History 101                                                                             Professor Wertheimer

Study Questions II

 

The questions below will not be collected: they are intended to help you review your notes and pull together the materials we have been studying.  As you know, the textbook is primarily for background: the most important part of the class is lecture, followed by the primary source readings.  Think about the study questions in that order: Organize a response to the question based on your lecture notes, and then incorporate the primary readings as supplementary evidence.  As you study for exams, it is especially helpful to look for concepts that we have compared across different societies, because those are good candidates for essay questions.

 

1).  The Greek world is especially known for its emphasis on philosophy and human thought.  Compare and contrast the thought of the following four individuals: Anaximander, Critias, Socrates (as represented by the Apology) and Plato (as represented by The Cave).  How are they similar, how are they different, and how do you account for the differences?

 

2).  On the previous study questions, you were asked to compare and contrast the views that the societies of the ancient Near East and of Greece would have on government.  Now add the Roman Republic to that question.  How were its ideas about the nature, purpose, and function of government similar or different to those of other societies?

 

3).  Over the past few weeks, we have seen several societies create “empires,” including societies that were internally democracies.  Compare and contrast the empires held by Persia, Athens, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire.  Why did they conquer (or control) their empires, and how did their treatment of the conquered regions vary?  More importantly, what effects did holding an empire have on these societies?

            Readings that will be helpful are “The Inscriptions of Darius and Cyrus,” “The Melian Dialogue,” Cicero’s “Oration Against Verres,” “Tiberius Gracchus,” “The Aeneid,” “Correspondence between Pliny and Trajan,” and Aristides’ “Roman Oration.”

 

4).  Explain the development and transformation of Roman government from about 500 BCE to 180 CE.  How did the Roman world change, why did it change, and what effect did this change have on the Roman world?

Useful readings will include Cicero’s “Oration Against Verres,” and “Justifying the Assassination,” Augustus’ “Achievements of the Divine Augustus,” Tacitus’ “Imposition of One-Man Rule,” the “Aeneid,” the “Corpus Juris Civilis” the “Correspondence between Pliny and Trajan,” and Aristides’ “Roman Oration.”

*Note: this question overlaps #2 and 3 above, but focuses solely on Rome.

 

5).  What are the basic tenets (principles) of Christian belief, and how did these shape the way Christians were supposed to behave?  Be certain that you can compare these beliefs to others that we have studied this semester. 

Note:  answer this question from these readings, not prior knowledge of the Bible that you may have.

            Readings that will be helpful in answering this question are

the “Gospels According to Mark and Matthew”

“First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians”

the “Persecutions at Lyons and Vienne”

           

6).  Christianity was ultimately accepted by the Roman world on both an intellectual and legal level.  For this question, focus on thought.  How did Christianity defend itself to the Roman world, and what effect did this process have on Christian thought itself?

Useful readings:

Athenagoras, “Sexuality and Family Life”

Tertullian, “What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?” and

Clement of Alexandria, “In Defense of Greek Learning.”