A History Of World Societies Combined Volume

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A History of World Societies Combined Volume 10th Edition By John P. McKay – Test Bank

Sample Test

c3- Essay

Answer each of the following questions with an essay. Be sure to include specific examples that support
your thesis and conclusions.
1. India was both protected from invasions and yet open to trade with other civilizations. Which
geographical features provided protection from invasions, and which fostered trade with other
civilizations?

2. What are possible theories about the cause of the Harappan civilization’s collapse?

3. Why might the Aryans have been able to assume authority in northern India?

4. Describe the essential teachings of Buddha. How did Buddhism modify Hinduism? How can we
explain the appeal of Buddhism?

5. In what ways did Indian civilizations interact with those outside India? What impact did contact
with other civilizations have on the development of Indian civilization?
Answer Key

1. Answer would ideally include:

· Oceans to the south surround the subcontinent of India. To the north are the Himalayas and dense
forests or large deserts. These features helped to protect India as a region from invaders. However, the
oceans, long coastlines, and predictable wind patterns also allowed for trade with other civilizations
such as Mesopotamians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. India also occupied a central location in the
trade routes for goods moving from Africa, the Middle East, and China.

2. Answer would ideally include:

· Archaeological evidence indicates that the Harappan urban centers and the port of Lothal were
abandoned or had greatly reduced populations by approximately 2000 B.C.E. Historians no longer
believe powerful invaders brought the decline. Theories about what caused the decline include
environmental disasters such as earthquake or drought, the collapse of agriculture owing to a buildup of
salts from irrigation, the collapse of long-distance trade, a devastating outbreak of disease, or any
combination of these factors.

3. Answer would ideally include:

· Harappan society had been in decline for a number of generations. This, coupled with the Aryans’
superior military technology, opened the door for a change in leadership. The Aryans most likely spread
into the area over the course of several centuries. Additionally, the Aryans themselves were willing to
make changes, as illustrated by their ready adoption of South Asian agricultural products and food.

4. Answer would ideally include:

· Buddha offered a solution to the Vedic problem of the wheel of life and the process of rebirth and re-
death. He identified four noble truths: that suffering is inescapable, that suffering is caused by desires
and attachment to worldliness, that people can recognize their attachments and overcome them, and
that following the Eightfold Path of “right” behaviors and conducts allows one to overcome desire and
suffering. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism rejected the caste system and thus presented a path to salvation
open to all people. Also, Buddha did not believe that the individual’s identity continued to exist after
death. The Eightfold Path presented a “middle way” between extreme asceticism and worldly life.
Buddha, too, did not distinguish between male and female; he argued that each could achieve
enlightenment—a policy that also applied to one’s socioeconomic status. Because his optimistic
message was not extreme, many people were drawn to Buddhism.

5. Answer would ideally include:

· Indian civilizations interacted with other civilizations via conquest and trade. The empires of both
Persia and Alexander the Great both came into contact with the Indian civilization via their attempts to
conquer parts of northern India. Both influenced the north by suggesting new ways to organize and
administer an empire, such as the use of provinces and governors, as well as methods of taxation. Greek
art and culture were also very influential. Trade, particularly in the south through the port cities located
along India’s long coastline, brought in material items from other cultures (such as coins, silk, and
spices).
c3- Matching

Use the following to answer questions 1-16:

Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided
in the Definitions section.

Terms

Jainism

bodhisattvas

Eightfold Path

Mauryan Empire

samsara

Code of Manu

karma

Aryans

brahman

Harappan

Rig Veda

Four Noble Truths

Mahayana

Brahmins

dharma
caste system

1. The Sanskrit word for moral law, central both to Buddhist and Hindu teachings.
_________________

2. The Indian system of dividing society into hereditary groups whose members interacted
primarily within the group and especially married within the group. _________________

3. Priests of the Aryans; they supported the growth of royal power in return for royal confirmation
of their own religious rights, power, and status. _________________

4. The transmigration of souls by a continual process of rebirth. _________________

5. The first Indian civilization; also known as the Indus Valley civilization. _________________
6. The earliest collection of Indian hymns, ritual texts, and philosophical treatises, it is the central
source of information on early Aryans. _________________

7. The tally of good and bad deeds that determines the status of an individual’s next life.
_________________

8. Indian religion whose followers consider all life sacred and avoid destroying other life.
_________________

9. The “Great Vehicle,” a tradition of Buddhism that aspires to be more inclusive.

_________________

10. The Buddha’s message that pain and suffering are inescapable parts of life; suffering and anxiety
are caused by human desires and attachments; people can understand and triumph over these
weaknesses; and the triumph is made possible by following a simple code of conduct.
_________________
11. The codification of early Indian law that lays down family, caste, and commercial law.
_________________

12. Buddhas-to-be who stayed in the world after enlightenment to help others on the path to
salvation. _________________

13. The dominant people in north India after the decline of the Indus Valley civilization; they spoke
an early form of Sanskrit. _________________

14. The unchanging ultimate reality, according to the Upanishads. _________________

15. The first Indian empire founded by Chandragupta. _________________

16. The code of conduct set forth by the Buddha in his first sermon, beginning with “right conduct”
and ending with “right contemplation.” _________________

Answer Key

1. o. dharma

2. p. caste system

3. n. Brahmins

4. e. samsara

5. j. Harappan

6. k. Rig Veda

7. g. karma

8. a. Jainism

9. m. Mahayana

10. l. Four Noble Truths

11. f. Code of Manu

12. b. bodhisattvas

13. h. Aryans

14. i. brahman

15. d. Mauryan Empire

16. c. Eightfold Path

c3- Multiple Choice

Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. The earliest Indian civilization developed along what river?

