UGS 303 Exam 1 Study Guide Part A Short Answer Quote Identifications You must choose five of the quotations given on the exam and identify the speaker and work the quote is from plus write a few sentences explaining the significance of the quote to the work as a whole Review the past readings to prepare Here are some important quotes from the works we have read and example responses to study Example Responses 1 I pitied mortals and myself was judged unworthy of pity Instead I m disciplined without mercy a sight to win Zeus infamy Work Prometheus Bound Speaker Prometheus Significance This quote contrasts the qualities of a good leader and a tyrant Prometheus himself represents a good leader he displays the quality of mercy or empathy towards the mortals This quality is essential in a good leader Zeus however represents a tyrant He is described as someone without mercy Furthermore Prometheus asserts that his punishment is nothing more than a sight to win Zeus infamy With the combination of these two descriptions we can assert that Zeus is a leader who is merciless and selfish in other words a tyrant 2 Some will say that democracy is neither intelligent nor fair and that the wealthy are best able to rule But I answer first that the demos is the name of the whole people while oligarchy names only a part Second though the rich are indeed the best guardians of the city s money the best councilors are the intelligent and the best judges of what they hear are the many Work Thucydides Speaker Athenagoras Significance Here Athenagoras defends democracy against claims that government works best when the few wealthy are in control This one quote embodies the broader disagreements between advocates and dissidents of democracy On one hand many people argue that the masses are too ignorant and unskilled to rule We need experts in power if we want to make intelligent decisions Athenagoras reply to this standpoint represents the feelings of the democrats as a whole it is just for the city to belong to its people the demos In a good government everyone s voice is able to be heard 3 You ve seen trees tossed by a torrent in a flash flood If they bend they re saved and every twig survives But if they stiffen up they re washed out from the roots Work Antigone Speaker Haemon Significance Here Haemon speaks to his father Creon about being too unyielding when it comes to the law He urges him to be more flexible and have mercy on Antigone such as trees that bend under pressure and survive This quote also foreshadows Creon s tragic fate He will refuse to budge and become like the stubborn tree that is washed out by the roots 4 But the pleasure of the moment and whatever contributed to that were set up as standards of nobility and usefulness No one was held back in awe either by fear of the gods or by the laws of men Work Thucydides Speaker Thucydides Significance Here Thucydides describes the state of human virtue during the plague in Athens Fear of death caused the people to disobey the laws of both gods and men causing chaos and disorder in a formerly great democracy 5 Wisdom It s not wise to lift our thoughts too high we are human and our time is short A man who aims at greatness will not live to own what he has now Work Bacchae Speaker Chorus Significance The chorus directs this quote at Pentheus for being disrespectful to Dionysus It illuminates the dangers of hubris or pride It is not wise for a mere mortal to aspire to greatness we must instead recognize our limitations and focus on what we have now Part B Essay The exam will contain two of these five essay prompts You must answer one In order to be fully ready for the exam then you should prepare four of them Here are the prompts and some helpful information from the lectures readings that you can use when preparing your answers 1 How could Pericles be the architect for both democracy at home and a tyrannical empire abroad Pericles famous Athenian war general and orator Called for the building of the Parthenon Helped Athens become an empire Allowed more people to participate in democracy by giving pay for jury duty Famous for his funeral oration Emphasizes the cause that the people died for democracy States that Athens sets an example for all of Greece Because of Pericles Athens grew in power and Sparta felt threatened leading to the Peloponnesian war Pericles had very aggressive foreign policies which he used to obtain money and goods from foreign states 2 In view of the failure of the Sicilian Expedition what changes would you make in Athenian governance to make Athens more effective in war Because Athens was a democracy the people voted to go to war against the advice of people like Nicias The people were motivated by greed and ambition They were also swayed by Alcibiades who argued that the war would be easy The Athenians did not send enough troops or ships for the mission to succeed at first Nicias wrote back telling the people to either send double the amount of ships and soldiers or bring the troops back home Athens mustered up everything she had left and sent more troops and ships After his failure in the war Nicias was afraid to tell the Athenians for fear that he would be punished Think about how things might have gone better in a monarchy or any other form of government 3 Do the advantages of the Athenian system of representation outweigh the disadvantages Be specific Athenian system of representation The lottery system Assemblies including parrhesia right of every man to speak Officeholders chosen by lot each year not compulsory Jury members chosen randomly the day of the trial to avoid bribery Think about the balance between everyone s voices being heard and making sure government is knowledgeable and efficient 4 To what extent is Creon a tyrant in the Antigone Cite particular things he says or does Things Creon says does Refuses to listen to the advice of his son Haemon Refuses to listen to the prophet Tiresias Decides to execute Antigone despite the will of his people Is guilty of hubris Think about the qualities of a tyrant and how many to what extent Creon possesses these 5 Prometheus suffers terribly for defying a tyrant whom he helped put in power Is his suffering worth the cost Prometheus is suffering because he had mercy on the humans and decided to give them gifts such as fire Prometheus helped put Zeus into power but Zeus soon become tyrannical after Prometheus made the humans more powerful Does Zeus fear the humans