Question 1

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? 
 Neo-Platonism

Accepted Answer

Neo-Platonism is a philosophical system that emerged in the 3rd century AD, founded by the philosopher Plotinus. It sought to reconcile and synthesize the teachings of Plato with other philosophical traditions, particularly those of Aristotle and the Stoics.

Who: Neo-Platonism was founded by the philosopher Plotinus and was further developed by his students, such as Porphyry and Proclus.

What: It is a philosophical system that emphasizes the existence of a single, transcendent reality, from which all existence emanates. It also explores the nature of the soul, the relationship between the material and immaterial worlds, and the concept of the One as the ultimate source of all being.

Where: Neo-Platonism originated in the Hellenistic world, particularly in Alexandria and Athens, and later spread throughout the Roman Empire.

When: Neo-Platonism emerged in the 3rd century AD and continued to be influential in the late ancient and medieval periods.

Why Important: Neo-Platonism had a significant impact on the development of Western philosophy, theology, and mysticism. It provided a framework for understanding the relationship between the material and spiritual realms, and its ideas influenced thinkers such as Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Thomas Aquinas. It also played a role in shaping Christian theology and the development of mystical traditions within Christianity.

Question 2

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? 
 jus naturale

Accepted Answer

Jus Naturale, often referred to as "natural law," is a philosophical and legal concept that has been discussed and debated throughout history. Here is a breakdown of the key aspects of jus naturale:

Who?
The concept of jus naturale has been explored by many philosophers, theologians, and legal theorists over the centuries. Notable figures who have contributed to the development of natural law theory include Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, and more recently, John Finnis.

What?
Jus naturale is a Latin term that translates to "natural law" in English. It refers to a body of unchanging moral principles regarded as a basis for all human conduct. Unlike laws that are set by human societies (positive laws), natural law is thought to have a universal character that applies to all human beings regardless of time or place. It is often associated with the idea that certain rights or values are inherent by virtue of human nature and can be universally understood through human reason.

Where?
As a philosophical concept, jus naturale is not confined to any specific geographical location. It is a universal idea that has been discussed and applied in various cultures and legal systems around the world.

When?
Discussions of natural law can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome. The concept was further developed during the Middle Ages, particularly within the context of Christian theology. It gained renewed interest during the Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries and continues to be a relevant topic in contemporary philosophical and legal debates.

Why Important?
Jus naturale is important for several reasons:

1. Foundation for Human Rights: Natural law theory has been influential in the development of modern human rights, as it posits that there are certain rights inherent to all human beings. This has been a foundational principle in international human rights law.

2. Moral and Ethical Standards: Natural law provides a framework for evaluating the morality of human actions and the justice of positive laws. It suggests that laws created by humans should be based on natural rights and justice to be legitimate.

3. Legal Philosophy: In the realm of legal theory, natural law has been used to critique and justify legal systems, influencing the development of legal principles and the interpretation of laws.

4. Social and Political Philosophy: Natural law has played a significant role in shaping political theories, particularly those concerning governance, the role of the state, and the rights of individuals within society.

In summary, jus naturale or natural law is a foundational concept in philosophy and law that asserts the existence of universal moral principles inherent to human nature, which form the basis for human conduct and the creation of just laws. Its significance lies in its influence on human rights, ethical standards, legal philosophy, and political theory.

Question 3

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. How did Augustus succeed in securing power where Caesar had failed? What were policies of Augustus, and how did they transform the Roman state?

Accepted Answer

Augustus succeeded in securing power where Caesar had failed through a combination of political savvy, military prowess, and strategic alliances. Unlike Caesar, who was seen as a dictator and was eventually assassinated, Augustus was able to consolidate power and establish himself as the first Roman Emperor.

One of the key factors in Augustus' success was his ability to portray himself as a restorer of the Roman Republic rather than a dictator. He carefully cultivated an image of being a champion of traditional Roman values and institutions, which helped to win over the support of the Roman Senate and the people. Additionally, Augustus was able to secure the loyalty of the Roman military through a combination of military victories and generous rewards, ensuring that he had the backing of the most powerful force in the empire.

Once in power, Augustus implemented a number of policies that transformed the Roman state. One of his most significant reforms was the establishment of the Principate, a system of government in which he held ultimate authority but maintained the appearance of a republic. This allowed Augustus to centralize power in his own hands while still maintaining the facade of traditional Roman governance.

Augustus also implemented a series of social and economic reforms aimed at stabilizing the empire and promoting prosperity. He reformed the tax system, improved infrastructure, and implemented laws to promote family values and traditional Roman morality. These policies helped to bring about a period of relative peace and stability known as the Pax Romana, which lasted for over two centuries.

In addition to these domestic reforms, Augustus also expanded the borders of the Roman Empire through a series of military campaigns, bringing new territories under Roman control and increasing the empire's wealth and influence.