A) Nile

B) Euphrates

C) Ganges

D) Indus

2. In terms of India’s geography, what regions have been home to its great empires?

A) Fertile plains in the river valleys

B) Forests at the foot of the Himalayas

C) Deserts of the Rajasthan regions

D) Jungles of the Vindhya Mountains

3. What was one of the first crops to be developed in India?

A) Rice

B) Lentils

C) Cotton

D) Wheat

4. The first Indian civilization—the Harappan civilization—is also known as which of the following?

A) The Mauryan Empire

B) The Indus Valley civilization

C) The Indo-Aryan civilization

D) Mesopotamia

5. What is unusual about the written language of the Harappan people?

A) It consisted of only four hundred letters.

B) It was very similar to Sumerian cuneiform.

C) No one has yet deciphered it.

D) It was written on papyrus and silk.

6. Compared to ancient Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations, what makes the Indus civilization
unique?

A) It was nearly twice as large in territory.

B) It lasted less than three hundred years.

C) Its people did not grow cotton.

D) It was not a literate society.

7. Harappan craftsmen are the first known producers of what cloth?

A) Wool

B) Linen

C) Cotton

D) Silk

8. Harappan houses were built around what feature?

A) A household shrine

B) A burial site

C) A cooking hearth

D) A courtyard

9. What was one of the most unique features of Harappan cities?

A) Assembly halls

B) Wide roads

C) Communal wells

D) Drainage systems

10. On which of the following did the prosperity of the Indus (Harappan) civilization depend?

A) Extensive trade with China

B) Intensive cultivation of the fertile river valley

C) The religious toleration shown to conquered peoples

D) Their skill in making and trading jewelry

11. Like early Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization, Harappan civilization depended on what
annually?

A) Visitation from the gods to provide for abundance during harvest

B) A short but wet growing season

C) Attending the Tigris River Valley seed market

D) Floods and irrigation to sustain agriculture

12. The remnants of Harappan script have been preserved on what material?

A) Clay tablets
B) Linen paper

C) Bronze discs

D) Wood tablets

13. Which of the following was true of the Aryans?

A) They were the native people of the Ganges Valley.

B) They were a warrior people who destroyed the Indus civilization.

C) They put an end to the strict Harappan caste system.

D) They spoke an Indo-European language.

14. The Aryans spoke an early form of what language?

A) Sanskrit

B) Hindi

C) Persian

D) Tamil

15. What was the Rig Veda?

A) An oral collection of military stories

B) The name given to Harappan texts

C) An oral collection of ritual texts, treatises, and hymns

D) A collection of Greek epics borrowed by the Aryans

16. Who was at the head of each Aryan tribal group?

A) A raja or chief

B) A head priest

C) An assembly of tribesmen

D) A god-king

17. What did the Aryans use to ease the difficult task of clearing the jungle?

A) Fire

B) Iron tools

C) Pesticides

D) Wooden plows

18. What are priests referred to as in the Indian caste system?

A) Brahmins

B) Jains

C) Buddhas

D) Shudras
19. How was Indian slavery in the Vedic Age similar to slavery in Mesopotamia?

A) Only men captured in warfare were enslaved.

B) Men in the nobility were the only ones who could own slaves.

C) Men might sell themselves and their families into slavery to pay debts.

D) Slaves were the only people who could serve as butchers.

20. Who were the “untouchables” in the varna system?

A) Women who belonged to the lowest caste

B) Outsiders who were considered “impure”

C) The nobility

D) Child slaves

21. Which of the following statements is true about women in ancient Aryan society?

A) Women could never remarry if widowed.

B) Almost all females were married while they were still children.

C) Women lived in patrilineal and patriarchal tribal groups.

D) Women were economically equal to men and could hold property.

22. Who commonly performed the important ritual sacrifice of animals in Brahmanism?

A) Untouchables

B) Teenagers, because they were considered pure

C) Male rulers only

D) The priestly caste

23. With what sacred text did the Aryan religion shift to a more ascetic and philosophical religion?

A) Rig Veda

B) Sutras

C) Upanishads

D) Mahabharata

24. To what does the term asceticism refer?

A) What Brahmans refer to as the individual soul

B) The practice of severe self-discipline and self-denial

C) The rejection of anthropomorphic gods

D) All of the Brahman faith’s sacrificial rites

25. According to the Upanishads, what is moksha?

A) Human reincarnation as a lower animal

B) A cleansing fire ritual for women after childbirth

C) Release from the wheel of life and freedom from reincarnation

D) The cosmic tally of one’s deeds

26. How did the introduction of the concepts of samsara and karma from the Upanishads affect
Indian society?

A) It destabilized Indian society by undermining Brahmin privileges.

B) It led society to consider the concepts part of the Hindu response to Buddhism and Jainism.

C) It made Kshatriya fear that existing authority would be undermined.

D) It stabilized Indian society by encouraging the poor to work hard, live righteously, and do good
deeds.

27. Mahavira was the founder of what Indian religion?

A) Jainism

B) Buddhism

C) Hinduism

D) Sikhism

28. According to Mahavira, what kinds of objects have souls?

A) Only human beings have souls.

B) All objects, living or inanimate, have souls.

C) Only living creatures, human and animal, have souls.

D) All animate objects, but only some inanimate objects, have souls.

