Honors Humanities Study Sheet
Test #2: Ancient Greece
Don’t forget that you have the Creative Impulse book, which shows almost all the
Greek art and architecture you need to know as well as maps and timelines. The
PowerPoint of Greek art and architecture that you are required to view is posted on
ePark2. There is no other test review PowerPoint for this unit. See the website for
directions for how to access ePark2.
Places
There will be a map, and you should be able to locate all of these places on it.
Athens
Acropolis
Troy
Delphi
Greece
Italy
Aegean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Periods in Art and History
Archaic Period
Classical Period
Hellenistic Period
Architecture
Doric
Ionic
frieze
Corinthian
Parthenon
column
pediment
order
fluting
symmetria
Salamis relief
post and lintel
golden ratio (1:1.6)
relief
drums
What order is the Parthenon? Do you know the column dance?
entasis
capital
4:9
architrave
Athena
Sculpture
kouros
kore
Archaic smile
Kritios/Critios/Krition Boy
Doryphorus
torque
Nike of Samothrace
contrapposto
Dying Gaul
Laocoön and His Two Sons
plinth
Discobolus
Riace Bronzes (in How Art Made the World Film and Ms. Bates’ PowerPoint)
Literature
VERY IMPORTANT: Read the introductions to The Iliad and Oedipus Rex in the
Norton Anthology. Read the summary of Oedipus Rex on the play instructions
handout on the website. Know plot, characters, themes, key scenes. Review
with Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, or Shmoop. Prepare for quotation identification.
See the handout with some practice questions for quotation identification
(under Unit Two Handouts on the website).
The Iliad
Oedipus
The Republic
Philosophers/Students/Writers
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Sophocles
Sophists
What is Protagoras’ most famous quotation?
Terms
chorus
fatal flaw
epic hero
tragedy
hubris
epic/epic form
Alexander the Great
reversal of fortune
democracy
Characters
Know each character, his or her role in the plot, and his or her motivations.
Some of the spellings of these characters’ names are different depending on
your version of the Norton Anthology. If there are two spellings, both will be
shown on the exam.
Athena
Achilles (Akilleus)
Menalaus
Aphrodite
Hector (Hektor)
Astyanax
Polybus and Merope
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Jocaste (Iocaste)
Tieresias (Tyresias)
Agamemnon
Laius
Andromache
Hecuba (Hekuba)
Paris
Hera
Creon
Helen
Priam
Oedipus
Ideas and Themes
What was considered “ideal” by ancient Greeks?
According to various Greek philosophers and characters in ancient Greek literature:
What is true? What is beautiful? What is good?
What are the characteristics of a hero? An epic hero? What is the difference?
What role do the gods play in ancient Greek life?
Are humans’ fates destined, or do people have free will?
How are the roles of men and women different in ancient Greek society?
How might you describe the theater in ancient Greece? Why did Aristotle say
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles was a perfect play? [See Aristotle’s Poetics in your
Norton.]
What are specific ways the geography and climate of ancient Greece shaped its
culture?
How do the arts, literature, architecture, and artifacts of ancient Greece reflect its
values?
Is ancient Greece a dynamic, constantly changing civilization? Or a static, unchanging
civilization?
What common threads do you see in the mythology of the ancient Greeks and the
mythology of the other ancient cultures you have studied?
What do the Venus of Willendorf, the Riace bronzes, super models, and body builders
tell us about human nature?
Thesis for Essay Question
See the separate handouts (under Unit Two Handouts on the website) for the
essay prompt and tips for how to construct a thesis statement.