The Persian Wars
- Ionian Revolt: What
was
the Ionian revolt? What Greek mainland states helped the
Ionians?
Why was the revolt important for the Greek mainland?
- Marathon:
What happened
at Marathon? Why Marathon? Why was this battle important for the
Athenians?
- Ostracism: What is it? Procedure?
(class notes)
- The Campaign of
Xerxes:
What preparations did Xerxes make for his invasion? What was the
position of Delphi on the war? What was the Greek strategy?
What happened at Thermopylae and at Artemisium? What happened at
Salamis?
What part did Themistocles play in all this? What happened at Plataea?
After Plataea?
The Fifth Century: Overview
- The Delian
League: Why
was the league formed? Why called Delian? Who was in it? What did it do?
- Athens and the
Delian
League:
Ways the League changed into an empire? When was the treasury moved to
Athens and why? What effect did the Peace in 445 with Persia have? What
did Pericles propose after the Peace? Sparta's repsonse and Pericles'
reaction?
- Athens and Sparta:
What
happened in 462 to strain the relations between Athens and Sparta?
Effects
of the "first" Peloponnesian War and the 30 years peace?
- Athenian
Democracy:
What
were the key changes made by Ephialtes, by Pericles? What is a liturgy
and why is it
important at Athens at this time?
- Oikos and Polis:
What are
the characteristics of the Athenian economy? How did naming of children
work at Athens? Marriage: Who decided? Typical age at first marriage?
Aim
of marriage? Fidelity? What was the dowry? Epikleros &
Anchisteus:
what do they refer to & how does the system work? Women in Athens:
What did Athenian women do? Where did they stay? When did they go out?
- The Peloponessian
War: What
started the war? What was Perikles policy in regard to the war? Key
problem
with his policy? Why were both sides ready for peace in 421? Why did
the
Athenians send a force to Sicily? The result? What did Sparta do
differently
in the second phase of the war that eventually spelled success for
Sparta?
What role did Alcibiades play in all of this? What are sone of the
effects
of the war--in general and at Athens?
- Fifth Century
Architecture: What
are some of the key features of the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the
Propylaia?
- Fifth Century
Art: The discus thrower illustrated what preference; the
spear-bearer? What are the key two themes portrayed on Greek pottery?
Themes/content of the art on temple to Hephaestus & the Parthenon at Athens, and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia?
Fifth Century Literature
- Herodotus: What
are the
main points of the stories we have studied? Where do the gods fit in
these stories? Role of human decisions? How is
Herodotus
the 'father of history'? What focus does his intro to his history
reveal?
- Tragedy: What
are
the origins
of tragedy? How is tragedy religious? Mythical? "Form"-al? What are the
production circumstances? Details about the festival? Significance of
prizes?
What is the purpose of the masks? Who and how many acted in the plays?
- Sophocles' Antigone:What
is the role of the chorus in Sophocles plays? What are the key images
and
themes in Antigone? For other questions concerning the play, see class
discussion.
- Comedy: What
are the typical features of a Greek Old Comedy?
- Aristophanes Lysistrata:What
is the fantastic idea of the play? What view of women and men does the
play present? What kind of person is Lysistrata? How is she like a
Sophoclean
hero or an Homeric hero? What is her motivation? Examples of how the
play
is an inversion of the norms?
- Thucydides (c.460-400
B.C.)
- Introduction: Why does he consider
this war to be the greatest ever? View on previous wars? On Agamemnon?
Role of gods? Role of human nature? Interest in facts and motives?
Rationale for speeches?
- Funeral Oration.
What are the values of Athens as Thucydides describes them in the
funeral
oration supposedly delivered in 431/30 B.C.? Why was Athens the "School
of Hellas" (2.38-41)? Contrast with Sparta? Position of women?
- Plague: Where started? Approach to
description? Effects on human nature? Role of gods? Interpretation of
the oracle?
- Melian Dialogue.
What are the arguments that both the Athenians and Melians use? What
importance
do the Athenians place on expediency and what importance do they place
justice? Where do the gods fit in all of this? How do the values the
Athenians
espouse in their interaction with the Melians in 416 compare to those
Pericles
articulates in his funeral oration? How and why has Athens changed so
dramatically
since 431 B.C.?
Possible Essay Questions
1. In his
discussion of
the Plague (2.47-54), Thucydides paints a mixed to negative view of
human nature. Based solely on
our readings, examine, for 2 of the 3 writers -- Herodotus, Sophocles, and
Aristophanes -- whether they agree
with Thucydides' view or not. If so, demonstrate how they do; if not,
demonstrate how each's view differs from Thucydides' view. Start your
paper demonstrating exactly what Thucydides' view is based on his
account of the Plague (2.47-54). In your conclusion, consider whether
they agree with each other or have differing viewpoints and why this
would be so.
2. In
Thucydides' Melian Dialogue
(5.84-114), the Melians and the Athenians view of what the gods are
like and interested in vary considerably. Based solely on our readings, examine, for
2 of the 3 writers -- Herodotus, Sophocles, and
Aristophanes -- whether they agree
with Thucydides' view or not. If so,
demonstrate how they do; if not, demonstrate how each's view differs
from Thucydides' view. Start your paper demonstrating exactly what
Thucydides' view is based on the Melian Dialogue (5.84-114). In
your conclusion, consider whether they agree with each other or have
differing viewpoints and why this would be so.
3. We saw that achieving
kleos and avoiding aidos was important for the Homeric heroes. Based
solely on the readings for the
unit from Herodotus, Sophocles, Aristophanes,
and Thucydides, rank 3
of the following: 1. Leonidas
(or Miltiades or Croesus), 2. Antigone (or Creon), 3. Lysistrata, and 4.
Agamemnon
(or the Athenians in the Melian dialogue) (from Thucydides) based on
kleos/aidos.
4. You
have come into possession
of a time portal that will allow you to visit
the past (but without affecting the time continuum, i.e. you can't
change the past), but it has some
restrictions. You must submit your request in writing to the portal and
demonstrate that you have good cause to visit (or it may refuse your
request). Based
solely on the readings for the
unit from Herodotus, Thucydides, Sophocles, and Aristophanes, determine and
demonstrate which 3 of the
following you would want to go back as and ranked in your order of
preference -- 1. Antigone, 2. Lysistrata, 3. an Athenian as described
by
Pericles in his funeral oration (Thucydides 2.34-46), 4. an individual
of
your choice from Herodotus (but it has to be a different person from
your previous time portal request)-- with a focus on their
"character" or "nature."
In the main body of your essay, indicate why you rank them in the order
you do. Remember, the portal is very particular about whom it lets go
through
and
requires a request that contains good argumentation and good supporting
facts.