29. In response to their belief about souls and karma, Jains developed what kind of views about life
forms?

A) All souls are equally sacred, and to harm any is equally bad.

B) Plant life is more vulnerable and thus more important.

C) Humans are more important than plants but not other animals.

D) Humans are the most sacred form of life.

30. What motivated the Jains’ practice of radical nonviolence?

A) A reaction to the brutality their founder had suffered from the Brahmins

B) The desire to avoid the karmic consequences of harming other life forms

C) The belief that nonviolence would put an end to class conflict

D) The fear that a warrior class would dominate their small population

31. Buddha preached his sermons in what language, so as to reach the wisest possible audience?

A) Sanskrit

B) Tamil
C) Magadhi

D) Tamil

32. Buddha taught that individuals could triumph over human weakness by

A) following an ascetic lifestyle.

B) following the Eightfold Path.

C) entering a monastery.

D) properly observing the rituals of Hinduism.

33. What is the last step in Buddhism’s Eightfold Path?

A) Contemplation

B) Conduct

C) Awareness

D) Endeavor

34. What are sutras in the Buddhist tradition?

A) The steps on the Eightfold Path

B) Animals sacrificed to the Buddha

C) The written teachings of the Buddha

D) Sacred names taken by monks

35. What was the main ritual performed in Buddhist monasteries?

A) Extreme asceticism

B) Pilgrimage to Nepal

C) Growing one’s own food

D) Communal recitation of sutras

36. What qualified Bodhisattvas to help guide Buddhist believers to enlightenment?

A) They had already achieved enlightenment.

B) They were descendants of the Buddha himself.

C) They were once Brahmin priests before converting.

D) They could recite the most prayers from memory.

37. What is the ultimate goal of Hinduism?

A) Wealth and earthly prosperity

B) Becoming a priest

C) Union with Brahman

D) Physical immortality
38. What is the Hindu concept of dharma?

A) The rejection of ritualism

B) The belief in reincarnation

C) The balance sheet of good and bad deeds

D) The moral law that Hindus are to observe

39. What Hindu text urges action in this world?

A) The Sutras

B) Rig Veda

C) Ramayana

D) Bhagavad Gita

40. What enabled India to make contact with the outside world in the sixth century B.C.E.?

A) Alexander the Great’s conquest brought knowledge of the Mediterranean world.

B) As the Persian Empire expanded, it made territorial conquests in the Indus Valley.

C) Great expansion of overseas trade by Indian merchants and a new merchant fleet led to outside
contact.

D) Significant technological improvements in sailing led to greater communication and travel.

41. Contact with Persia brought many innovations into India, including what new economic
technique?

A) Printing paper money

B) Minting silver coins

C) Bank transfers

D) Putting dates on coins

42. Who was Chandragupta?

A) The leader of Buddhist reform in India

B) The military leader who defeated Alexander the Great at Taxila

C) The founder of the Mauryan Empire

D) A famous Greek ambassador who was sent to the Mauryan court

43. What was the capital of Chandragupta’s empire?

A) Kalinga

B) Taxila

C) Pataliputra

D) Gujarat
44. Kautilya encouraged Chandragupta to do which of the following to secure his leadership?

A) Send men to Greece to be trained as secret agents

B) Conquer all the territory between the Indus and Euphrates Rivers

C) Use propaganda to gain support and treat his enemies’ enemies as his allies

D) Kill local leaders to show his ruthlessness

45. How did Chandragupta control the outlying areas of his empire?

A) He trusted local kings to continue on if they took a pledge of loyalty.

B) He sent agents to the provinces to oversee government and keep him informed.

C) He forced the migration of loyal supporters to distant realms.

D) He did not try to control the areas but instead collected taxes.

46. What personal change did Ashoka make following the conquest of Kalinga?

A) He converted to Jainism and became an ascetic monk.

B) He divorced his wife and married a Kalingan princess.

C) He became a paranoid, reclusive emperor.

D) He converted to Buddhism after witnessing the horror of war.

47. How did Buddhism influence Ashoka’s rule?

A) He required all of his people to convert to the faith even though he was a Jainist.
B) He appointed officials to oversee the moral welfare of the realm.

C) He banned all other forms of religious thought.

D) He began a series of religious wars against non-Buddhists.

48. Ashoka’s religious policies

A) were directed at the suppression of Jainism.

B) supported orthodoxy in Buddhism.

C) spurned all other religions except Buddhism.

D) weakened the central government of the empire.

49. After the fall of the Mauryans, what new empire was founded by Buddhist king Kanishka?

A) Taxila

B) Cholas

C) Kushan

D) Magadha

50. During the Kushan period, Indian art was strongly influenced by the art of what society?

A) Egyptian

B) Greek

C) Chinese
D) Turkish

Answer Key

1. D

2. A

3. D

4. B

5. C

6. A

7. C

8. D

9. D

10. B

11. D

12. A

13. D

14. A

15. C

16. A

17. B

18. A
19. C

20. B

21. C

22. D

23. C

24. B

25. C

26. D

27. A

28. B

29. D

30. B

31. C

32. B

33. A

34. C

35. D

36. A

37. C

38. D

39. D

40. B

41. B

42. C

43. C

44. C

45. B

46. D

47. B
48. B

49. C

50. B

c3- Short Answer

Answer each question with three or four sentences.

1. What evidence indicates that the city-states of the Harappan civilization represent either a
unified state or at least a connected culture?

