had with the church in Rome (West). The bishop of Rome and the bishop of Constantinople excommunicate each other. 

Roman Catholic Church- The name of the church in the West. Catholic means “universal” 

Greek Orthodox Church- The name of the church in the East. Orthodox means “the right way” 

3 Characteristics of the Byzantine Style: 

1. Flat and non-realistic 

2. Abstract Symbolism 

3. Gold 

Islam: 

One of the largest religions in the world. Practiced today by 2 billion people. 

“Islam” means “submission to God” 

Muslim- Followers of Islam. The word Muslim comes from the Arabic root, meaning: “those who submit” 

3 Abrahamic Religions: 

All see Abraham as their great father 

1. Judaism  

2. Christianity 

3. Islam 

Muhammed- The last great prophet in Islam, following such prophets as Abraham, Moses and Jesus. (Jesus is a prophet in Islam, rather than the Son of God, as the Christians believe) 

Mecca- The holiest city in Islam. Where Muhammed was born 

Night Journey: 

Around 621 CE, Muhammed goes on a journey, physically and spiritually, on a winged steed to the highest hill in Jerusalem (the third holiest city in Islam). There, Muhammed is cleansed. Gabriel gives him a test, which he passes. Muhammed and his heavenly guide, Gabriel ascend through the 7 stages of heaven. At each stage, he meets and learns from prophets: Adam, John the Baptist, Jesus, Joseph, Idris, Aaron, Moses, and Abraham. He then continues on without Gabriel to meet Allah (God). Allah instructs Muhammed to pray 50 times a day, but Muhammed talks him down to 5 times a day.  

Hijra: 

622 CE after not having much success converting people to Islam in Mecca, Muhammed takes his followers and moves to Medina (the second holiest city in Islam). This journey is so significant, its named Hijra and becomes the first year of the Muslim calendar. Over a few years in Medina, he converts the entire population to Islam. 

Kaaba- 629 CE, Muhammed returns to Mecca with 10,000 men, conquers the city, and destroys the idols in the Kaaba, with the exception of the Black Stone, which originally fell from heaven. Muhammed becomes the political and spiritual leader of Mecca. 

5 Pillars of Islamic Faith: 

1. Confession of Faith- (Shahadah) “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger” 

2. Prayer- 5 times a day, facing Mecca 

3. Alms- giving money or goods to the poor and needy 

4. Fasting- No food, or drink, or sex during the sacred month of Ramadan (which commemorates the month Muhammad received his divine calling from Gabriel.) Occurs in every season of the year. 

5. Pilgrimage or Hajj- pilgrimage to Mecca, during the 12^th month of the Muslim calendar, to circle the Kaaba 7 times. Believing Muslims would want to make this journey at least once in their lives. 

Qur’an: 

The holy book of Islam, the “eternal and absolute word of God” 

Qur’an is Arabic for “recitation”. It is sacred poetry intended to be chanted or sung, rather than read silently.  

Considered untranslatable, so you have to read it in Arabic to read the true Qur’an 

Comprised of 114 suras (chapters) that reveal the nature of God and the inevitability of judgment and resurrection. Contains guidelines for everyday living. 

Jihad: 

Arabic for “struggle”. It really means the struggle within me to be good 

Greater Jihad- I want to contain the anger, lust, and other forms of indulgence within me to be a good person 

Lesser Jihad- struggle to expand Islam 

Sunni- Largest branch (90%) of Muslims today. Live throughout the world, but particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Indonesia, etc. They believe that religious leaders should be chosen from the faithful. 

Shia- (Shiites) make up about 10% of Muslims today. Live primarily in Iran and Iraq. They believe that only direct descendants of Muhammad should rule. They claim descent through Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. 

Islamic Scholarship: 

During the Middle Ages (Dark Ages) in Europe, the only texts that were copied and preserved were Christian texts, by the monks in monasteries. Europe lost the Greek writings of Plato, Aristotle, Homer, etc.  

We have them today because Muslim scholars preserved them. 

When the Muslim scholars reintroduced the lost Greek and Roman texts to Europe, it launched a period of great learning in Europe called the Renaissance. 

Today, we use Arabic numbers, which the West learned from the Muslim scholars.  

Some of the most beautiful calligraphy in the world is Islamic calligraphy.  

Buddhism: 

Prince Siddhartha was raised in a luxurious palace with servants to wait on him 

One day, he went outside the palace gates and saw great human suffering. People were hungry and homeless. Troubled by this, he left his father’s palace to live in the wilderness 

He meditated for 6 years, finally achieving enlightenment while sitting under a bo (fig) tree. He learned the 4 Noble Truths 

He’ll eventually become the Buddha 

His followers teach that anyone can reach Buddhahood: the ability to see the ultimate nature of the world 

4 Noble Truths: 

1. Life is suffering 

2. This suffering has a cause, which is ignorance 

3. Ignorance can be overcome and eliminated 

4. The way to overcome this ignorance is by following the Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration 

Nirvana- right now, we are all human beings, the top level of the cycles. We’ve almost made it