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
Moodle.
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
Corinthian
Parthenon
pediment
order
symmetria
Salamis relief
golden ratio (1:1.6)
relief
What order is the Parthenon?
frieze
column
fluting
post and lintel
drums
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 each of the readings in the
Norton Anthology. Know plot, characters, themes, key scenes. Prepare for
quotation identification.
The Iliad
The Odyssey (references from 9th grade English, if you choose)
Oedipus
The Republic
Philosophers/Students/Writers
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Sophocles
Sophists
What is Protagoras’ most famous quotation?
Alexander the Great
Terms
chorus
fatal flaw
epic hero
tragedy
hubris
epic/epic form
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 in the two Norton
Anthologies. 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?
What role do the gods play in ancient Greek life?
How are the roles of men and women different in ancient Greek society?
How might you describe the theater in ancient Greece?
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
In all aspects of their culture, the Greeks explored the ideal, which sometimes
included the use of illusion and/or flaw.
HINT: You will need to create your own topic sentences for two body
paragraphs. We will give you the topic for the paragraph (a specific work of art,
architecture, literature, or philosophy) and you must show how the ideal is
demonstrated.
Possible topics for essay body paragraphs: Oedipus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Hektor, Plato’s
Theory of Art and Ideas, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the Parthenon, kouros, Doryphorus,
Dying Gaul, Laocoön and His Two Sons.
Literary Analysis
You will be given some passages from readings we covered in class and be asked to answer
questions about them similar to the ones on the reading pre-test from the second week of school. To
save time, your best strategy may be to skim rather than read closely, since the passages should be
familiar to you already. The questions after the passages will ask you to do some literary thinking.
They will include some of the following terms. Familiarize yourself with these terms, if you do not
know them already:
LITERATURE & WRITING TERMS:
allusion – a reference to a person, place, event, or literary work that the audience should recognize
characterization / to characterize – the way the writer reveals a character's personality or nature;
can be direct or indirect
direct characterization – when the author describes the character or makes statements
about him
indirect characterization – when the author shows the reader something about the character
through the character's words, thoughts, actions, or other characters' thoughts or words about
him or her
conflict – struggle between two opposing forces or characters; can be internal or external (man vs.
self, man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. nature)
context – the parts of a piece of writing, speech, etc., that precede and follow a word or passage and
contribute to its full meaning
cryptic – when meaning is hidden or ambiguous
dialogue – the talking that goes on between characters in a story
divine – belongs to a god or is god-like; heavenly
elemental – the basic or essential part of something
elicit – to draw forth or bring out
figurative language – a word or phrase that departs from everyday literal language for the sake of
comparison, emphasis, clarity, or freshness (e.g., metaphors, similes, personification)
personification – giving human characteristics to ideas, objects, or animals ("The old
mansion glowered down at us from the top of the hill.")
simile – a comparison of two things using "like" or "as" (“He is as fast as a speeding bullet.”)
metaphor – a comparison of two things that does not use "like" or "as" (“Time is a thief.”)
foreshadowing – a hint of what is to come in the story
generic – general, nonspecific
imagery – a collection of word pictures that appeal to the reader; uses metaphor, simile, etc.
infer – to deduce something from what is implied in a text
justify – to prove to be right or valid
juxtaposition – when two things are side-by-side; highlights their differences or unique qualities
monumental – majestic; grandiose; heroic
narrative tone – the attitude the writer has toward the reader, his characters, or his subject matter; a
mood or emotion conveyed in a text
parentheses – used to clarify meaning or to insert supplemental information that isn’t essential to the
text
repetition – a poetic device used in ancient times (repetition of words and phrases)
setting – the time and place in which the events occur within a story
PARTS OF SPEECH:
adverb – a word that describes a verb (often ends in –ly)
antecedent – word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers (“Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg
Address in 1863.” In this sentence, “Lincoln” is the antecedent of “his.”)
noun – person, place, thing, quality, or action (a city, a mayor)
pronoun – part of speech that substitutes for nouns or noun phrases and designates persons or
things asked for, previously specified, or understood from the context (he, it, they, who,
anything)
proper noun – noun used as a name for a unique individual, event, or place (Seattle, Mayor Bing)
verb – part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence