Greek & Roman Final

According to the reading from Tacitus' Annals, Nero sought to cause the death of a. Agrippina. b. Poppaea. c. Pharasmanes. d. Julia.

Agrippina

Which of the following is not true of ancient Roman religion? a. The (Gregorian) calendar we use today has its basis in ancient Rome's religious calendar. b. Roman religion was not concerned with morality in the same way that most major world religions of today are. c. Roman religion was based on mutual trust between god and man in a kind of quid-pro-quo system. d. Ancient Rome was the first culture to introduce a clear distinction between religion and socio- political life.

Ancient Rome was the first culture to introduce a clear distinction between religion and socio-political life.

Which of the following is not true about Augustine? a. In Augustine we see the notion of all of creation as the revelation of God. b. His Confessions is essentially the first autobiography ever written in the Western tradition, which gives a rich narrative of his life during the late Roman Empire and how he converted to Christianity. c. He is a pivotal figure between the ancient Greco-Roman world, in which he was deeply learned, and the dawning medieval world, which he was hugely influential in forming. d. Augustine authored the Enneads, in which he parallels the history of the city of man (the present world) with the history of salvation and the city of God.

Augustine authored the Enneads, in which he parallels the history of the city of man (the present world) with the history of salvation and the city of God.

Which of the following is not true about Constantine and the ascendancy of Christianity? a. From Constantine onward the Church began to enjoy imperial patronage (financial support), while pagan cult sites became progressively neglected in the empire. b. Early Christianity was an illegal religion for most of the first three centuries of its existence, and during this time experienced persecution of varying intensity, but nevertheless continued to grow so that it became a significant presence in the empire. c. Constantine's religious experience at the Battle of Milvian Bridge resulted in his conversion to Christianity, making him the first Christian emperor, and in 313 he issued the Edict of Milan legalizing Christianity and allowing the worship of any deity. d. Christianity finally became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the year 500 under the emperor Julian.

Christianity finally became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the year 500 under the emperor Julian.

Which of the following is not true of the gladiatorial games? a. Gladiatorial games (munera) probably originated as funeral games but gradually evolved into grand public spectacles staged by politicians and emperors. b. The Colosseum was known in antiquity as the Flavian Amphitheater since it was built by the emperors of the Flavian dynasty. c. Gladiators were paradoxically the lowest of society (infamis, beneath the law) and yet able to gain great fame and heroic or celebrity status. d. Gladiators got their name from the gladius, which was the gladiatorial shield.

Gladiators got their name from the gladius, which was the gladiatorial shield.

Which of the following is not true of Augustus? a. He was the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar. b. He formed part of the Second Triumvirate. c. He was the first emperor of Rome and ushered in the so-called Pax Romana. d. He was one of the "five good emperors."

He was one of the "five good emperors."

Which of the following is not true of Ovid? a. His poetry, unlike Virgil's, is centrally concerned with pathos and sexuality. b. His Metamorphoses may in a sense be seen as an "anti-epic," in which history changes from one state to another but with no higher or ultimate purpose. c. His masterpiece, the Metamorphoses, serves as a vast repository of Greco-Roman myths. d. He was one of the most favored poets of Augustus.

He was one of the most favored poets of Augustus.

Which of the following is not true of Virgil? a. He became to Roman culture what Homer had been to Greek culture. b. He was the greatest poet of ancient Rome. c. His poetry was largely a celebration of the reign of Augustus. d. His influence died out during the Middle Ages.

His influence died out during the Middle Ages.

Which of the following is not true regarding early Christianity and its message? a. Jesus of Nazareth was born during the reign of Emperor Augustus, and stemming from Jesus' teachings Christianity arose in the first century, and from its heart in Jerusalem (in Judea) it spread outward ultimately to the outer reaches of the Roman Empire and beyond. b. Christianity grew out of Judaism and believed, via the Hebrew bible, in one God who created the world "very good," yet that a "fall" occurred when humanity broke faith with its creator (resulting in suffering, death, and human sinfulness), yet also in the hope of redemption through a messiah- figure. c. Early Christians claimed that Jesus was the promised Hebrew messiah who brought redemption to the world through his person, ministry, message, crucifixion, and resurrection, which they saw as the overcoming of death and the fall and the beginning of a new creation, a message they called the "gospel," meaning "good news." d. In the Hebrew bible Yahweh makes a special covenant with the Apostle Paul that "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed" (Gen 22:18), which was an important passage for early Christians pointing to the redemption of the world through the messiah.

