History 205A

Midterm Exam Review Sheet

 

Part I. Map (10 points)

You will be required to label locations, drawn from the list below, on the provided map.

Al-Andalus       Alexandria        Athens              Carthage

Constantinople   Crete                Hadrian’s Wall  Jerusalem

Macedonia        Mecca              Mesopotamia    Persia              

Rome               Troy

 

Part II – Identifications (30 points)

A selection of terms drawn from the daily lists will appear on the exam.  You will choose six, and provide a brief definition (1 sentence) and approximate date (century – don’t forget to include BCE/CE!)  Most importantly, you must provide a brief discussion (1 sentence) addressing why this person, place, thing or idea is significant to history.  The significance element of your ID is worth the most points (2-3).

 

Sample ID: The Delian League is the alliance formed by Greek city-states after the Persian War (5th c. BCE).  The league’s treasury was housed in Athens, and used by Athenians to glorify their state.  The league thus allowed Athens to assert its supremacy, and Athens’ abuse of it caused the Pelopponesian War.

 

Part III – Essay

One of the three essay questions below will appear on the exam.  You should write a well-constructed answer to it, considering all the elements of the question and drawing on all your available resources – class discussion, the textbook, Lysistrata (if applicable) and especially online documents.  A good essay uses specific examples to support its contentions.

 

1)      Write an essay in which you consider several of the challenges historians face in the study of the ancient world. Selecting at least one document from each of the categories below, consider what the limitations and biases of these documents are. Given these limitations, what can we learn from these documents?

Epic: The Iliad, The Aeneid

Religious writings: The Hebrew Bible, The Gospel of Mary Magdalen, Confessions of St. Augustus;  Qu’ran

Political writings: Funerary Oration of Pericles, Augustus’ Res Gestae; Livy’s History, Tacitus’ History

 

2)      Write a history of social class in the ancient world. Where do class distinctions come from? Who made up the lower classes? How did class pressures shape the politics of ancient Athens and Rome? In what ways and with what results is class manifested in religion?

 

3)      Selecting at least four examples from below (including at least one non-public monument), write a history of architecture in the ancient world that considers the origins of architecture, who built buildings, when and where they were built, the multiple functions they served, and for public monuments, the significance of architectural style, decoration and building placement.

Monuments to choose from:

A Greek or Roman home, the Parthenon, Imperial Forums, Golden House of Nero/Colosseum, the Jewish Temple, Old St. Peter’s in Rome, catacombs, Roman walls, the Haghia Sophia, the Dome of the Rock.