Orientalizing Period

Warfare

The Polis

Colonization

Tyranny

Literature

Pan-hellenic Institutions

Sexuality

Sparta

Athens

Possible Essay Questions:

  1. Heroic Code: We have seen that the heroic code (ways to achieve honor/fame and avoid dishonor/shame) has morphed during the Archaic Age. Discuss both generally and then how it morphed in Athens and in Sparta (i.e. a paragraph on each polis). Conclusions? For source material, use class notes and/or Pomeroy for Athens and Sparta. For Archaic Age, use class notes (for leaders of colonization), the web readings from Sept 29 (Archilochus in "Lyric Poets" and Tyrtaeus' poem), and Kebric's chapter 3 (Olympic Games).

  2. Olympic Games: Compare and contrast the events, athletes, and/or purpose of the Olympic Games then and now. For evidence, use Kebric's chapter and class notes for the ancient Greek Olympics; use only the IOC main web site and the BBC (Rio 2016) for the modern Olympic Games [Note 1: if you did the Olympics topic for paper 2, then don't repeat yourself. Note 2: even though he is not an Olympian, you may also discuss the football player Colin Kaepernick along with Olympic Athletes]. Warning: Make sure each main body paragraph has evidence from both the ancient and modern Olympics!

  3. Athens & Sparta: The modern archaeologist, Anthony Snodgrass, in Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment argued that the beginning of the Archaic Age was a "structural revolution" which  
    • "established the economic basis of Greek society"
    • "established the main outlines of its social framework"
    • "drew up the political map of the Greek world"
    • "set up the forms of state what were to determine Greek political history"
    • "provided much of the physical basis of Greek religion"
    • "furnished the means for Greek society to defend its independence militarily" (Snodgrass, Archaic Greece)
    For 2 of these observations by Snodgrass, discuss how Athens and Sparta reflected these, during the Archaic Age. Use class notes and, if needed, Pomeroy.