Overall, Augustus' policies transformed the Roman state by centralizing power in the hands of the emperor, promoting stability and prosperity, and expanding the empire's borders. His reign marked the beginning of the Roman Empire as we know it, and his legacy as a shrewd and effective ruler has endured for centuries.

Question 4

Nerva initiated a period of competent government by

Accepted Answer

A) establishing the Flavian dynasty. 
B) initiating an adoptive system of imperial succession. 
C) creating open competition for government jobs. 
D) requiring that all senators begin their career by serving in the provinces. 
E) introducing a system of exams for government officials. 
A) establishing the Flavian dynasty. 
B) initiating an adoptive system of imperial succession. 
C) creating open competition for government jobs. 
D) requiring that all senators begin their career by serving in the provinces. 
E) introducing a system of exams for government officials.

Question 5

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? 
 tetrarchy

Accepted Answer

The tetrarchy was a system of government

Question 6

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s). 
   
 Locate and label where the following events occurred: the Battle of Actium; the volcanic eruption that covered Pompeii and Herculaneum; and the Battle of Adrianople.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Instructions: Please use this outline map of...

Question 7

The third-century crisis included all the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) economic dislocation. 
B) a marked decline in the quality of the Roman soldier. 
C) the final collapse of the Empire. 
D) the weakening of the rational foundation of Greco-Roman civilization. 
E) poor leadership. 
A) economic dislocation. 
B) a marked decline in the quality of the Roman soldier. 
C) the final collapse of the Empire. 
D) the weakening of the rational foundation of Greco-Roman civilization. 
E) poor leadership.

Question 8

Which of the following is true of Roman culture during the reign of Augustus?

Accepted Answer

A) Roman writers merely imitated Greek styles and themes. 
B) All Roman poets criticized imperial rule. 
C) The sentiment of patriotism is absent from Roman prose and poetry. 
D) Tacitus denounced Roman emperors and the imperial system. 
E) none of the above 
A) Roman writers merely imitated Greek styles and themes. 
B) All Roman poets criticized imperial rule. 
C) The sentiment of patriotism is absent from Roman prose and poetry. 
D) Tacitus denounced Roman emperors and the imperial system. 
E) none of the above

Question 9

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? 
 princeps

Accepted Answer

Princeps is a Latin term that translates

Question 10

Which of the following statements best describes Roman popular tastes in entertainment?

Accepted Answer

A) Under the impact of Stoicism, entertainment became progressively more humane and refined. 
B) The most popular forms of entertainment were gladiator fights, gymnastics, and organized team sports. 
C) Over the centuries bloody spectacles became increasingly brutal and bizarre. 
D) Plays, both dramas and comedies, came to dominate Roman entertainment. 
E) Reflecting the diversity of the Empire, no one form of entertainment dominated. 
A) Under the impact of Stoicism, entertainment became progressively more humane and refined. 
B) The most popular forms of entertainment were gladiator fights, gymnastics, and organized team sports. 
C) Over the centuries bloody spectacles became increasingly brutal and bizarre. 
D) Plays, both dramas and comedies, came to dominate Roman entertainment. 
E) Reflecting the diversity of the Empire, no one form of entertainment dominated.

Question 11

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? 
 Pantheon

Accepted Answer

The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, n

Question 12

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Explain the third-century crisis. What were the major reasons for the end of the Pax Romana?

Accepted Answer

The third-century crisis, also known as

Question 13

The work of the Galen

Accepted Answer

A) was thoroughly disproved during the Middle Ages. 
B) was synthesized in the  Almagest. 
C) was preserved after the fall of the Roman Empire by Arab scholars. 
D) applied rational investigation to astronomy. 
E) all of the above 
A) was thoroughly disproved during the Middle Ages. 
B) was synthesized in the  Almagest. 
C) was preserved after the fall of the Roman Empire by Arab scholars. 
D) applied rational investigation to astronomy. 
E) all of the above

Question 14

At its height, the Roman Empire completed the Hellenistic trend towards cosmopolitanism and universalism by

Accepted Answer

A) constructing a world community that broke down nations. 
B) developing a rational system of law that applied to all people. 
C) its expansive conception of citizenship. 
D) extending stability and order from Britain to Arabia and from the Sahara to the Danube. 
E) all of the above 
A) constructing a world community that broke down nations. 
B) developing a rational system of law that applied to all people. 
C) its expansive conception of citizenship. 
D) extending stability and order from Britain to Arabia and from the Sahara to the Danube. 
E) all of the above

Question 15

The Aeneid

Accepted Answer

A) was written in the tradition of the Iliad and the Odyssey . 
B) praises Roman virtues such as patriotism, devotion to family, duty to the state, and religiosity. 
C) admits that the Greeks were better thinkers, sculptors, and orators. 
D) claimed that only Rome had a divine mission to bring peace and order to the world. 
E) all of the above 
A) was written in the tradition of the Iliad and the Odyssey . 
B) praises Roman virtues such as patriotism, devotion to family, duty to the state, and religiosity. 
C) admits that the Greeks were better thinkers, sculptors, and orators. 
D) claimed that only Rome had a divine mission to bring peace and order to the world. 
E) all of the above

