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History of Western Civilisation - Wenesday 5th Period: Exam 1
Methos, kindly, has a full spread from Jeff, God of Biscuits spread out. Everything from doughnuts to bagels to cookies. Coffee and soda provide caffiene.
Methos himself is sitting at his desk, working on what looks like a photocopy of an ancient manuscript. He's translating it into a spiral bound notebook. He's frowning and thumbing through several of the pages.
On the board is written:
EXAM 1
Pick three topics and writeor handwave 100 words (at least) on each:
- Sumeria
- Egypt
- Crete
- Greece, political
- Greece, cultural
When finished, you may turn in your papers and leave.
NO TALKING.
Methos himself is sitting at his desk, working on what looks like a photocopy of an ancient manuscript. He's translating it into a spiral bound notebook. He's frowning and thumbing through several of the pages.
On the board is written:
EXAM 1
Pick three topics and write
- Sumeria
- Egypt
- Crete
- Greece, political
- Greece, cultural
When finished, you may turn in your papers and leave.
NO TALKING.
TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
2. Eygpt - is the longest continuous history, as a unified state, of any country in the world. The Nile valley forms a natural geographic and economic unit, bounded to the east and west by deserts, to the north by the sea and to the south by the Cataracts of the Nile. The need to have a single authority to manage the waters of the Nile led to the creation of the world's first state in Egypt in about 3000 BC. Egypt's peculiar geography made it a difficult country to attack, which is why Pharaonic Egypt was for so long an independent and self-contained state.
3. Crete - The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, prior to Helladic or Mycenaean culture (i.e., well before what we know as Classical Greece). Their civilization flourished from approximately 2600 to 1450 BC. One of the outstanding features of Minoan civilization was that they might have worshipped a goddess as head of their pantheon.
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Some of the major cities included Eridu, Kish, Lagash, Uruk, Ur, and Nippur. As these cities developed, they sought to assert primacy over each other, falling into a millennium of almost incessant warfare over water rights, trade routes, and tribute from nomadic tribes.
The Sumerian king list contains a traditional list of the early dynasties, much of it probably mythical. The first name on the list whose existence is authenticated through archaeological evidence, is that of Enmebaragesi of Kish, whose name is also mentioned in the Gilgamesh epics. This has led some to suggest that Gilgamesh really was a historical king of Uruk.
2.) Egypt - The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt, (in Arabic: مصر, romanized Misr, in Egyptian Arabic Másr, is a republic in North Africa. While most of the country is geographically located in Africa, the Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is in Asia.
Covering an area of about 1,020,000 km², Egypt shares land borders with Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and Israel and the Gaza Strip to the northeast and has coasts on the north and east by the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, respectively.
Egypt is the fifteenth most populous country in the world. The vast majority of its 77 million population (2005) live near the banks of the Nile River (about 40,000 km²), where the only arable agricultural land is found. Large areas of land are part of the Sahara Desert and are sparsely inhabited. About half of the Egyptian people today are urban, living in the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, the largest city in Africa, and Alexandria.
3.) Greece; cultural - The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginnings in Ancient Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and Greek independence. Greece is often called the cradle of Western civilisation.
The art and architecture of ancient Greece have greatly influenced Western art through the present day. Byzantine art and architecture also played an important role in early Christianity, and remain a significant influence in the Orthodox Christian nations of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Yet, due to the ravages of history, only a minor assortment of ancient Greek art has survived - most often in the forms of sculpture and architecture and minor arts, including coin design, pottery and gem engraving.
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Crete: In order to facilitate trade, the Cretans and their Aegean relatives developed the most advanced navy that had ever been seen. While scholars earlier believed that Crete must have been a "thalossocracy," that is, a "sea power," that view has been seriously challenged. The Cretans probably did not develop a military navy, as did the Egyptians, but concentrated solely on trade and mercantilism. They did build what looks like warships, but it seems that these warships were most likely mercantile ships with the capability of defense against pirates.
