Greece and Iran, 1000-30 Bce

Chapter 4 Study Guide

Greece and Iran, 1000-30 BCE

pp. 104-139

Name: Janejha Jones                                               Date: 8-5-17

The following questions roughly outline Chapter 4 from your textbook.  Each question is directly linked to other questions.  You must be able to discuss the information presented in your chapter within the AP concepts that we discuss in class.  

Be aware that while the questions are basically “in order,” there is overlapping information.  Some later sections may deal with previous questions.

Answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. According to Herodotus, how/why were Greek language, technology, and culture spread to areas along the Mediterranean and Black Sea? “The Greek historian Herodotus describes a famine on the island of Thera in the Aegean Sea in the seventh century b.c.e. It caused the desperate inhabitants to send out a portion of the young men to found a new settlement on the coast of North Africa (modern Libya) called Cyrene.” (page 107)

Ancient Iran, 1000-500 BCE

1. Which empire was the largest ever seen c. 1000 BCE? The Persian Empire

The Rise of the Persian Empire

1. What was the relationship between the Persians and the Median court through the rule of Cyrus? “Cyrus, the son of a Persian chieftain and a Median princess, united the various Persian tribes and overthrew the Median monarch around 550 b.c.e(through marriage). His victory should perhaps be seen less as a conquest than as an alteration of the relations between groups, for Cyrus placed both Medes and Persians in positions of responsibility and retained the framework of Median rule.” (page 110)
2. How did this relationship change with the rule of Darius I? “Medes played a lesser role, and the most important posts went to members of leading Persian families.” He treated the Persian families better.
3. Describe the social structure of the Persian Empire. The society was divided into 3 social classes warrior, priest, and peasants. Warriors being fighters, priest were spiritual leaders, and peasants were farmers and shepherds.

Imperial Organization

1. What was the satrap? What was its importance to the empire? “The Satrap is the governor of a province in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, often a relative of the king. He was responsible for protection of the province and for forwarding tribute to the central administration.”

Administration

1. How were workers treated by Persian officials? “Workers were divided into groups of men, women, and children. Women received less than men of equivalent status, but pregnant women and women with babies received additional support. Men and women performing skilled jobs received more than their unskilled counterparts. Administrators were provided with authorizations to requisition food and other necessities while traveling on official business.”
2. Where was the capital of Persia? Persepolis
3. What is propaganda, and how did Darius use it to his advantage? Propaganda or public relations was used by Darius to craft a vision of an empire of vast extent and abundant resources in which all the subject peoples willingly cooperate.
4. How did Darius use religion to reinforce/justify his rule? “Behind Darius and the empire stands the will of god. Ahuramazda made Darius king, giving him a mandate to bring order to a world in turmoil and ensure that all people be treated justly…Darius has brilliantly joined the moral theology of Zoroastrianism to political ideology.”
5. What are the key elements/beliefs of Zoroastrianism? (1.3.3E) “It preached belief in one supreme deity, held humans to a high ethical standard, and promised salvation.
6. According to your text, how did Zoroastrianism influence later religions such as Judaism and Christianity? (1.3.3E) “It traveled across western Asia with the advance of the Persian Empire, and it may have exerted a major influence on Judaism and thus, indirectly, on Christianity. God and the Devil, Heaven and Hell, reward and punishment, and the Messiah and the End of Time all appear to be legacies of this profound belief system.”

The Rise of the Greeks, 1000-500 BCE

Geography and Resources

1. How did the sea foster cultural developments in ancient Greece? “The lands lying within this zone have a similar climate, a similar sequence of seasons, and similar plants and animals. In summer, a weather front near the entrance of the Mediterranean impedes the passage of storms from the Atlantic, allowing hot, dry air from the Sahara to creep up over the region. In winter, the front dissolves and ocean storms roll in, bringing waves, wind, and cold. It was relatively easy for people to migrate to new homes within this ecological zone without altering familiar cultural practices and means of livelihood.” Page 116

The Emergence of the Polis

1. What characterized the Greek “Dark Age?” The Dark age was a time of depopulation, poverty, and backwardness that left few traces in the archaeological record in Greek history.

New Ideas from the East

1. What ended this Dark Age? “The isolation of Greece ended by 800 b.c.e. when Phoenician ships began to visit the Aegean, inaugurating what scholars term the “Archaic” period of Greek history"
2. Compare the Greek alphabet, with the Phoenician writing system and hieroglyphics/cuneiform. (1.3.3C)

The Nature of the Polish

1. As the ancient Greeks shifted their focus to farming rather than herding, the population began to explode.  What caused this increase and what was the effect on the social structure of the time? As said in the chapter “This was probably due, in part, to more intensive use of the land, as farming replaced herding and families began to work previously unused land on the margins of the plains. The accompanying shift to a diet based on bread and vegetables rather than meat may have increased fertility and life span.”
2. What was the polis? a city-state, an urban center and the agricultural territory under its control
3. What were the acropolis and the agora? Acropolis was the top of the city and agora was the gathering place.