Question 16

The significance of Octavian's willingness to give up his powers in 27 B.C. rests in

Accepted Answer

A) the magnitude of his military failure. 
B) his belief that it created legitimacy and removed his reign from the taint of despotism. 
C) his hope that the Senate would proclaim him a god. 
D) the fact that the Senate accepted the offer. 
E) the fact that it never happened; his admirers later created this myth. 
A) the magnitude of his military failure. 
B) his belief that it created legitimacy and removed his reign from the taint of despotism. 
C) his hope that the Senate would proclaim him a god. 
D) the fact that the Senate accepted the offer. 
E) the fact that it never happened; his admirers later created this myth.

Question 17

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Give three reasons why the Roman Empire deserves to be remembered and studied, and support your choices with specific evidence.

Accepted Answer

The Roman Empire deserves to be remember

Question 18

Which of the following is true of Roman marriage in the first two centuries A.D.?

Accepted Answer

A) A women could not obtain a divorce as easily as her husband. 
B) The government passed no laws or decrees concerning marriage, believing it to be a private matter. 
C) There is little evidence of genuine affection between husband and wife. 
D) Promiscuity, adultery, divorce, and remarriage were quite rare. 
E) Marriage was considered a sacred civic duty. 
A) A women could not obtain a divorce as easily as her husband. 
B) The government passed no laws or decrees concerning marriage, believing it to be a private matter. 
C) There is little evidence of genuine affection between husband and wife. 
D) Promiscuity, adultery, divorce, and remarriage were quite rare. 
E) Marriage was considered a sacred civic duty.

Question 19

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? 
 manumission

Accepted Answer

Manumission is the act of freeing a slav

Question 20

Which of the following Roman writers was the son of a freed slave?

Accepted Answer

A) Horace 
B) Ovid 
C) Juvenal 
D) Tacitus 
E) Livy 
A) Horace 
B) Ovid 
C) Juvenal 
D) Tacitus 
E) Livy

Exam 7: The Roman Empire a World-State

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? Neo-Platonism

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? jus naturale

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. How did Augustus succeed in securing power where Caesar had failed? What were policies of Augustus, and how did they transform the Roman state?

Nerva initiated a period of competent government by

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? tetrarchy

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s). Locate and label where the following events occurred: the Battle of Actium; the volcanic eruption that covered Pompeii and Herculaneum; and the Battle of Adrianople.

The third-century crisis included all the following EXCEPT

Which of the following is true of Roman culture during the reign of Augustus?

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? princeps

Which of the following statements best describes Roman popular tastes in entertainment?

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? Pantheon

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Explain the third-century crisis. What were the major reasons for the end of the Pax Romana?

The work of the Galen

At its height, the Roman Empire completed the Hellenistic trend towards cosmopolitanism and universalism by

The Aeneid

The significance of Octavian's willingness to give up his powers in 27 B.C. rests in

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Give three reasons why the Roman Empire deserves to be remembered and studied, and support your choices with specific evidence.

Which of the following is true of Roman marriage in the first two centuries A.D.?

Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important? manumission

Which of the following Roman writers was the son of a freed slave?

The Ancient Near East: The First Civilizations

The Hebrews: a New View of God and the Individual

The Greek City-State Democratic Politics

Greek Thought From Myth to Reason

The Hellenistic Age Cultural Diffusion

The Roman Republic City-State to World Empire

Early Christianity a World Religion

The Heirs of Rome Byzantium Islam and Latin Christendom

The High Middle Ages Vitality and Enewal

The Flowering of Medieval Culture the Christian Synthesis

The Late Middle Ages Crisis and Dissolution

The Renaissance Transition to the Modern Age

The Reformation the Shattering of Christian Unity

European Expansion Economic and Social Transformations

The Rise of Sovereignty Transition to the Modern State

The Scientific Revolution the Universe Seen As a Mechanism

The Age of Enlightenment Reason and Reform

The French Revolution the Affirmation of Liberty and Equality

The Industrial Revolution the Great Transformation

Thought and Culture in the Early Nineteenth Century

Revolution and Counterrevolution 1815-1848

Thought and Culture in the Mid-Nineteenth Century Realism and Social Criticism

The Surge of Nationalism From Liberal to Extreme Nationalism

The Industrial West Responses to Modernization

Imperialism Western Global Dominance

Modern Consciousness New Views of Nature Human Nature and the Arts

World War I the West in Despair

An Era of Totalitarianism

Thought and Culture in an Era of World Wars and Totalitarianism

World War II Western Civilization in the Balance

Europe After World War II Recovery and Realignment 1945-1989

The Troubled Present

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