Their trade was extensive. The Egyptians were highly familiar with the Cretans, who even appear in Egyptian art. Cretan artifacts turn up all over Asia Minor, and they seem to have been involved in trade with the tribal clans living on the Greek mainland. All of this concentrated mercantile activity produced great wealth for the Cretans, which went into massive building projects, art, and technological development. [[source (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/%7Edee/MINOA/HISTORY.HTM)]]
Greece (political): Spartan society was divided into three main classes. At the top was the Spartiate, or native Spartan, who could trace his or her ancestry back to the original inhabitants of the city. The Spartiate served in the army and was the only person who enjoyed the full political and legal rights of the state. Below the Spartiates wer the perioeci , or "dwellers around or about." These were foreign people who served as a kind of buffer population between the Spartans and the helots. Because of this vital function, they were accorded a great deal of freedom. Most of the trade and commerce carried out in Sparta were performed by the perioeci . At the bottom, of course, were the helots. [[source (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/%7Edee/GREECE/SPARTA.HTM)]]
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
After the Peloponnesian War was over, all the cities of Greece were worn out and very poor. Many men went and fought for the Persians for money. But others tried to rebuild the cities. This was the time of Socrates and his student Plato, the great philosophers. But to the north of Greece, in a country then called Macedon, King Philip had noticed that the Greeks were very weak. He attacked the Greek city-states and one by one he took them over. When Philip was assassinated in about 336 BC, his son Alexander became king, and he also ruled Greece.
Prehistoric Crete
Little is known about the rise of ancient Cretan society, because very few written records remain. This contrasts with the superb palaces, houses, roads, paintings and sculptures that do remain. Cretan history is surrounded by legends (such as King Minos; Theseus; and Daedalus and Icarus) that have been passed to us via Greek historian/poets (such as Homer). Because of a lack of written records, estimates of Cretan chronology are based on well-established Aegean and Ancient Near Eastern pottery styles, so Cretan timelines have been made by seeking Cretan artifacts traded with other civilizations (like the Egyptians) - an established occurrence.
Ancient Egypt
The area around the Nile was called Kemet ("the black land", in Ancient Egyptian Kmt), the name for the dark soil deposited by Nile floodwaters. In contrast, the desert was called Deshret ("the red land", in Ancient Egyptian Dsrt), c.f. Herodotus: "Egypt is a land of black soil.... We know that Libya is a redder earth." Ancient Egypt was a civilization along the Lower Nile, reaching from the Nile Delta in the north as far south as Jebel Barkal at the time of its greatest extension (15th century BC). It lasted for three millennia, from 3200 BC to 343 BC.
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1
Greece, Political: The hallmark of democratic Athens was the freedom of its citizens, especially the freedom to speak their mind in the Assembly, and the city vibrated with opportunities that scandalized such conservatives as Plato. The assembly in Athens was a legislative body open to all citizens, any of whom could address the Assembly... There was also a Council, consisting of five hundred citizens selected by lot, which prepared business for the assembly. The use of the lottery for the Council and other offices presupposed the democratic principle that all citizens were qualified to assist in government. Generals, however, were elected, and could have considerable influence. All officials faced formal scrutiny on leaving office, so that they could be punished for corruption or malfeasance while in office...By Greek standards, this was extreme democracy, even though citizenship was limited to adult males whose parents were citizens. Women, slaves, and a large population of resident aliens were excluded.
[Source: Pages xii - xiv of the introduction, On Justice, Power, and Human Nature: The Essence of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, translated and edited by Paul Woodruff.]
Greece, Cultural: For most of Greek history, education was private, with only the wealthy families able to afford teachers. During the Hellenistic period, some city-states established public schools. Boys learned how to read, write and quote literature. They also learned to sing and play one musical instrument and were trained as athletes for military service. They studied not for a job but to become an effective citizen. Girls also learned to read, write and do simple arithmetic so they could manage the household. They almost never received education after childhood.
A small number of boys continued their education after childhood. While they were teenagers, they studied philosophy as a moral guide in life, and rhetoric to help make persuasive speeches in court of a political assembly. In the Classical period, this training was necessary for an ambitious young man. One important part of a wealthy teenager's education was a mentor relationship with an elder. The teenager learned by watching his mentor talking about politics in the agora, helping him perform his public duties, exercising with him in the gymnasium and attending symposia with him. The richest students continued their education to college, and went to a university in a large city. [Source: "Ancient Greece," Wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece)]
Re: TURN IN YOUR ANSWERS: WC EXAM 1