Chapter 4 Study Guide
Greece and Iran, 1000-30 BCE
Name:_____________________________________ Date:________________
The following questions roughly outline Chapter 5 from your textbook. Each question is directly linked to other
questions.
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Be aware that while the questions are basically “in order,” there is overlapping information. Some later sections
may deal with previous questions.
1. According to Herodotus, how/why were Greek language, technology, and culture spread to areas along
the Mediterranean and Black Sea?
Ancient Iran, 1000-500 BCE
2. Which empire was the largest ever seen c. 1000 BCE?
The Rise of the Persian Empire
3. What was the relationship between the Persians and the Median court through the rule of Cyrus?
4. How did this relationship change with the rule of Darius I?
5. Describe the social structure of the Persian Empire.
Imperial Organization
6. What was the satrap? What was its importance to the empire?
Administration
7. How were workers treated by Persian officials?
8. Where was the capital of Persia?
9. What is propaganda, and how did Darius use it to his advantage?
10. How did Darius use religion to reinforce/justify his rule?
11. What are the key elements/beliefs of Zoroastrianism?
12. According to your text, how did Zoroastrianism influence later religions such as Judaism and
Christianity?
The Rise of the Greeks, 1000—500 BCE
Geography and Resources
13. How did the sea foster cultural developments in ancient Greece?
The Emergence of the Polis
14. What characterized the Greek “Dark Age?”
New Ideas from the East
15. What ended this Dark Age?
16. Compare the Greek alphabet, with the Phoenician writing system and hieroglyphics/cuneiform.
The Nature of the Polis
17. 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?
18. What was the polis?
19. What were the acropolis and the agora?
Hoplite Warfare
20. Who were the hoplites and what was their purpose in the polis?
Colonization
21. Describe Greek colonization.
22. What was coinage and what was its impact?
Political Evolution
23. What is the difference in an oligarchy and a democracy?
24. How did Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey “put a distinctive stamp” on Greek gods and goddesses?
25. What was the purpose of oracles?
New Intellectual Currents
26. What types of changes occurred spiritually, intellectually, and scientifically in ancient Greece by the
time of Xenophanes?
27. Who was Herodotus and what did he do/why is he important?
The Spartan Military State
27. Describe the city state of Sparta.
Athens and Democracy
28. Trace the formation of Athenian democracy.
29. Compare Athenian and Spartan commerce.
The Struggle of Persia and Greece, 546-323 BCE
Early Encounters
30. What was the result of the Ionian Revolt in 499 BCE?
31. What happened during Darius’ attack on Eretria and Athens in 490 BCE?
32. 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?
33. What was the Hellenic League? How did they impact the war at Thermopylae and Salamis?
34. What factors lead to the defeat of the Persians?
35. What was the Delian League?
The Height of Athenian Power
36. How did Athens become an imperial power?
37. What effects did imperial power have on Athenian society and culture?
Philosophy in Athens
38. Why was Socrates put on trial? What was the ultimate result of his sentence on other intellectuals?
39. How did Plato foster literacy after the death of Socrates?
40. Who was Aristotle?
Inequality in Classical Greece
41. What was the status of slaves in Classical Greece?
42. How/why did Aristotle rationalize slavery?
43. Compare the treatment of women in Athens and Sparta.
Failure of the CityState…
44. What was the Peloponnesian War? What was the outcome?
Philip and the Rise of Macedonia
45. How did Philip of Macedonia create the “premier military power in the Greek world?”
46. What was the Confederacy of Corinth?
Alexander’s Conquest of Persia
47. What lead to the fall of the Persian Empire?
48. How did Alexander control his empire?
The Hellenistic Synthesis, 323-30 BCE
49. What happened to Alexander’s empire after his death?
The Three Kingdoms
50. Describe each of the three kingdoms.
Alexandria
51. How did Alexandria gain fame in the ancient world?
Environment + Technology: Ancient Astronomy
52. Why was astronomy so important to ancient civilizations?
53. What astronomical discoveries were made by the Egyptians? Babylonians? Greeks?
Chapter 5 In Review
54. How did the Persian Empire rise from its Iranian homeland and spread to encompass diverse cultures?
55. How did Greek civilization evolve and spread beyond its original territories?
56. How did the Persian Wars and their aftermath affect the politics and culture of ancient Greece?
57. How did a cultural synthesis develop during the Hellenistic Age?