Hoplite Warfare

1. Who were the hoplites and what was their purpose in the polis? Hoplite is a heavily armored Greek infantryman of the Archaic and Classical periods who fought in the close packed phalanx formation.

Colonization

1. Describe Greek colonization. The passage says that
2. What was coinage and what was its impact? Coinage a piece of metal whose weight and purity, and thus value, were guaranteed by the state. Coinage allowed for more rapid exchanges of goods as well as for more efficient recordkeeping and storage of wealth.

Political Evolution

1. What is the difference in an oligarchy and a democracy? Oligarchy, the exercise of political privilege by the wealthier members of society. Democracy, the exercise of political power by all free adult males.
2. How did Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey “put a distinctive stamp” on Greek gods and goddesses? “The Homeric gods were anthropomorphic that is, conceived as humanlike in appearance (though taller, more beautiful, and more powerful than mere mortals) and humanlike in their displays of emotion.”
3. What was the purpose of oracles? “Sacred sites where they believed the gods communicated with humans.” They were places where Greek individuals and communities sought advice or predictions about the future.

New Intellectual Currents

1. What types of changes occurred spiritually, intellectually, and scientifically in ancient Greece by the time of Xenophanes? The Xenophanes were not really concerned with traditional religious concepts they were more concerned with how the world was created, what it is made of, and why changes happen.
2. Who was Herodotus and what did he do/why is he important? Herodotus was historian who published his Historia which were filled with the geographic and ethnographic report, legends, and marvels dear to the logographers.

The Spartan Military State

1. Describe the city state of Sparta. Sparta was primarily built off the military and the actual state became a military base and children at the age of 7 were taken from their homes to become strong enough to be a soldier

Athens and Democracy

1. Trace the formation of Athenian democracy. The Athenian democracy originally starts with people in the higher classes making political decision. Then Pisistratus seized power in which he wanted to weaken the aristocracy’s power and strengthen his. Fast forward a couple years and he gave power to his son Pericles but the assistance of Spartan the Athenians could turn the tyrant family out and Pericles and his political allies transformed Athenian democracy.
2. Compare Athenian and Spartan commerce. Sparta and Athens, though part of the same Greek civilization, evolved politically in different directions: Sparta toward a military oligarchy, Athens to democracy.

The Struggle of Persia and Greece, 546-323 BCE

Early Encounters

1. What was the result of the Ionian Revolt in 499 BCE? “A great uprising of Greeks and other subject peoples on the western frontier, broke out in 499 b.c.e. The Persians needed five years and a massive infusion of troops and resources to stamp out the insurrection.” Page 124
2. What happened during Darius’ attack on Eretria and Athens in 490 BCE? “Eretria was betrayed to the Persians, and the survivors were marched off to permanent exile in southwest Iran. The Athenians probably would have suffered a similar fate if their hoplites had not defeated the more numerous but lighter-armed Persian troops in a sharp engagement at Marathon, 26 miles (42 kilometers) from Athens.” Page 124
3. Xerxes invaded Greece in 480 BCE with a large army and a large fleet of ships. What was the reaction of the majority of Greek communities? Many Greek communities acknowledged Persian over lordship. But an alliance of southern Greek states bent on resistance was formed under the leadership of the Spartans.
4. What was the Hellenic League? How did they impact the war at Thermopylae and Salamis? The Hellenic league was the Spartans. They impacted the war by sending “three hundred Spartans and their king gave their lives to buy time for their allies to escape” page 124.
5. What factors lead to the defeat of the Persians? “The Persians’ difficulty in supplying their very large army in a distant land; their tactical error at Salamis; the superiority of heavily armed Greek hoplite soldiers over lighter-armed Asiatic infantry; and the tenacity of people defending their homeland and liberty.” Page 124
6. What was the Delian League? “Initially a voluntary alliance of Greek states to prosecute the war against Persia.” Page 124

The Height of Athenian Power

1. How did Athens become an imperial power? Athens used the money from Greek allies to build up and staff their navy. They developed mastery naval technology which transformed Greek warfare and politics and brought great powers and wealth to Athens itself.
2. What effects did imperial power have on Athenian society and culture? “Wealthy Athenians paid the production costs of the tragedies and comedies performed at state festivals. The most creative artists and thinkers in the Greek world were drawn to Athens. Traveling teachers called Sophists provided instruction in logic and public speaking to pupils who could afford their fees.

Philosophy in Athens