Test your basic knowledge |

CLEP Western Civilization Ancient Greece

Subjects : clep, history
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The Greeks prevented further westward expansion of the Persian empire when they defeated the army of King Xerxes at the battle of ___ in 480 B.C.E.






2. Cyrus the Great expanded his Persian empire into Greece in 546 B.C.E. when he gained control of a region in Asia minor known as ______.






3. Pottery - which was influenced by the Mycenaean - mainly includes pottery on vases with scenes depicting anything from mythological events to everyday life.






4. Which seventh century B.C.E. Greek poet devised the new poetic form of writing lyrics - short poems with themes that describe a certain human experience?






5. In the fifth century B.C.E. - Greek ruler Pericles ordered the construction of the ___ - a temple to the goddess Athena - on the hill known as the Acropolis.






6. Greek philosopher Plato wrote _____ in order to recount - expound upon - and defend the philosophical methods of Socrates that had led to his trial and conviction






7. Between 800 and 750 B.C.E. - a Greek cultural revival began and the ___ (city-state) emerged as the central unit of economic - social - and political structure and organization; these city-states were small - self-governing units






8. ____ of Cos (c. 460-377) - the 'Father of Medicine -' was an ancient Greek physician who rejected beliefs of supernatural forces inflicting illness and is known for his great advances in clinical medicine including the doctrines of clinical observati






9. The Lycurgan code of which Greek city-state dictated that all males ages 7 to 30 live in military barracks and undergo military training?






10. Homer's epic poem the ___ describes the siege of Troy by the Mycenaeans.






11. After the polis (city-state) of ____ decided to leave the Delian League in 465 B.C.E. - Athens invaded this city-state and overthrew its government as an example to others who may in the future try to leave the league.






12. ____ __ ____ assumed power of the Macedonian empire in 336 B.C.E. when his father - King Philip II - died from assassination and is remembered for his conquest of the Persian Empire in 328 B.C.E. and creation of the largest empire in the world until






13. The socio-economic turmoil facing Athens in the seventh century B.C.E. affected these people the worst






14. ____ (496-406 B.C.E.) was an ancient Greek tragedian who wrote several plays including Oedipus and Antigone which each address moral and religious issues; this playwright wrote from the perspective that humans were born into a world that lacks knowle






15. ____ (c. 469-399 B.C.E.) - an ancient Greek philosopher who is credited with laying the foundation for Western philosophy - emphasized the welfare of the soul and believed that knowledge was gained through divine dispensation rather than through inst






16. In order to continue the work of Socrates - Plato also founded a school in Athens called the ____ - a school which was the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.






17. Although the most impressive towns in early Greek civilization is at ____ - a site known for the Lion's Gate - its sculpted entryway - its huge 'Cyclopean' walls - and its royal tombs with beehive shaped interiors - other early Greek towns included A






18. The most well known Greek writer of comedies was ____ (c. 450-385 B.C.E.) - a playwright who used the medium of a comedy to make fun of other Athenians






19. Greek poet ___ (c. 700 B.C.E.) wrote the Theogony - a work describing the birth of the gods - and Works and Days - which tells about the life of a farmer






20. In 499 B.C.E. - the Ionian Greeks in Anatolia - who had been invaded by the Persians in 546 B.C.E. - rebelled against Persian control and were aided by the city-state ___ on the Greek mainland.






21. ___________ (c. 276-196 B.C.E.) calculated the circumference of the earth.






22. Following defeat by the Spartans in the Peloponnesian Wars - a Spartan oligarchy known as the '___ Tyrants' took control of Athens for several years






23. Greek philosopher ________ (c. 530 B.C.E.) theorized that mathematical relationships could be use to describe all of reality; this philosopher is also believed to have coined the term 'philosopher -' stating that he was a 'lover of wisdom' and the mo






24. As Phillip II and Alexander the Great extended the Macedonian empire to the Near East - the blending of eastern and western civilization led to a culture known as ____.






