Orientalizing Period

• How did the following aspects of Greek culture change as a result of contact with the "East":
  • social customs, food, religion, writing
• Ways/areas literacy changed Greek civilization with regard to:
  • literature, philosophy, medicine, law

Warfare

• What were the changes in military equipment?
• What were the changes in military tactics?
• Terms: phalanx, hoplos, hoplite, Argive shield
• How did these changes affect other topics listed here?

The Polis

• What are the key elements in the definition of the polis?
• What is synoikism and why is it important to the formation of the polis?
• How was the polis afftected by the other topics listed here?

Colonization

• What areas were colonized? Why did it cease?
• Steps involved in colonization:
  • What are the factors which influenced the choice of a site?
  • Describe the leader-who was he and what was his role?
  • 1st Colonists — who were they and what did they gain?
  • How did some relate to the 'natives'?
  • Women?
  • Later colonists?
• How did colonization affect life on the mainland?

Tyranny

• Defn. of tyranny
• how long did a tyranny last in an individual polis
• who typically became tyrants
• how did they rule
• why did tyranny arise?
• How did tyranny affect the polis and Greek religion?

Literature

• What do the poems of Archilochus and the poem of Tyrtaeus tell us about how the "Heroic/Homeric" Code has been transformed, adapted, abandoned in the Archaic Age and why?
• What does the poetry of Archilochus, Alcaeus, Mimnermus, Ibycus, Anacreon, and Sappho tell us about women in the Archaic Age?
• What can we learn from the examples of greek humor provided in Kebric, Ch. 1?
• Who are Hesiod, Thales, Xenophanes, and what did they do?

Pan-hellenic Institutions

• Sanctuary sites (e.g. Delphi) what were they and why were they important?
• The "big four:"
  • Names
  • how often held
  • prizes at games, prizes when victor's got home?
  • What did the sponsors of chariot and horse races gain?
  • What happened to cheaters?
  • Deities associated with the "major" major games?
• The Olympic games:
  • Religious parts of the program?
  • What is an agon & how does it relate to the heroic code?
  • what was the origin of many of the contests?
  • Competitors: who originally? amateur? professional?
  • Spectators--who, conditions, who not?
• Panathenaic Festival (with Games): prizes?
• The Gymnasium-definition, funding, importance

Sexuality

• Male/male relationship:
  • what were the restrictions placed on citizen to citizen relationships?
  • citizen to slave relations?
  • what function did it serve for the polis?
  • how was it affirmed in Greek myth?
• Female/female?
• Male/female--marriage ages?, "love"?

Sparta

• What is eunomia?
• Spartan government look like before the First Messenian War: kingship, gerousia, apella, ephors
• When/why did Sparta conquer Messenia? What effect did the conquest have on Sparta?
• Effect of the defeat at Hysiai in 669 BC on
  • their view of themselves and the Heroic Code
  • their military
  • their politeia
• What does a Greek politeia refer to? What is the key underlying fact of the Spartan politeia?
• What are the Agoge and the Syssition?
  • Stages involved in the Agoge?
  • Spartan citizens' training? Relations between individuals?
• Women: their position in Spartan society? Their training? Marriage?
• Relations with other states:
  • Peloponessian League (what, why)
  • Treatment of Persian envoys
  • Foreign policy changes

Athens

• Prior to Solon:
  • What was the Athenian state like before Solon?
  • colonization?
  • Key terms: Archons, Council of Areopagus, Assembly, Tribes, Phratries.
  • What was the significance of Cylon's attempt at tyranny?
  • What was lawgiver Draco known for? Significant changes that Draco made?
• Solon:
  • What was the aim of Solons reforms?
  • How different from that of Sparta's?
  • What were his reforms? Especially with regard to:
    • the abolition of debt
    • the four property classes
    • the change in the eligibility for the offices
    • judicial and economic reform
  • 3 key reforms leading to democracy according to Aristotle
• The Pisistratids
  • Why did the tyranny arise?
  • How did Pisistratus seize power?
  • What were the important changes Pisistratus made in
    • the Political arena?
    • the religious sphere?
    • the artistic sphere
• Cleisthenes
  • What is isonomia?
  • The tribes: How did he reform the tribes? Why was the change important?
  • The demes: What was the key power of the demes? What did they replace and why was this important?
  • The Boule: What was it? Who was in it? How did citizens become part of the Boule? What was its function?
  • The Assembly: What function did it serve?

Possible Essay Questions:

1. Olympic Games & Religion: After having examined prior to class these two video clips of the opening ceremonies of both the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games (click here) and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (click here), discuss how both the religious aspects and the processional aspects of the ancient Greek Olympic games have been transformed for a modern audience.


2. Politeia: Using only the readings in Pomeroy et al. on Sparta & Athens and class notes, examine the Spartan and Athenian "political" systems, as they existed at the end Archaic Age ,with regard to the following quote: "a particular kind of civic order — democracy, representation, the rule of law, a large sphere of privacy and individual autonomy — is right for the fulfillment of nature" (George F. Will, "Grand Delusions," Washington Post, Sept 30, 2004). Make sure you cover all at least 2 of "parts" of "civic order" that are enumerated in the quote.


3. Heroic Code: We have seen that the heroic code (ways to achieve honor/fame and avoid dishonor/shame--see pdf in Moodle for the definition) has morphed during the Archaic Age. Discuss both generally and then how it morphed in Athens and in Sparta (i.e. a paragraph on each polis). Conclusions?