2. What gave the Aryans military advantages over the people they defeated in India?

3. Describe the caste system’s effect on the social and economic aspects of Indian life.
4. Describe some of the qualities of the Aryans gods of the Vedas.

5. How do the personal stories and ideas of Mahavira and Siddhartha compare, and how did their
experiences influence their respective religions?

6. How did Hinduism incorporate personal devotion to the gods?

7. What Persian methods did Chandragupta use in building this empire?

8. What role did Kautilya play in the formation of the Mauryan Empire?

9. How did Ashoka incorporate Buddhism into his imperial administration?

10. How did Roman and Greek civilizations influence India?

Answer Key

1. Answer would ideally include:

· Archaeological evidence indicates that the Harappan cities and villages had uniform size bricks, similar
figurines of pregnant women, and seals and tablets with consistent symbols. This evidence indicates a
homogeneous culture. Furthermore, all of the cities have a similar planned layout of streets.

2. Answer would ideally include:

· Aryans had advantages of both technology and culture. They had two-wheeled chariots, horses, and
superior weapons, including bronze swords and spears. In addition to advanced weapons, Aryans also
had a society that privileged military culture and chose its leaders (a chief, or raja) from the warrior
class; in religious epics, military leaders were described as godlike heroes.

3. Answer would ideally include:

· The caste system was a rigid, hierarchically arranged class system with four primary classes: Brahmin
(priests), Kshatriya (warriors and officials), Vaishya (merchants), and Shudra (peasants and laborers).
Those without places in the four varnas—that is, newly conquered peoples and those who had lost their
caste status through violations of ritual—were outcastes, some of whom became known as
“untouchables” because they were seen as impure. These classes divided Indian society into economic
groups but also established social rules for how the classes interacted with one another.

4. Answer would ideally include:

· The Vedic gods represent aspects of nature and more abstract qualities. They also closely resemble the
gods of Greece and Persia. Nature is represented by Agni, the god of fire, Indra, a god of thunder and
war, and Ushas, a goddess of the dawn. Representing more abstract qualities are Rudra, the god of
disasters and diseases, Varuna, the god of order and punishment, and Dyaus, who represents kingly
authority as the father of the gods.

5. Answer would ideally include:

· Both came from the noble warrior class, and both left home to travel as wandering ascetics. In their
travels, they came to enlightenment and believed that they had found the solution to the cycle of
rebirth and re-death. Although the religions they founded were different, they had a few commonalities:
an emphasis on nonviolence and a rejection of the caste system.

6. Answer would ideally include:

· In the third century B.C.E., Hinduism added the concept of personal devotion to the gods to the
ritualized worship described in the Vedas. The goal was to find ways to worship brahman on the path to
union. The pantheon of gods in Hinduism is large, offering many different gods (male and female).
Believers would choose one god or goddess in particular (without denying the existence of the other
deities) and make offerings of food, flowers, or recitation of prayers to that god or goddess, without
using priests as intermediaries.
7. Answer would ideally include:

· Chandragupta borrowed the Persian system of dividing his empire into provinces, each ruled by a
governor he appointed, many of them members of his family. Chandragupta also created a Persian-style
bureaucracy, which oversaw the collections of taxes, and created a standing army. Public services
(including the army) were funded by the tax system. For the first time, one man governed the
subcontinent.

8. Answer would ideally include:

· Kautilya was a minister and advisor to Chandragupta, founder of the Mauryan Empire. Kautilya wrote a
treatise (Arthashastra) on how Chandragupta could acquire and hold on to power. He advised the king
to use propaganda to inform his subjects of his achievements, to use traveling agents to keep him
informed of what was happening in his empire, and to make alliances with the enemies of his enemies.
By following Kautilya’s advice, Chandragupta was able to create a large and profitable empire.

9. Answer would ideally include:

· Ashoka incorporated Buddhist principles of moral conduct into his law codes, and he banned animal
sacrifices and took up pilgrimages to holy sites. Ashoka also insisted that his officials govern humanely
and encouraged compassion and nonviolence throughout his empire. He also dedicated many resources
to promoting the spread of Buddhism throughout his empire and beyond, through the building of pillars
and the copying of prayer texts. He envisioned Buddhism as a moral system that could unite the diverse
peoples of his empire. He codified Buddhist texts and warned monks he would not tolerate schism.
However, he also honored India’s other religions.

10. Answer would ideally include:

· Greek culture had a great influence on Indian art during the Kushan period. Ideas on coin production
were also transmitted from the west to India. The first representations of the Buddha, for instance, were
modeled on the statues of Apollo. Roman traders from Egypt followed routes to India established by
Arab traders. The presence of Roman coins in India reveals the extent of trade between India and
Europe. A Greek merchant involved in trade with India reported on the vast array of goods available
from Indian traders.

c5- Essay

Answer each of the following questions with an essay. Be sure to include specific examples that support
your thesis and conclusions.

1. Describe Greece in what historians have called the Dark Age. How did the development of the
polis help Greece avoid some of the weaknesses of this period?

2. Trace the development of philosophy and science from the Pre-Socratic origins through
Aristotle. What were the most significant developments? What was the general principle that guided
Greek philosophers? How did this change in the Hellenistic period?
3. Like Mesopotamian society, Greek civilization lacked political unity. Why? How did disunity
affect the development of Greek society in general? What, if any, were the factors that fostered
homogeneity?

4. The Hellenistic civilization saw the spread of cities founded by Alexander and his successors.
What were the role and impact of these new cities?

5. How did trade in the Hellenistic period provide the most enduring legacy of Alexander’s empire?
What long-distance trade patterns and relationships were established?

