Structure of the
Test
- Thirty-five Multiple Choice Questions and
Fifteen True/False Questions Based on Lectures and
Readings. 100 pts.
- One Extra Credit Essay. 10 pts.
A few comments on the multiple choice section.
Does the study guide cover absolutely everything? No. It covers
concepts from the lectures, for which you will be held responsible,
and it also attempts to suggest some key points from the readings.
You will remain responsible, I hasten to add, for the readings,
wether or not I discussed everything in class, which I did not,
because time is never sufficient to discuss all key points. My goal
is not to steal points from you by means of trivial pursuit, but to
encourage you to read Greek literature and to think about what you
have read.
How will the extra credit essay be graded? How
will you know what to write? What am I looking for? First, I assume
that, as students at the University of Florida, and therefore
representing the academic best that our state has to offer, you have
written more than a few essays in your time, and consequently know
how to structure a formal essay. We will look for an introduction
that lays out your plan coherently as well as a conclusion that
recapitulates the main ideas. We will be keen of course to review the
examples you have culled from your readings and which you discuss
eloquently and thoughtfully in the main body of the essay. Any essay
topic on the test will be listed below. You will therefore enter the
room, we hope, with some general thoughts in place. The opportunity
of the testing situation will help you organize your thoughts and
bring them to the page. Of the thirty points the essay carries, ten
will be reserved for structure and clarity of expression. The
remainder will be reserved for substance, i.e. the number of examples
discussed (three would be minimal) and the intelligence with which
you explicate those well-chosen examples. So long as you justify your
interpretation, you are free to interpret as you see fit. Dazzle us
with your native wit as well as with your intimate knowledge of the
readings, and we will reward you with the points that will earn you
the GPA to pursue the post-graduate goals of your dreams.
Terms, Dates, Facts
Please refer to
individual lecture outlines.
Essay Topics (and not a bad way to think
organize one's thoughts about the material)
- It has been argued that one is truly free
only in a democratic city-state. Discuss the rationale for this
line of thinking, and critique it. Do you agree or disagree? Why
or why not?
- Discuss the relationship of citizenship to
political participation in ancient Athens. Did citizenship matter?
Can you compare ancient Greek attitudes with any other ancient
arrangements, with modern?
- The democratic institutions of ancient
Athens have been admired for centuries, but some have pointed out
that not all participated equally. Discuss the various categories
of people excluded from political life and the various limitations
imposed upon them by their civic status.
- The great problem in Greek political life
during the period of the city-state was the divide between "the
prosperous few and the restless many." Discuss the different
solutions of Athens and Sparta in addressing the disparity between
rich and poor.
- Compare Thucydides' method of writing
history with Herodotus'. Who is more "scientific," more
"objective"? Why?
- Review the main points of Pericles' funeral
speech. In your opinion, does Pericles outline an ideal democracy?
Why or why not?
- Does Thucydides' description of the plague
at Athens reflect his assessment of the moral effects of war?
Please elaborate.
- What were the issues of the Mytilenians
debate? On what basis did Athens decide finally to spare the
Mytlenians? Do you find the Athenians admirable or horrifying for
arguing on the basis that they did? Please explain.
- Compare and contrast Pericles and
Alcibiades. Which was, in your opinion a greater disaster (or, if
you prefer a positive approach, a greater benefit) to Athens.
Please justify your response with attention to details of their
careers as outlined by Plutarch and Thucydides.
- Compare and contrast biography and history
as illustrated in our readings from Thucydides and Plutarch. Which
do you find more reliable? Why?
- Alcibiades switched sides several times
during the war. Why? Was Acibiades justified? Please elaborate.
- Why are the terms "homosexual" and
"heterosexual," although perhaps fitting categories for describing
types of coupling according to gender, inadequate for getting at
the basic distinction between sex acts according to ancient Greek
thinking? Men could go from slaves (male or female) to boys to
wives to prostitutes, and be considered virtuous citizens, so long
as they did not engage in what "shameful" practive?
- Discuss the implications of the double
standard regarding male and female sexual roles, and how this
double standard compares to current standards and
expectations.
- How are ancient same sex relations similar
to and different from same sex relations today? Please discuss
these relations in the cultural and political contexts of their
respective societies.
- Why is Pindar's lyric considered emblamatic
of tyranny while tragedy is considered the genre of democratic
Athens par excellence? Discuss historical as well as social
and literary reasons.
- The fundamental orality of Greek society is
reflected and embodied in their greatest literary works. Please
illustrate this truth with copious examples and discuss the
implications for their general culture.
- Given the date of Euripides' Trojan
Women would it be justified to call the play "anti-war"? If
so, why? If not, why not?
- How does Euripides' Trojan Women
illustrate and reflect ancient social aspects of women's lives?
Please discuss in some detail.
- How did art and architecture reflect
ancient Greek society's values? Please place shifting fashions in
architecture and art in their general political context and cite
specific works to illustrate your points.
