Chapter 4: The Aegean World and the Rise of Greece:
Trade, War, and Victory
Multiple-Choice Questions
1.
Why are the more than 100 Aegean islands between mainland Greece and Crete known as
the Cyclades?
a. This area of the Aegean is prone to cyclones.
b. The islands historically played an important role in the trade route cycle.
c. The Greeks believed this to be the home of the mythic Cyclops.
d. The islands form a rough circular shape.
2. Cycladic figurines are thought to have served a mortuary function because most were
a. found in temples.
b. inscribed with a person’s name.
c. found in graves.
d. painted black.
3. We know that the Cycladic and the Minoan cultures had contact with each other from
a. similar motifs in their frescoes.
b. DNA testing on tomb remains.
c. written records mentioning contact.
d. similar sewage systems in their cities.
4. In Minoan art, the bull is associated with
a. male virility and strength.
b. the Greek god Zeus.
c. an agriculture-driven economy.
d. the Egyptian god Tholos.
5. How do we know that the Minoans were a peaceful society?
a. No weapons have been found in excavations of Minoan sites.
b. There are no battle scenes in their art.
c. Their palaces and towns were unfortified.
d. Their principal deities were all female.
6. The Minoans are believed to have abandoned Knossos in about 1450 BCE because
a. they were overwhelmed by the Mycenaean army.
b. the palace was buried by lava from a volcanic eruption.
c. the trade route shifted to the Greek mainland.
d. the palace was destroyed by an enormous earthquake.
7. How do we know that the Mycenaeans were a warlike people?
a. They left written records of their many conquests.
b. Battle and hunting scenes dominate their art.
c. Ares, god of war, was their patron deity.
d. They buried their dead with armor and weapons.
8. What new architectural form did the Mycenaeans develop to bury their kings?
a. the catacomb
b. the dolmen
c. the necropolis
d. the tholos
9. All of the following are epic conventions EXCEPT
a. invoking a muse at a poem’s outset.
b. using verse composed in iambic pentameter.
c. beginning a poem in media res.
d. stating a poem’s subject at the outset.
10. Homer included formulaic epithets in his poems to
a. undermine traditional poetic structure.
b. add length and drama.
c. fit a given name into the line’s meter.
d. maintain the rhyme in the heroic couplets.
11. In the Iliad, why does Achilles become angry with the Greek leader Agamemnon and
withdraw from the Trojan War?
a. Agamemnon takes the beautiful Briseis from Achilles.
b. Agamemnon names Hector, not Achilles, as general.
c. Achilles sympathizes with Priam, the Trojan king.
d. Achilles wants to attack the Trojans, rather than surrender.
12. The Greek concept of arête involves
a. showing compassion to one’s enemies.
b. being the best that one can be.
c. accepting the gods’ role in determining humans’ fate.
d. demonstrating fidelity to one’s spouse.
13. Whereas anger and lust drive the Iliad, the Odyssey is driven by
a. trickery and lies.
b. betrayal and forgiveness.
c. love and familial affection.
d. pride and virtue.
14. In both the Iliad and the Odyssey, peoples’ lives and choices are controlled by
a. Zeus, king of the gods.
b. Ares, the god of war.
c. Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
d. the people themselves
15. Athens is thought to have emerged from the Dark Ages as a leading polis because it
a. was the most isolated of the city-states.
b. was the largest in area.
c. was on the seacoast and had the best harbor.
d. had provided a safe haven during the Dark Ages.
16. The citadel located in the Greek polis’s center that served as the religious center was known
as the
a. agora.
b. acropolis.
c. pantheon.
d. symposium.
17. Among the classical Greek architectural orders, the heaviest and most massive is the
a. Corinthian.
b. Doric.
c. Hellenistic.
d. Ionic.
18. Among the classical Greek architectural orders, the lightest and most elegant is the
a. Corinthian.
b. Doric.
c. Hellenistic.
d. Ionic.
19. Most kouroi have been found in
a. temples and shrines.
b. palaces and public buildings.
c. sanctuaries and cemeteries.
d. buildings lining the agora.
20. The female equivalent of the kouroi, korai seemed to serve the function of,
a. decorations for private homes.
b. votive offerings to Athena.
c. mannequins for clothing shops.
d. commemorative grave markers.
21. Which of the following helped pottery flourish in Athens?
a. Athens was the only site with clay deposits in Greece.
b. Athenians had more leisure time to create art than residents of other cities.
c. The Athenian government provided financial support for artists.
d. Athenians developed a new, much faster potter’s wheel.
22. Whom did the Athenians view as the founding father of their polis’s democracy?
a. Draco
b. Solon
c. Sappho
d. Pisistratus
23. In 508 BCE, Athens turned to a democratic form of government
a. in response to the threat of Persian invasion.
b. to launch a campaign against the Spartans.
c. in reaction to the tyranny of Hippias.
d. to appease the revolting peasants.
24. In 508 BCE, who instituted the first Athenian democracy by establishing a Council of Five
Hundred?
a. Cleisthenes
b. Hippias
c. Pisistratus
d. Solon
25. During his lifetime, an Athenian citizen could serve on the Council of Five Hundred
a. once.
b. twice.
c. ten times.
d. twenty times.