Answer Key

1. Answer would ideally include:

· The Dark Age saw widespread problems, including invasions, disasters, and migrations. Craftsmanship
became simpler, and skills such as writing declined. Greeks dispersed beyond the mainland. The Iliad
and Odyssey recorded events of the Trojan War and included heroes, divine characters who were larger
than life but also petty, and populations that had to endure suffering. The polis helped organize a
community of citizens with their own laws and customs. Poleis were generally small and self-governing
but helped Greek individuals find their place in the world.

2. Answer would ideally include:

· The student should discuss the development of Greek science and philosophy, noting the belief in basic
elements (Pre-Socratics), atomic theory (Democritus), medicine (Hippocrates), Sophist concentration on
logic and the study of human beings, the Socratic method, Platonic dualism and political thought, and
the impressive achievements of Aristotle in natural science and political philosophy. A good essay should
stress the Greek emphasis on rational thought and the belief that the universe could be explained and
understood. In addition, the essay should emphasize the Greek concentration on the study of human
beings. The essay should conclude with a discussion of how Hellenistic philosophy introduced concepts
of personal happiness and an increasingly more pragmatic view of science, such as the heliocentric
theories of Aristarchus.

3. Answer would ideally include:

· To explain the lack of political unity, one should emphasize the geography of the Greek peninsula.
Next, the distinctiveness and independence of the Greek city-states should be discussed, using Athens
and Sparta as examples; the Peloponnesian War and the Macedonian conquest of Greece can also be
used as evidence of the independent nature of Greek civilization. In contrast, the Olympic and Delphic
games, language, religious beliefs and customs, and philosophical inquiry can all be used as examples of
unity.

4. Answer would ideally include:

· The student should discuss the urban nature of the Hellenistic world. This discussion should include the
motivation behind the founding of the new cities and the growth of established cities, the official
functions of the cities, their role in the spread of Greek ideas and peoples, and their importance in the
emergence of the trading networks in this era. The essay should also consider how the cities provided a
place for Greek and non-Greek cultures to merge. A good essay should also mention how the urbanized
and economically unified Hellenistic world proved valuable to the Romans after their conquest of the
Mediterranean world.

5. Answer would ideally include:

· In the Hellenistic period, the urbanization of Alexander’s empire (and its successor divisions) was
marked by trade in basic commodities and luxury goods. Coinage and the use of koine as the common
language of the Mediterranean world provided links between Greece and other cultures that remained
in place and facilitated the Roman Empire. The essay should describe the trade patterns established by
the Greeks, such as indirect contact with China and after Alexander, direct contact with India. There
were also trade ties between the Hellenistic world and Arabia and sub-Saharan Africa. Generally, the
Greeks exported metal weapons, wine, olive oil, and cloth, while importing silk, ivory, precious stones,
spices, and so forth. Slaves travelled in all directions. More important, however, than the long-distance
trade in luxury goods was shorter-haul trade in basic bulk items such as grain.

c5- Matching

Use the following to answer questions 1-10:

Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided
in the Definitions section.
Terms

polis

hoplites

democracy

oligarchy

mystery religions

Platonic ideals

Hellenistic

Hellenization

Epicureanism

Stoicism

1. In Plato’s thought, the eternal unchanging ideal forms that are the essence of true reality.
_________________

2. A system of philosophy based on the teachings of Epicurus, who viewed a life of contentment,
free from fear and suffering, as the greatest good. _________________

3. Generally translated as “city-state,” it was the basic political and institutional unit of ancient
Greece. _________________
4. A type of Greek government in which a small group of wealthy citizens, not necessarily of
aristocratic birth, ruled. _________________

5. A type of Greek government in which all citizens administered the workings of government.
_________________

6. Heavily armed citizens who served as infantrymen and fought to defend the polis.
_________________

7. The most popular of Hellenistic philosophies, it considered nature an expression of divine will
and held that people can be happy only when living in accordance with nature. _________________

8. Religious systems in the Hellenistic world that incorporated aspects of both Greek and Eastern
religions; they were characterized by secret doctrines, rituals of initiation, and the promise of an
afterlife. _________________
9. Literally means “like the Greek”; describes the period from the death of Alexander the Great in
323 B.C.E. to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 B.C.E., when Greek culture spread.
_________________

10. The spread of Greek ideas, culture, and traditions to non-Greek groups across a wide area.
_________________

Answer Key

1. f. Platonic ideals

2. i. Epicureanism

3. a. polis

4. d. oligarchy

5. c. democracy

6. b. hoplites

7. j. Stoicism
8. e. mystery religions

9. g. Hellenistic

10. h. Hellenization

c5- Multiple Choice

Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. How did the geography of Greece affect its development?

A) It had little impact on the development of Greek society.

B) It enabled a strong central government to dominate the political order.

C) It helped to unite the Greek city-states.

D) It was a divisive force in Greek life.

2. Why was the growth of great empires (like those in Mesopotamia and Egypt) less likely to
develop in ancient Greece?

A) The dominance of a middle class, not peasants, worked against empire building.

B) Its people were too ethnically and culturally diverse.

C) The rugged terrain discouraged expansion of any one center.

D) Greek military technology was slow to develop.

3. Which of the following is true of the Minoans?

A) They formed a society that lived on the island of Crete.

B) They settled in Greece after they were driven from their homes in Persia.

C) They were a matriarchal society that lived on the island of Sicily.

D) They were the first peoples who formed a society on the Greek peninsula.

