THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO
CLASSICAL
STUDIES 2902B
Time: 50
minutes |
Mid-term Test
|
10th February, 2009 |
INSTRUCTIONS: Questions 1 and 3 should be answered in essay
form; Question 2 in point form.
Marks
30 1. Write a
historical commentary, including background information, on THREE of the following:
a) In Philip’s absence, Alexander entertained
and became acquainted with envoys from the Persian king, who were won over by
his affectionate nature and impressed that he asked no childish or trivial
questions, but inquired about the lengths of the roads and the manner of their
journey, and about the King himself, his manner of dealing with enemies, and
the Persians’ power and prowess.
(Plutarch, Alex. 5—Romm, p. 4)
b) The theater was filled when Philip himself
appeared in a white cloak, having ordered his bodyguards to follow at a
distance. For he was showing everyone that as he was protected by the goodwill
of the Greeks, he had no need of his bodyguards.
(Diodorus 16.3—Romm,
p. 14)
c) He also sent three hundred sets of Persian
armor to Athens as a dedicatory offering to Athena on the Acropolis, and even
ordered the following inscription: “Alexander, son of Philip, and the Greeks,
except for the Spartans, dedicated these spoils from the barbarians dwelling in
Asia.”
(Arrian 1.16—Romm, p.
42)
d) After crossing the mountains at the
so-called Amanic Gates, Darius advanced towards Issus and reached the rear of
Alexander’s army without being observed….He advanced, the next day, to the
river Pinarus. When Alexander heard that Darius was at his back, he did not
credit the report, but embarked some of his companions in a thirty-oared ship
and sent them to Issus to find out if it was true…
(Arrian 2.7—Romm, p.
49)
e) “….Approach me and ask for your mother,
wife, children, and anything else you like, and receive them. And in the
future, whenever you send word to me, address yourself to me as King of Asia,
and not as an equal, and let me know, as the master of all that belonged to
you, if you have need of anything. Otherwise, I plan to deal with you as a
criminal….”
(Arrian 2.14—Romm, p. 58)
f) With this force Darius had encamped at
Gaugamela, near the river Bumelus, roughly seventy miles from the city of
Arbela, on completely level ground. The Persians had long since leveled the
uneven ground thereabouts, making it fit for chariot driving and for use by the
cavalry
(Arrian 3.8—Romm, p.
78)
10 2. In point form,
write brief notes to identify, state the importance/significance, etc., as
appropriate, of FIVE of the
following:
a)
Sarissa
b)
Amyntas,
son of Perdiccas
c)
Artabazus
d)
Bucephalas
e)
Cleopatra,
daughter of Philip and Olympias
f)
Antipater
g)
Memnon
of Rhodes
h)
Gordian
Knot
i)
Siwah
10 3. Write a short
essay (about one page) on ONE of the
following:
a)
Reasons for Alexander’s success in
battle: how much was due to Philip and how much
to Alexander?
b) Survey briefly relations between Persia and
Macedonia between the time of Darius the Great and the death of Philip II.
c) Describe Sparta’s relations with Macedonia
and the rest of Greece from c. 340 to c. 330.