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Quiz #1

1. Historians sometimes call Early Iron Age Hellas the “Greek Dark Age” because

a. There was a problem with the sun

b. Everyone was poor and covered in dirt

c. The archeological record goes suddenly blank after the collapse of the Bronze Age(true)

d. Black clothing became the norm

The “dark age” is dark to us, because we have much more difficulty “seeing” this period than the surrounding ones, for several reasons. (a) With the collapse of the Bronze Age civilization of the Mycenaean Greeks around 1100 BCE and the abandonment of cities that resulted, the Greeks lost all urban technologies including writing, so there is no documentary evidence giving us direct testimony until a new writing system is developed around 750 BCE. (b) The dispersed, rural civilization of the dark age is also harder to study archeologically because their extremely localized, agricultural economies produced much fewer material goods, because their communities are spread out and difficult to locate and excavate, and because the larger ones became the foundations of cities still occupied today in the modern Aegean.

2. Things that continued unchanged from Mycenaean times into the Early Iron Age include all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Palace-city industry(not true)

b. Everyday agriculture

c. Religious rituals and worship

d. Use of the Greek language and storytelling about the past

The Greeks abandoned their cities with the collapse of the Bronze Age, and their palace-city industry failed. But there was great continuity in the countryside, including agricultural practices, rural religious practices, and the use of Greek and the process of storytelling.

3. Signs of economic and cultural growth in the 9th century BCE include all of the following EXCEPT:

a. A shift from Protogeometric to more aesthetic and ambitious Geometric vase decoration

b. A market for more elaborate craft goods

c. Vast houses occupied by the superwealthy(not true)

d. Domestic luxury items like fine gold jewelry and ivory carvings

There was significant economic growth in the “Dark Age,” including advanced aesthetics and markets for such goods, but housing remained largely uniform and the wealthy did not build palaces as in the Bronze Age.

4. The prominence of independent local chieftains during the Dark Age is suggested by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Basileus, the Mycenaean word for village chieftain, became the usual term for ruler or king

b. A “chieftain’s house” with an added curved courtyard was found in various settlements

c. Wanax, the Mycenaean word for great king, was now used only for legendary or mythical overlords like Zeus and Agamemnon

d. Only the most important man in each village was buried; the rest of the bodies were thrown away(not true)

Dark Age communities were independent and led by a chieftain (basileus), rather than ruled by a king, and burials reflected a wide range of community members.

5. Homer is credited as the author of

a. Iliad and Odyssey(true)

b. Ilyssey and Odiad

c. Theogony and Magogany

d. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie

Homer is the author of two key epic poems, Iliad (the story of the war with Troy, which was also called Ilios) and Odyssey (the story of Odysseus and his journeys).

Optional Extra Credit

EC. Why are the works of Homer important?

Homer’s works preserve the cultural and social conditions of his own time, the 8th century BCE, the last century of the dark age. Key elements include the dominance of chiefs—the local basileus who was both leader and best warrior, represented in Homer as the heroes from all the Greek localities like Achilles, Ajax, and Odysseus. Men were judged on bravery and honor (timē), and were expected to strive to surpass (aretē) in competition with their peers (agon). Strangers arriving in another Greek city expected to be treated with guest-friendship (xenia), a reciprocal pledge of protection, lodging, and assistance symbolized by gifts. This diplomacy and intercity relations were focused through (a) the trade taking place between them and (b) the personal relationships of their chiefs.

Quiz #2

1. Hesiod’s poetry is notable for its

a. lyrics about unrequited love

b. anti-aristocratic point of view reflecting the lives of ordinary people(true)

c. celebration of the great feats of heroes

d. rejection of any form of grammar or syntax

In contrast to Homer’s focus on heroes and gods, Hesiod reflects a grassroots view of everyday Greek life and is often critical of the greed of the nobility and wealthy merchant classes.

2. A polis, or Greek city-state, consists of all of the following EXCEPT:

a. A city and its adjacent territory making up a single, self-governing political unit

b. A council of elders (aristoi) and an assembly of men of fighting age (demos)

c. A small number of citizen-goats used for sacrifices(not true)

d. The governing role of the king/chieftain (basileus) is normally replaced by a council of aristocrats (oligarchy or aristocracy)

The polis was a form of city-state—a city and its adjoining territory forming a single political (and economic) unit. So the emergence of the polis involves formal political unification of an urban market center with its surrounding farmland territory, and centralization of government. Unification involves synoecism, whereby every village, town, and hamlet merge their political (and other) identities into a single unit. Also, rule by basileus (chieftain), characteristic of the dark age, gives way to collective leadership by a small group of magistrates (oligarchy) and an assembly made up of the citizens.

The aristoi—the wealthy, large-estate-holding, educated families—dominate the oligarchies and see it as their right and responsibility to govern. This creates tension with the common people (demos), who increasingly gain various levels of decision-making power.

3. All of the following are true of the revolutionary form of fighting known as hoplite warfare EXCEPT:

a. All citizens were included; if you couldn’t afford your equipment it would be given to you (not true)

b. Hoplites were heavily armored footsoldiers

c. They were arranged in a tightly packed formation called a phalanx

d. The strict equality of the ranks made personal glory and distinctions of wealth and birth less important

A hoplite is a heavily armed footsoldier, named for his large round shield (hoplon). They fight in a large, tightly packed formation called a phalanx. The effectiveness of the hoplite army made other forms of warfare obsolete. Within the hoplite army, made up of all citizens who could afford the equipment, all distinctions of status and birth vanish. As a result, the claim of the aristoi that only they were fit to wield power in the state was weakened.

4. A Greek tyranny is rule by

a. a man who seizes control of the state by coup and governs illegally(true)

b. a legitimate king who has become abusive

c. the nobles in opposition to the people

d. a foreigner who takes a city for his own

Greek tyrants arose when the upper classes’ oppression of the masses yielded a popular figure who was able to seize power illegally with massive popular support, leading to popular reforms and a divisive rule.

5. A statue of a young man, often used as grave monuments or offerings, is known as

a. an agora

b. a gymnasion

c. a kouros (female version: korē)(true)

d. a symposion

The grave monument figure was called the kouros.

Optional Extra Credit

EC. Why did the Greeks colonize during this period?

Reasons for colonization include limited agricultural space in individual poleis; a need to expanded resources and markets, and economic/trade competition between poleis.

Answers only