Key: Chapter 8 Study Guide
A. Quick questions (Answer in one to
three sentences. You may download this
study guide from my website or you may
use notebook paper.)
1. What was the geography of Greece
like and in what ways did it affect their
civilization?
It is a peninsula with many islands.
Three-fourths of the mainland is made
up of mountains, which kept them from
having a unified government. However,
the seas allowed them to stay close
enough to keep the same writing system,
religious beliefs, and culture. Also, see #
2, 3, & 4
2. Travel was difficult in ancient Greece
because of rugged mountains, so how did
they become successful traders?
By using the seas for transportation
3. Greece is surrounded by three seas.
How did this result in the exchange of
ideas and religious beliefs?
They shared by traveling the seas.
4. Three-fourths of Greece is covered
with mountains. How did this prevent
them from forming one united
government?
They couldn’t communicate very often.
5. What is Crete and who lived there?
A beautiful island. The Minoans.
6. What is Troy and why is it significant?
a city that was the subject of The Illiad .
The Trojan War took place there.
Know that the Illiad and the Odyssey
were written by Homer.
7. Explain what Greece’s Dark Age
was like.
Trade between Greeks and others
stopped. Greeks returned to a simpler
way of life. It was as if Greek culture had
taken a backward step.
8. Discovery of Minoan paintings
revealed what they valued. What was
that?
The sea
9. Why was Mount Olympus important
to ancient Greece?
The believed many of their gods lived
there.
10. What is a tyrant and why did many
tyrants have the support of the people
for a while?
A ruler who takes over by force. People
liked many of them because they ruled
fairly.
11. What was the purpose of the athletic
festival in Olympia?
To honor the god Zeus
12. Who were the hoplites and why were
their lives often in peril?
They were a wall of foot soldiers who
faced the other army’s soldiers first,
which was dangerous.
13. How is the Greek alphabet different
from hieroglyphics?
Hieroglyphics used symbols to stand for
ideas rather than sounds.
14. How is the Greek alphabet similar to
our alphabet?
Both languages use symbols to stand
for sounds. The word alphabet comes
from the Greek letters and led to our
alphabet.
15. How is a myth different from a fable?
A myth is a story about gods and how
their actions affected people. A fable is
a story that uses animals to teach a
lesson.
16. Explain how you know that Greek
myths reflect Greek ideals, values, and
beliefs.
The Greeks valued courage, strength,
athleticism, and independence, and the
gods mirrored these same values.
17. What were the results of Athen’s
farmers falling into debt?
Solon cancelled all debt, freed slaves,
and created fairer laws.
18. What is an oligarchy? Why didn’t
oligarchies bring a better life to the
poor?
Since an oligarchy was rule by a few
wealthy people, they had no incentive to
better the life of the poor (with the
exception of Athens’ leader Solon)
19. Explain the difference of Sparta’s
government in peace-time versus wartime.
During war-time, two kings ruled. During
peace-time 30 elders ruled.
20. What problems did oligarchies face
in Greek city-states?
Many people stayed poor and became
disgruntled.
B. Answer in at least two sentences.
1. The Greek bard, Homer, told about
an event that happened
hundreds of years before he lived.
What was the event? Why
was it important? How did he know
about it? What is the name of
his book that told about this event?
What
was the name of his next book and what
did it discuss?
Homer told about the Trojan War in the
book the Illiad. He told about
adventures following the war in his book
the Odyssey. The Trojan War was the
greatest war in Greek mythology.
2. Were Greek city-states united or
rivals? Discuss each of these areas and
explain whether the Greeks were united
in that area: writing system, culture,
religion, Olympics, government.
The Greeks in all city-states had the
same writing system, culture, and religion.
They also all participated in the
Olympics. However, in spite of their
common culture because of different
governments, they remained rivals.
3. Discuss Athen’s oligarchy. How did it
lay the foundation for democracy?
Compare and contrast it with our
democracy today.
In Athens all male citizens could
participate in the assembly to form laws
and vote. Free men were citizens instead
of subjects. Solon set up a system
basing political rights on wealth instead
of birth. Though still not ideal, it was a
step in the right direction.
4. Compare and contrast Athens and
Sparta.
While Spartans were tough and warlike
(but still honorable), Athenians were
artistic and creative, peace loving, and
their oligarchy was the only one who
resembled a democracy. The Spartan
boys lived in training camps at the age of
seven to get an education, participate in
sports, and to participate in military
exercises. Spartan girls were trained to
be strong and had more freedom than
girls in other city-states. However, they
were raised to be mothers, not to fight.
C. Important People (5):
In one to three sentences explain who
these people are and what they were
known for:
Mycenaens-were considered to be the
first Greeks. They were warlike and
conquered Minoa. They also borrowed
ideas from the Minoans.
Minoans-were one of the earliest
civilizations in Greece. They lived on the
island Crete.
Solon-the ruler of Athens who instituted
an oligarchy that influenced the
development of democracy
Hesiod- a writer. Much of what later
Greeks learned about religion came from
the works of Hesiod and Homer.
Aesop- the writer of the famous Aesop’s
fables.
D. Define these words (20):
migration (review) The movement from
one place to another
isthmus: A strip of land connecting
larger land areas
mythology: stories of fictional gods who
competed with one another and took
sides in human events. They reflected
the Greek ideals, values, and beliefs.
The Greeks believed the gods
controlled their daily lives.
Monarchy: a form of government with
one ruler (usually a king)
Democracy: rule by the people
Acropolis: A fort built on top of a large
hill
majority rule: One principle of
democracy that allows a law to be passed
when more than half the voters support it
colony: a new settlement separated from
but ruled by a homeland. Greece spread
throughout the Mediterranean region
(Africa and Asia Minor) and introduced
their culture to other people by setting
up many colonies.
peninsula: A stretch of land almost
completely surrounded by
water
agora: An open-air market where people
gathered to trade and discuss the news
of the day
helot: A person conquered by Sparta
who became a slave.
assembly: a lawmaking group
fable: a story with a moral or lesson.
Greek children learned good behavior
from Aesop’s fables.
Socialism: a system of social
organization that promotes sharing
property and wealth with the whole
community. (Note: this was NOT
practiced in ancient Greece.)
veto: to reject
mercenary: A soldier who is willing to
fight in the army of a foreign country for
payment
E. Four review questions will be on the
test, and they were not in your study
guide. You need to know that…
1. the Rosetta Stone was important
because it was the key in the translation
of hieroglyphic writings.
2. in hunter-gatherer societies, the role
of gatherers was to collect seeds and
roots for food.
3. During the ice age, sea levels dropped
because water was trapped in glaciers.
4. Human patterns of migration often
matched the movement of hunted
animals.