Civ IN – Preparation sheet for 1st Midterm exam
Lecture 1A- Prehistory
I)
Evolution
II)
Paleolithic Age
III)
Neolithic Age
IDs:
Literalism
homonids
Ancestor worship
Evolution
Fire
Neanderthal
Lecture 1B- Neolithic Civilization
I)
Agricultural Revolution
II)
Urban Revolution
IDs:
Domestication
river plain societies
Irrigation
Lecture 2A- Mesopotamia
I)
Mesopotamian Cities
II)
Sumerian Empires
IDs:
Fertile Crescent
surplus
Polytheism
Inventories
Sumerian empires
Tribute
Hammurabi
fides et ratio
hunter/gatherer
Cromagnon
Pictographs
Ziggurat
Cunieform
Pantheon
Lecture 2B: Ancient Egypt
I)
Origins
II)
Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms
IDs:
Egyptian climate
natural protection
maat
Pharoah
Pyramids
intermediate periods
Foundations
ethics
Hyksos
Egyptian empire
General Crisis of the Ancient World
Lecture 2C: The Ancient Hebrews
I)
Origins
II)
Exodus
IDs:
Scriptural history
documentary hypothesis
Monotheism
Abraham
Isaac
Sacrifice
Monolatry
Ishmael
Decalogue
Lecture 3A: The Rise of the Hebrews
I) Exodus (con’d)
II) Empire
IDs:
Mt. Sinai
Decalogue
social justice
Joshua
Judges
Kings
David
Solomon
Israel
Judah
Lecture 3B: Exiles and Diaspora
I)
Invasions and Exile
II)
Second Temple Judaism
IDs:
Assyrians
“Lost Tribes”
Babylonian Captivity
Synagogues
Cyrus the Great
Zoroastrianism
Talmud
Sadducees
Zealots
Masada
Covenant
reconquest
Royal power
Prophets
Diaspora
Messiah
Pharisees
Septuagint
Lecture 3C: Early Greece
I)
The Bronze Age (3500 BC-1200 BC)
II)
The Dark Age (1300-750 BC)
III)
The Iron Age (750-500 BC)
IDs:
Minoans
Mycenaean
Dark Ages
Homer
Oligarchy
Polis
Alphabet
Phalanx
tyrants
civic religion
Crisis of Ancient World
ethnos
Agora
Hoplites
Reason
Lecture 4A: Becoming Greek
I)
City States: Corinth, Sparta, Athens
II)
First Persian Invasion
III)
Second Persian Invasion
IDs:
Eunomia
Helots
Solon
Peisistratus
Darius
Miletus
Marathon
Trireme
Xerxes
Thermopyle
Ekklesia
Barbarians
despotism
Ostracism
Salamis
science
Lecture 4B: The “Golden Age” of Athens
I)
Athenian Empire
II)
Athenian Thought
IDs:
Delian League
Pericles
Peloponnesian Wars
“survivors”
Socrates
Plato
Thucydides
Sophocles
Lecture 4C: Hellenism
I)
Alexander
II)
Hellenistic Empire
IDs:
Philip of Macedonia
Hellenistic cities
Epicurians
Alexander the Great
“Koine”
Stoics
Demagogue
Sophism
“The Cave”
Alexander’s heir
Cynics
II) Possible essay questions. I will select three of these five questions for the exam. You will
have to answer one of them in a well-written, informative essay.
1) What new elements did the Hebrews add to the religious understanding of the ancient
times? Compare their ideas on religion with their predecessors and contemporaries,
including Paleolithic and Neolithic peoples, the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians, the
Canaanites, and the Zoroastrians.
2) Empires have had both positive and negative effects in human history. Discuss the
Sumerian, Hebrew, Assyrian, Persian, and Hellenistic empires- which ones were the most
beneficial and which ones were the most destructive? Why?
3) Democracy in ancient Greece offered great promise, although it also created serious
problems. Describe the positive and negative development of democracy in Athens
during the Archaic Period and the “Golden Age” of Athens.
4) Who contributed the most to Greek influence in the modern world: Homer, Pericles,
Socrates, or Alexander? Discuss and compare the respective achievements of each
person.
5) The Hebrew sacred scriptures and Homeric epics are two literary documents that also
contain a wealth of historical information. How do their non-historical origins affect the
issue of their historical “credibility”?