4. How are the gods portrayed in the Homeric poems?

A) With many human characteristics

B) As seemingly obsessed with their desire to be human

C) As largely unconcerned with humanity

D) As bitter toward humans for their sacrifices

5. How was the Greek polis different from older models of city-states?

A) The polis was strictly a political institution.

B) The polis was a community of citizens.

C) The polis was unified by one shared religion.

D) The polis was seen as a kingdom under a divine ruler.

6. What was an agora?

A) A temple complex

B) A fortified stronghold

C) A marketplace

D) A plot of arable land for farming

7. Which of the following refers to heavily armed Greek foot soldiers?

A) Hoplites

B) Acropolis

C) Chora

D) Legionaries

8. What does the term oligarchy mean?

A) “The rule of the few”

B) “The rule of the people”

C) “The rule of the excellent”

D) “The rule of the king”

9. Which of the following was one of the causes of Greek colonization, and a particularly persistent
problem for Sparta?

A) A lack of financial prosperity in the polis

B) Overpopulation and a limited food supply

C) The need to find new gods to worship

D) An overabundance of natural resources

10. How did the Lycurgan system in Sparta shape its political organization?

A) It led to the creation of a society ruled by an aristocratic, warrior elite.

B) It led to the start of a dictatorship controlled by the most powerful Spartan general.

C) It led to the development of a democratic state in which helot and Spartan ruled together.

D) It led to the erosion of Spartan military power in favor of the helots.

11. Which of the following is true of Spartan women?

A) They were expected to assist their husbands and travel with them on military campaigns.

B) They enjoyed a more active, public life than most other Greek women.

C) Their single responsibility was to have many children.

D) They were more restricted than most other Greek women.

12. How did the Spartan military view same-sex relationships between Spartan soldiers?

A) They were seen as detrimental because they promoted fighting between comrades.

B) They were ignored by leaders because personal choices were of no concern to the military.

C) They were viewed as advantageous because lovers would fight harder to defend one another.

D) They were prohibited because homosexual behavior was looked down upon by other Greeks.

13. What important position did Solon hold as he reformed Athens?

A) King

B) Archon

C) Emperor

D) Tyrant

14. What did Solon accomplish through his reforms in Athens?

A) He established democracy.

B) He established social equality.

C) He gave common citizens a place in the assembly.

D) He eliminated the position of chief magistrate.

15. What two law-making bodies guided Athenian political life?

A) The boule and the ecclesia

B) The agora and the chora

C) The archon and the boule

D) The agora and the archon

16. Athens and Persia began a series of wars over Greek cities in what region?

A) Peloponnesus

B) Macedonia

C) Ionia

D) Crete

17. What Mediterranean island did Athens invade during the Peloponnesian War?

A) Crete

B) Cyprus

C) Lesbos

D) Sicily

18. Which of the following contributed to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War?

A) Spartan domination of the Aegean

B) Athenian imperialism

C) A Persian invasion of Asia Minor

D) A Spartan attempt to gain control of Ionia

19. What did Thucydides believe caused the Peloponnesian War?

A) Divine intervention in Athenian politics

B) Athens’s desire to spread democracy

C) Sparta’s need to find new food sources

D) Human greed and desire for power

20. The crowning achievement of Pericles’s rebuilding of the Acropolis was the Parthenon, a temple
dedicated to which of the following?

A) Athena and the greatness of Athens

B) Zeus and the idea of a unified Greece

C) Poseidon and Athens’s control of the seas

D) Aphrodite and the importance of love

21. The plays of Sophocles emphasized the precedence of which of the following over human law
and customs?

A) Family needs

B) Personal happiness

C) Military success

D) Divine law
22. How was the daily life of Greek elites similar to the lives of more ordinary people?

A) All people in Athens were relatively affluent and could afford a “good life.”

B) Everyone paid heavy annual taxes regardless of social class.

C) They had a relatively modest material standard of living.

D) All families depended almost entirely on slave labor.

23. What was unusual about slaves in Athens?

A) All slaves were captured and imported from the wars in North Africa.

B) Slaves were legally forbidden to read.

C) Slaves could vote as a result of democratic reforms.

D) Slaves were paid for their work.

24. What was the main function of women from citizen families in Athens?

A) To accompany their husbands in public settings

B) To run family estates and manage businesses while their husbands were at war

C) To perform manual labor in the fields or sell goods in the agora

D) To bear and raise children

25. By the classical era, Greek religion focused on which of the following?

A) Worship of a group of gods understood to live on Mount Olympus

B) Monotheistic worship of Zeus as the one true god

C) Worship of only male deities, as female deities came to be seen as too powerless

D) Individual worship of a polis’s chosen deity and abandonment of all Pan-Hellenic rituals

26. What was the most important result of the athletic contests held at Olympia?

A) The contests allowed Greek leaders to identify the greatest soldiers.

B) The contests led to the creation of a Pan-Hellenic trading network.

C) The contests were unifying factors in Greek life.

D) The contests put an end to political competition between Greek city-states.