25. In 546 B.C.E. the Nobleman ____ emerged into power in Athens during a time of revolutionary unrest and worked to reform the structure of society and replacing the aristocratic brotherhoods (phratries) who ruled the Council with the demes (townships o






26. Through a series of battles at land and at sea - the Athenians were able to defeat the Persians with the assistance of the city-state of _____.






27. Some of the greatest actors in the earliest form Greek drama - ____ - (sixth century B.C.E.) include Aeschylus - Sophocles - and Euripides; Athenians engaged in competitions for the best performers in this type of drama.






28. While the Athenian Draco is known for his strict 'Draconian' law codes - Solon is known for the _____ which he brought to Athens; Solon structured Athenian government into a Council of 400 members (boule) - a general Assembly (ekklesia) - and public






29. After fighting with and enslaving neighboring Messenia - a Greek city-state known as Sparta came to control the...






30. As the population and trade both increased and farming declined in the ____ Greek period - a large spread developed between the rich and the poor leading to threats of anarchy between classes






31. In order to deal with the socio-economic crisis occurring in Athens during the seventh century B.C.E. - a certain man known as _____ was given a tyrant-like status; this leader was faced with revolutionary-type violence and responded with a severe la






32. The ____ Kingdom - spanning from the original Macedonia - areas in Asia Minor - and Greece - was established following Alexander the Great's death by Alexander's general Antigonus.






33. After the formerly illiterate Greeks acquired literacy through trading contacts with a group known as the ____ - they were able to write down and record early poetry - which has been passed down through the generations as oral traditions.






34. As the polis declined throughout the Hellenistic period - new religious ideas and mystery cults were brought into the region by armies returning from the Near East; the Persian cult ____ - in which religious practice centered around a cave or cavern






35. ____________ - (c. 300 B.C.E) - the 'father of geometry' developed many geometrical theorems in his book called the Elements.






36. Famous Greek sculptor ______ (c. 490-430 B.C.E.) was hired by Pericles to design the large statue of Athena inside the Parthenon.






37. ___ was a philosophical school of thought in Hellenistic culture that proposed that morality was relative and questioned the existence of any philosophical certainty.






38. ____ __ ____ assumed power of the Macedonian empire in 336 B.C.E. when his father - King Philip II - died from assassination and is remembered for his conquest of the Persian Empire in 328 B.C.E. and creation of the largest empire in the world until






39. Pericles' strategy against the Spartan invasion of Attica - the peninsula on which Athens was located - in 431 B.C.E. happened early in the...






40. Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. - many of the Greek city-states reasserted their independence and formed the ____ League as a confederation of city-states in the southern area of Greece.






41. Ionian Greek ___ (c. 484-425 B.C.E.) - the 'Father of History -' wrote an account of the conflicts between the ancient Greeks and the Persians.






42. During the transition in which the Mycenaens fled to Anatolia after being overrun by Dorian Greeks - their art of writing and related administrative skills were lost and thus - the cultural achievements of these Greeks declined leading to a historica






43. Greek culture established in the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.E. became known as '___' as later generations used it as a standard by which they could measure their own accomplishments; Greek culture influenced Roman literature - art - and language






44. The ____ Empire was established by Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy after Alexander's death and included Egypt and Palestine.






45. The Greek poet ___ (518-438 B.C.E.) is known for his poetic odes of victory for purposes of athletic contests.






46. Early Greek philosopher _____ (c. 400 B.C.E.) theorized that physical objects were composed of atoms (the Greek word atoma meant 'indivisible').






47. The Greek tragedies of playwright _____ (c.480-406 B.C.E.) lack the moral and religious concerns of other tragedians - but rather - restructured the traditional Athenian tragedy and focused on the inner lives and motives of his characters.






48. A policy of ____ - exiling an individual for ten years - was used by the Athenians to make sure that no one politician gained too much power.






49. Greek ____ was generally used to honor the gods - originally involved a chorus (group of singers) alternating verse with a single leader - and grew to include dialogue between actors






50. Athens was made into a complete democracy under the ruler Pericles and entered into a time of prosperity known as the ___ Age of Athens.