In the Hebrew bible Yahweh makes a special covenant with the Apostle Paul that "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed" (Gen 22:18), which was an important passage for early Christians pointing to the redemption of the world through the messiah.

Which of the following is not true of the Colosseum? a. It was capable of holding about 50,000 spectators. b. Its construction was funded by spoils from the Jewish War. c. When it opened in 80 AD, there was allegedly staged in the arena a genuine sea-battle in water. d. It was built as the crowning achievement of the building project of Augustus.

It was built as the crowning achievement of the building project of Augustus

Which of the following is not true of the Pantheon? a. It was built in under the emperor Hadrian as a temple to "all the gods," the literal meaning of its name. b. Built around 120 AD, its massive concrete dome was the largest in the world for well over a thousand years. c. The circular opening at the center peak of the dome is known as the oculus. d. Its dome was reinforced with steel rods, the only way the Roman engineers could make it at such size.

Its dome was reinforced with steel rods, the only way the Roman engineers could make it at such size.

Which of the following is incorrect of ancient Roman (Classical Latin) literature? a. The Golden Age consists of the Ciceronian period and the Augustan Age. b. The earliest Roman literature to survive intact is that of Plautus. c. Cicero had a transforming effect on Latin literature, achieving in the language a degree of eloquence previously thought only attainable in Greek. d. Its influence faded in medieval Western Europe whereas Greek and the works of Greek literature continued to thrive in the West.

Its influence faded in medieval Western Europe whereas Greek and the works of Greek literature continued to thrive in the West.

Which of the following is not true of Rome during the period of the Republic? a. Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus formed the so-called First Triumvirate. b. The highest office of the state was held by the consuls. In the Punic Wars Rome fought against Carthage for dominance of the western Mediterranean, and the Romans were almost destroyed by Hannibal, though he was finally defeated by Scipio at Zama. c. Rome conquered Greece and as a result was culturally "conquered" by Greece. d. Octavian was defeated at the Battle of Actium.

Octavian was defeated at the Battle of Actium.

Which of the following is not true regarding Plotinus and Neoplatonism? a. Plotinus' philosophy revolves around the One (akin to Plato's Good or Aristotle's Unmoved Mover), the radically transcendent source of everything and to which everything returns, hence the goal of human life is to return to the One through contemplation. b. Plotinus posited a chain of being in which there are multiple levels of reality descending from God all the way to the lowest order of things, matter, which is a concept influential in the medieval period. c. Plotinus was the founder of Neoplatonism, a synthesis of various streams of Greco-Roman thought, bringing together the thought of Plato, Aristotle, to some extent Stoicism, and Greco- Roman religion into one coherent whole. d. Plotinus' writings were published after his death by his disciple Celsus in the Isagoge.

Plotinus' writings were published after his death by his disciple Celsus in the Isagoge.

Which type of gladiator wielded a net and trident, the only one who fought without a helmet and with very little armor, giving him greater range of vision of mobility but also leaving him more vulnerable? a. Retiarius b. Secutor c. Bestiarius d. Thracian

Retiarius

Which of the following is not true of ancient Rome? a. The region in which Rome was located was Latium--hence their language, Latin. b. The last king of Rome was Tarquin the Proud; then the Republic was founded, in which the highest office of the state was held by the consuls (two, annually elected). c. The formation of Roman culture was most influenced by the Greeks and the Etruscans. d. Rome had two major foundation myths, one revolving around Romulus and another revolving around Remus.

Rome had two major foundation myths, one revolving around Romulus and another revolving around Remus.

Which of the following is not true regarding the fall of Rome? a. The decline of Rome included factors like the rise of Parthian power on the empire's eastern frontier, and the new threat of the Huns, which pushed Germanic tribes (Visigoths) closer to Roman territory who, after the decisive defeat of the Romans at Adrianople, consistently pressured the Roman frontier across wide areas. b. The fall of the Western Roman Empire is typically seen as the end of Greco-Roman antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages, in which the Church (the last major institution standing) still provided Western Europe a degree of cultural unity, thus the emergence of medieval Christendom. c. Even though the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 when Romulus Augustulus was deposed by Odoacer, the Eastern Roman Empire - with its seat in Constantinople - still continued for another thousand years (known as the Byzantine Empire). d. Rome itself was sacked in 350 by Attila the Hun, which sent shock waves through the empire, but even after the fall of Rome the living conditions remained high in Western Europe, and transportation, trade, and urban life flourished.