27. What did the Pre-Socratics conclude from their observations?

A) That the universe consisted of four substances––air, fire, earth, and water

B) That one god had created the entire world

C) That the universe was too complex to be understood

D) That humans had achieved physical perfection

28. What did Hippocrates think was the best way to treat illnesses?

A) Pray that the evil spirits would leave

B) Use bloodletting and other invasive techniques to remove evil spirits from the body

C) Use natural means to address imbalances in the four basic humors

D) Offer more sacrifices to the gods

29. What crime was Socrates tried and executed for in 399 B.C.E.?

A) Giving information to a Persian intelligence agent

B) Undermining the authority of the government

C) Denying the divinity of Zeus

D) Corrupting the youth of Athens

30. Which student of Socrates developed the theory of “forms”?

A) Plato

B) Aristotle

C) Ptolemy

D) Zeno

31. According to Aristotle, true knowledge could be discerned from which of the following?

A) Contemplation of perfect possibilities

B) Observations of the real world

C) Prayer or divine intervention

D) Specialized religious ritual

32. After defeating Athens in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta was defeated in 371 B.C.E. by what
city-state?

A) Alexandria

B) Corinth

C) Delos

D) Thebes

33. Philip II of Macedonia was able to conquer Greece because the Greek city-states were

A) still occupied fighting the Persians.

B) severely weakened by earthquakes.

C) unable to put aside their quarrels and unite to defend themselves.

D) unprepared for his surprise attack.

34. After Philip II of Macedonia unified Greece, he called upon Greeks and Macedonians to do which
of the following?

A) Promise five years of peace to allow for recovery from the war

B) Work together to liberate the Ionian colonies from Persian control

C) Move the royal court to Athens and build him a new palace

D) Form a naval alliance with Persia and invade India

35. What did Alexander the Great do in Egypt once he had conquered it?

A) Ordered the construction of the city of Alexandria

B) Overturned Egyptian traditions in favor of Greek customs

C) Decimated the land and pillaged the trade centers

D) Forced the Egyptians to open new trade routes to Greece

36. How did the Hellenistic city differ from the polis?

A) It perceived itself as a community of citizens.

B) It was united by religious rituals.

C) It tolerated same-sex relations.

D) It was not autonomous and had to follow royal orders.

37. Why did Alexander’s eastward expansion of his empire stop at the Hyphasis River?

A) His Macedonian army refused to continue fighting.

B) The powerful Indian army defeated the Macedonians.

C) The Persian army attacked him from the west.

D) His spiritual advisors warned of unfavorable omens.

38. What happened to Alexander’s empire following his death?

A) His empire was torn apart by more than forty years of civil war.

B) His son ruled briefly as emperor until he was assassinated.

C) Athens declared its independence from Macedonia.

D) His empire was peacefully partitioned by a trio of powerful generals.

39. Which of the following is true of the Hellenistic city?

A) It had homogenous populations.

B) It was hampered by an inefficient bureaucracy that proved difficult to maintain.

C) It was overseen by kings with limited authority.

D) It resembled modern cities and served as both a cultural and economic center.

40. The spread of Hellenistic culture was bolstered by Alexander’s tradition of doing what in his
newly conquered territories?

A) Forcibly resettling conquered peoples in Greece

B) Founding new cities with mixed populations

C) Placing Macedonian kings in charge

D) Censoring art and culture that criticized him

41. What was koine?

A) The term used for Greco-Macedonian immigrants in one of the new cities

B) The political organization that governed Jewish affairs

C) The philosophical belief that fate, Tyche, ruled the world

D) A common Greek dialect that developed throughout the Hellenistic period

42. How was Hellenistic trading made easier?

A) Most traders spoke a variety of languages.

B) Slaves working as pirates moved goods all over the Hellenistic world.

C) Coinage was developed to facilitate convenient, standard payments.

D) Traders began using camels to move goods in Europe.

43. Which of the following were major exports from Greek cities during the classical and Hellenistic
periods?

A) Gold and precious stones

B) Olive oil and wine

C) Feta cheese and lamb

D) Silks and pearls

44. Why were slaves in high demand throughout the Hellenistic world?

A) Slaves were traded for goods from China and India.

B) Large-scale agriculture was dependent on slaves.

C) Monarchs equated their power with how many slaves they owned.

D) Manual labor continued to produce most goods.

45. Mystery religions featured which of the following?

A) The promise of reincarnation

B) The worship of a wide range of spirits and deities, both known and unknown

C) A belief in the mysterious and sometimes malevolent force of Tyche

D) A body of rituals and beliefs not divulged to anyone not initiated into them

46. What did Epicurus believe was the principal good of human life?

A) Individual contribution to the civic life of the polis

B) Pleasure, which he defined as the absence of pain

C) The accumulation of power and wealth

D) Helping others
47. What did the philosophy of Stoicism strongly emphasize?

A) Personal achievement

B) The acceptance of Tyche or chance

C) The ability to endure suffering

D) Living a virtuous life

48. What was Aristarchus’s most important contribution to astronomy?

A) He argued that Earth is far larger than the sun.

B) He theorized that the stars are close to Earth and to one another.

C) He believed that Earth and the planets revolve around the sun.

D) He asserted that telescopes are necessary for all astronomical work.

49. Archimedes’s many contributions to Hellenistic science include his theories about which of the
following?

A) Hydrostatics

B) Heliocentrism

C) Physics

D) Astronomy

50. Which early scientist dissected corpses to learn more about anatomy and physiology?
A) Euclid

B) Archimedes

C) Hippocrates

D) Herophilus

Answer Key

1. D

2. C

3. A

4. A

5. B

6. C

7. A

8. A

9. B

10. A

11. B

12. C

13. B

14. C

15. A
16. C

17. D

18. B

19. D

20. A

21. D

22. C

23. D

24. D

25. A

26. C

27. A

28. C

29. D

30. A

31. B

32. D

33. C

34. B

35. A

36. D

37. A

38. A

39. D

40. B

41. D

42. C

43. B

44. D
45. D

46. B

47. D

48. C

49. A

50. D

c5- Short Answer

Answer each question with three or four sentences.

