Gorgon's head on a silver coin of Naples permission to use image granted

F11: CLA227, Greek Civilization: Review for Exam I Exam date: Tuesday, Sept 27 (note change) Bring Kebric's book to class on , Thurs, Sept 22

The god Apollo on a gold coin of Syracuse image courtesy of Edgar L. Owen, #3803

Land of Greece: general size, climate, & features

Food & Livestock: basic foods and animals

When, roughly, was Crete settled?

Four main periods of the Minoan Bronze Age? Their chief characteristics? How did they end?

"Palaces:" function, who lived in them, amenities, purposes of the central courtyard?

Religion: whom did they worship, where did they worship, importance of animals?

What type of writing system did they have? Deciphered?

What is their art like? Themes?

What are the main periods of the mainland Bronze Age and their chief characteristics? How did they end?

Who are the Indo-Europeans and their relationship with Greece?

Palaces & Cities: different from Minoan, who lived in them, & amenities, the purposes of the megaron?

Religion: whom did they worship, where did they worship, types of sacrifices or offerings?

Writing system? Significance?

What do we know from the written remains about:their political system, their social system, their military system?

What is their art like? Themes? Like Minoan? Different from Minoan?

How did the Mycenaean age end? What are some of the various theories and their supporting facts?

• What are the salient points for this time period?
• What is the architecture like? Significance? What is their art like? Themes?
• What are the political structure and the social structure like?
• What do these terms refer to: basileus, genos, oikos, kleos, arete, time, aidos?

• The Iliad and the Odyssey
• Religion/Immortals: Like humans? Different from humans? How do they communicate with humans? Act kindly/cruelly? Unjustly/justly? Near/Far? Differences between poems? Who are Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Poseidon, Athena, &Thetis, and how are they important to the action in the Iliad and/or the Odyssey. What function do sacrifices/dreams/oracles/omens play in mediating between the immortals and mortals?
  
• Mortals: Who are Achilles, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Helen, Patroclus, Chryseis, Briseis, Priam, Hector, Andromache, Paris, Thersites, Telemachus, Odysseus, Penelope, Antinous, Eurylochus, Eurycleia, and Eumaeus? How are the Homeric chiefs (basilees) different from the commoners? What are their roles in society?
  
• Governmental Structure: what is the governmental structure in the poems? Expectations of the different classes? Difference between the two poems?
  
• The Heroic/Homeric Code: Describe the Heroic Code: aim, key terms, ways to achieve, position of material possessions, & appearance. How does Achilles’ actions reflect the Heroic Code? How does Odysseus’ actions reflect the Heroic Code?
• Xenia: Describe xenia. What deity is in charge of xenia? Examine the meeting of Priam and Achilles in regard to xenia. How/why is xenia important for the maturation of Telemachus? For what happens to the Polyphemus? The suitors?

1. Xenia: Contrast how Achilles treats Priam in the Iliad, Book 24, with how Polyphemus treats Odysseus (in disguise), in the Odyssey, Book 9. Conclusions?

2. Heroic Code: "To be the best and pre-eminent over others, and not to shame the seed of my fathers" (Iliad 6.208ff). How does this quote factor into the actions of Telemachus and Achilles in the passages from the Iliad and the Odyssey we have covered in class? Conclusions?

3. Religion: What are the ways that the Greek deities communicated with mortals in the Iliad and the Odyssey and what are the dangers of these types of communication? Make sure you give concrete examples.

4.  Political Structure: Using only the assembly scenes  in the Iliad, Bk 1 & Bk 2 and the assembly scene in the Odyssey, Bk 2 as your source material, determine the expected 'roles' of the commoners and nobles. Make sure you give good examples.