Archives for January 2017

The following is a final exam that I gave to my Early Western Civilization students back in 2007. How would you have performed on it?
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Final Exam – Early Western Philosophy

Match the following emperors with the events at right that occurred during their reign.

____ Nero	A.     Destruction of Jerusalem
____ Diocletian	B.      Edict of Milan
____ Titus	C.      1st to spend time fighting barbarian invaders
____ Tiberius	D.     Burning of Rome
____ Octavian (aka. Augustus Caesar)	E.      Birth of Christ
____ Marcus Aurelius	F.      Death of Christ
____ Constantine	G.     “The Great Persecution” of Christians

 

Match the following places and entities with the best description or event  from the second column.

____ Rome	A.     Located in North Africa
____ Jerusalem	B.      Cradle of Western philosophy
____ Mesopotamia	C.      Cradle of Western civilization
____ Miletus/Ionia	D.     Destroyed in 70 A.D.
____ Carthage	E.      Aristotle’s school
____ Hadrian’s Wall	F.      Located in Britain
____ Bosphorus	G.     City of seven hills
____ Lyceum	H.     Plato’s school.
____ Academy	I.       Strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara.

 

Match the stories, statements, literary works, and cultural constructions below with the best correlate in the second  column.

____ Romulus & Remus	A.     Plato
____ Agrarian Law	B.      Aristotle
____ “Veni, vidi, vici”	C.      Designed to provide plebians with land.
____ The Aeneid	D.     Oracle at Delphi
____ “You can never step in the same river twice.”	E.      Written by Julius Caesar in a letter to the Senate.
____ “Man is the measure of all things.”	F.      Protagorus
____ No living man is wiser than Socrates	G.     Babylonian creation epic
____ Nicomachean Ethics	H.     Founding of Rome
____ Enuma Elis	I.       Early collection of laws from ancient Babylon
____ Hammurabi Code	J.       Heraclitus
____ Theaetetus	K.      Publius Virgilius Maro (Virgil)

 

Fill in the blank.

“All western philosophy is a __________ to Plato.” (Alfred North Whitehead)

Match the people below with the best correlate from the second column.

____ Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus	A.     Teacher of Alexander the Great
____ Hannibal	B.      Roman general/dictator to whom George Washington is often compared.
____ Spartacus	C.      Julius Caesar’s chief rival for power in Rome.
____ Pompey	D.     Argued against the possibility of motion.
____ Xerxes	E.      Carthaginian general in 2nd Punic War.
____ Thales	F.      Leader in the Gladiatorial War
____ Zeno	G.     King of Persia
____ Aristotle	H.     Early western philosopher who predicted an eclipse.

 

From Student Presentations:  Select any ten of the following and in one sentence share with me a general description of each person selected.  (Nitocris, the Amazons, Helen & Paris, Leonidas, Lycurgus, Plutarch, Solon, Pericles, Themistocles, Parmenides, Zeno, Cimon, Nicias, Alcibiades, Agesilaus, Antisthenes, Diogenes, Democritus, Alexander, Cato the Elder, Aemilius Paullus, Tiberius & Gaius Grachus, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Antony, Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, the Cynics, the Skeptics, Philo, Plotinus).

1.

2.

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5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

 

Short Answers

Name one conspirator in the death of Julius Caesar.

What school of early western philosophy is noteworthy for its interest in numbers?

What did Francis Schaeffer say was the main reason the Romans could not tolerate Christianity?

What is henotheism?

What is an oligarchy?

What is a polis?

What role did a Tribune play in Roman society?

 

Chronology

____  Select the correct order for the following births.

1. Birth of Christ 2. Birth of Socrates    3.  Birth of Julius Caesar   4.  Birth of Daniel the prophet
2. 1, 2, 3, 4
3. 4, 3, 2, 1
4. 3, 2, 4, 1
5. 4, 2, 3, 1

____  Select the correct order for the following philosophers, earliest to latest.

1. Thales 2. Socrates    3.  Plotinus   4.  Augustine
2. 1, 2, 3, 4
3. 1, 2, 4, 3
4. 1, 3, 2, 4
5. 1, 4, 2, 3

 

____  Select the correct order for the time in which the following kingdoms/empires were prominent.   1. Egyptian     2.  Babylonian      3.  Roman     4. Greek    5.  Medes & Persians

1. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2. 5, 1, 2, 3, 4
3. 1, 5, 2, 4, 3
4. 1, 2, 5, 4, 3

True/False (circle the correct answer)

True / False	The sophists were more concerned about what is objectively true, than with what is useful or expedient .
True / False	Socrates’ book “Escape From Reason” played an important role in leading Augustine to Christianity.
True / False	When condemned to death, Socrates was given the chance to propose an alternative penalty and he suggested the he receive free meals in the Pryntaneum.
True / False	Aristotle did not believe that politics was an appropriate subject for philosophy and that Plato was wrong to have inquired into the nature and practice of politics.

 

Essay Questions:

On separate sheets of paper, give comprehensive well-ordered treatments to the following topics.

1. Either, (a) based upon our discussions in class, define history and explain its importance for those holding a Christian worldview, or (b) explore some Biblical texts which have been intertwined with our study of Early Western Civilization.

 

2. (a) Julius Caesar’s rise to power, or (b) Daniel’s visions and the flow of human history.

 

3. Compare and contrast Plato and Aristotle, their ideas, and their influence.

 

 

 

Grading for this exam:

Essay questions  – 10 points each

Short answer & chronology – 2 points each

All other questions – 1 point each