1. Describe the geography of the areas inhabited by the Greeks. How did it affect the development
of Greek civilization?

2. Describe the complex of Knossos on Crete and what it indicates about Minoan culture.
3. We know that Mycenaean civilization was particularly prone to warfare because of what
evidence?

4. How do the democratic and oligarchic styles of government in the Greek polis compare? At what
point might a tyrant be called for?

5. What were some of the problems that led to Solon’s reforms in Athens?

6. How did the Peloponnesian War grow out of the Persian Wars?

7. Discuss how Athenian playwrights used their forum to address issues and attempt to
understand or resolve life’s basic conflicts.

8. Describe the cultural diversity of Alexander’s empire. What happened (politically and culturally)
to his empire after his death?
9. Describe the various commodities that were the basis of the commercial trading network of the
Hellenistic world. Consider material and nonmaterial trade. How did this commercial network enhance
the unification of the Mediterranean world and beyond?

10. How do the mystery religions of the Hellenistic world represent a merging of Western (Greek)
and Eastern cultures?

Answer Key

1. Answer would ideally include:

· The Greeks referred to their land as “Hellas,” and it included land on a peninsula surrounded by the
Aegean, Adriatic, and Mediterranean Seas, as well as numerous islands. Over time, cities in Ionia
(Anatolia) were added to this civilization. Most of this land is mountainous and lacks navigable rivers.
Harbors did provide access to the seas and encouraged trade. The disconnectedness of the geography
contributed to the disconnectedness of the Greek city-states, which generally lacked unity and favored
independence.
2. Answer would ideally include:

· Knossos is a large structure with more than one thousand interconnected rooms, as well as pipes to
bring in drinking water and sewers to remove waste. Archeological evidence indicates a wealthy culture,
led by a king and a group of nobles. Minoan art shows women in prominent roles, including religious and
athletic ones. Long thought to be a peaceful society, new excavations are revealing more walls around
the cities, indicating a need for defense.

3. Answer would ideally include:

· Archeological evidence reveals that Mycenaean cities had thick stone walls, and gravesites contain
weapons such as spears, javelins, and swords. Also, they had the first metal armor that we know of. The
civilization was led by a king and his warrior aristocracy. Finally, palace records written in the script
known as Linear B have been deciphered and indicate frequent warfare.

4. Answer would ideally include:

· Although democracy should mean a style of government in which all members of the state have a say
in the government, and oligarchy means rule by just a few (usually wealthy) members, as the Greeks
practiced these systems, they had much in common. Greek democracy only allowed a select number of
citizens (male only) to vote. The main difference is that more members had power in the democracy
than the oligarchy, and the oligarchy included a greater number of prosperous citizens. Both systems
allowed for advancement. Tyrants often came to power during a period of violent political or social
upheaval, and they were not always oppressive, sometimes using their power to benefit the citizens.

5. Answer would ideally include:

· The aristocracy of Athens had been ruling oppressively. Wealthy aristocrats seized the land of small
landholders, or small landholders became so indebted to the wealthy that they were forced to sell
family members into slavery or be exiled. Spurred by these injustices, the poorer classes demanded
access to political power. Solon supported the common people. When they elected him archon, he
enacted reforms that freed people enslaved for debt, cancelled all debts on land, and allowed
commoners into the assembly, where they could vote in the election of magistrates.

6. Answer would ideally include:

· Although the Greek poleis did come together to fight the Persians in the fifth century B.C.E., the
creation of the Delian League (a naval alliance intended to liberate Ionia from Persian rule) was
increasingly dominated by Athens as the Athenians used its power to create an empire. Under Pericles,
Athens grew so powerful and aggressive that it alarmed Sparta and its allies. Athenian imperialism and
Sparta’s fear of an Athens-dominated Greece led to the generation-long conflict known as the
Peloponnesian War.

7. Answer would ideally include:

· The plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes often explored the conflicts between
individual needs and the needs of the polis. In the process of asking what a model citizen should be,
these playwrights might not always have had the same answers, but all concurred in their belief in the
possibility of a just society.

8. Answer would ideally include:

· By incorporating Greek and non-Greek territories into his empire, Alexander built a multilinguistic,
multireligious, multicultural world. It included Greek, Egyptian, Persian, Babylonian, Indian, and Arab
cultures, among others, and created new hybrid cultures such as Bactrian. To bridge the diversity, a new
dialect called koine facilitated communication. After his death, Alexander’s empire was broken up into
three main states (Egypt, Persia, and Greece and Macedonia), and a couple of smaller states (Bactria and
Parthia). These political divisions were less important than the shared Hellenistic culture.

9. Answer would ideally include:

· Trade in the Hellenistic world included the material goods of metal weapons, wine, olive oil, cloth
(wool and silk), precious stones and ivory, spices, grain, and slaves. Nonmaterial trade goods included
Greek philosophical ideas and religious beliefs, such as Buddhism. The trade in goods and ideas unified
the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian worlds.

10. Answer would ideally include:

· Mystery cults were a common feature of the Hellenic culture before Alexander, but were tied to
specific deities in specific regions. The mystery religions of the Hellenistic world, however, were not tied
to one particular region and thus represented a less geographically centered world than one in which
culture provided links. New or non-Greek deities such as Tyche or Isis could now be incorporated into
the Greek tradition of the mystery cult.