Rome itself was sacked in 350 by Attila the Hun, which sent shock waves through the empire, but even after the fall of Rome the living conditions remained high in Western Europe, and transportation, trade, and urban life flourished.

Which of following statements is not true regarding philosophy of the Hellenistic period? a. Four main schools of philosophy emerged: Academic, Paripatetic, Epicurean, and Stoic. b. Epicureans were atomists who held pleasure to be the chief of human life, which paradoxically entailed limiting human desire to the simple and fulfillable. c. Stoicism emphasized duty and virtue above all else, sought to be unmoved by the external world, and metaphysically held to a form of pantheism. d. Stoicism was founded by the philosopher Stoa Poikile.

Stoicism was founded by the philosopher Stoa Poikile.

Which of the following statements on Latin Silver Age literature is not true? a. Seneca wrote tragedies based on the work of Sophocles and Euripides, which later influenced great playwrights like Shakespeare. b. Pliny the Elder wrote the Natural History, a scientific and encyclopedic work. c. Tacitus wrote Germania, which serves as a historical introduction to the Germanic peoples. d. Suetonius wrote Parallel Lives, a series of biographies comparing great Greek and Roman figures.

Suetonius wrote Parallel Lives, a series of biographies comparing great Greek and Roman figures.

Which of the following correspondences between Greek and Roman deities is incorrect? a. The Roman equivalent of Zeus was Jupiter. b. The Roman equivalent of Ares was Mars. c. The Roman equivalent of Hera was Juno. d. The Roman equivalent of Athena was Venus.

The Roman equivalent of Athena was Venus.

Which of the following is not true regarding the relationship between the emperor and Roman religion? a. Good emperors were typically deified after death. b. Augustus, like Julius Caesar before him, was pontifex maximus of the state religion. c. As Augustus was conceived of as the paterfamilias of the Roman Empire, his genius received a style of worship throughout the empire. d. The emperor was identified as the very incarnation of Jupiter on earth.

The emperor was identified as the very incarnation of Jupiter on earth.

Which of the following is not true regarding ancient Roman sculpture? a. The most distinctly Roman contribution to sculptural art was verism, an extremely realistic style capturing even every imperfection of the subject. b. The Augustan Age harkened back to the Classical Greek style of idealism. c. The famous Augustus of Prima Porta took its inspiration from Polyclitus' Doryphoros, with which it shares the same idealized proportions of the human body. d. The famous Capitoline Wolf is a sculptural expression of the Roman foundation myth revolving around Aeneas.

The famous Capitoline Wolf is a sculptural expression of the Roman foundation myth revolving around Aeneas.

Which of the following is not true regarding the Aeneid? a. It was Virgil's conscious reconception of and response to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. b. It has as its central theme that of order over chaos. c. In it Virgil's ideal vision of Rome is put forth, but not without cracks. d. The hero of the story, Aeneas, is modeled after the great Homeric hero, Achilles.

The hero of the story, Aeneas, is modeled after the great Homeric hero, Achilles.

Which of the following statements on Roman philosophy is not true? a. Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher whose teachings were recorded by Arrian in the Discourses and the Enchiridion. b.Cicero was crucial for the Western philosophical tradition in transmitting Greek philosophy tothe Latin-speaking world and giving Latin a philosophical vocabulary. c. One of the greatest representatives of Epicurean philosophy was the Roman philosopher Lucretius, author of On the Nature of Things. d. The philosophy that was most amenable to Roman sensibilities, and therefore most influential among Romans, was Epicureanism.

The philosophy that was most amenable to Roman sensibilities, and therefore most influential among Romans, was Epicureanism.

Who is not one of the so-called "five good emperors"? a. Trajan b. Hadrian c. Marcus Aurelius d. Vespasian

Vespasian

In the Augustan Age a. Virgil became part of the circle of Maecenas, who was a counselor of Augustus and leading patron of the arts in Rome. b. Julius Caesar and Catullus were major literary figures. c. The historian Polybius wrote his massive work The Histories d. Latin literature saw a definite decline in quality.

Virgil became part of the circle of Maecenas, who was a counselor of Augustus and leading patron of the arts in Rome.

Livy

sought to explain the unfolding of history principally through the lens of the moral character of persons rather than through political events.

Seneca

was a Stoic philosopher, ultimately put to death by Nero wrote the Moral Letters, a series of practical letters on various experiences and concerns common to human life. was the tutor of Nero and greatly influential on the politics of his time.