NCEA L2 Classical Studies flashcards
NCEA L2 Classical Studies · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- What is a primary source?
- Evidence produced in the period being studied, such as a vase, inscription, coin, or contemporary text; it must still be interpreted for bias, purpose, and audience.
- What is a secondary source?
- Later scholarship, commentary, or textbooks written about the ancient world; useful for interpretation but dependent on the primary evidence and the author's own argument.
- Define in medias res
- Latin for 'into the middle of things'; an epic technique of opening partway through the action, with earlier events supplied later through flashback or narrative.
- What is a Homeric epithet?
- A fixed descriptive phrase attached to a person or object, such as 'swift-footed Achilles' or 'wine-dark sea'; it aids memorisation and rhythm in oral poetry.
- Define nostos in epic
- Greek for 'return home'; the theme structuring the Odyssey, where Odysseus's long journey home is repeatedly delayed and tested by gods and mortals.
- What is hubris in tragedy?
- Excessive pride or arrogance that oversteps human limits and invites divine punishment; it often drives the downfall of a tragic protagonist.
- Define peripeteia
- A sudden reversal of fortune in a drama, where the protagonist's situation turns from apparent success to disaster, often triggered by a single action.
- What is dramatic irony?
- A gap between what a character knows and what the audience knows; in Greek tragedy the audience often sees the coming disaster before the character does.
- Role of the Greek chorus
- A group of performers who sing and dance, comment on the action, offer background, and voice communal values, though they rarely intervene directly in the plot.
- What is a deus ex machina?
- A god lowered onto the stage by a crane to resolve an apparently insoluble plot; the device is associated with Euripides and later criticised as artificial.
- Define the Ekklesia
- The Athenian assembly of adult male citizens, which met on the Pnyx, debated policy, passed decrees, and voted on war, treaties, and ostracism.
- What was the Boule?
- The Council of 500 at Athens, chosen annually by lot from the citizen body, which prepared the assembly's agenda and oversaw much day-to-day administration.
- Define ostracism
- An Athenian procedure in which citizens voted with potsherds to exile a named man for ten years, intended to defuse political rivalry without permanent punishment.
- Who were the metics?
- Resident foreigners in Athens who paid taxes and served in the military but lacked citizenship rights such as voting, holding office, or owning land.
- Define the cursus honorum
- The Roman sequence of public offices, normally quaestor, aedile, praetor, and consul, with minimum ages and rules against holding offices simultaneously.
- What is imperium?
- The formal power of command held by Roman senior magistrates and generals, including military authority and the right to enforce obedience, limited by term and collegiality.
- Define clientela
- The Roman patron-client relationship, in which a patron gave protection and support and the client gave political backing, morning greetings, and services in return.
- Who were the equites?
- The Roman equestrian order, a wealthy class below senators, active in finance, tax collection, and business, and a key source of administrative officials under the emperors.
- What is interpretatio Romana?
- The Roman practice of identifying foreign gods with Roman ones, as when Zeus became Jupiter or Athena became Minerva, easing religious and political integration.
- Define paterfamilias
- The male head of a Roman household, holding legal authority over family members, freedmen, and slaves, including matters of property and marriage.
- What was the agoge?
- The Spartan state education system for boys, stressing endurance, obedience, and military training from around age seven, with harsh conditions and communal living.
- Define symposion
- A Greek aristocratic drinking party with food, wine, poetry, and entertainment; its imagery on vases reveals values about leisure, status, and male company.
- What is a kouros?
- An Archaic Greek standing nude male statue, usually votive or funerary, characterised by frontal pose, stiff stance, and the 'Archaic smile'.
- Define contrapposto
- A sculptural pose in which weight rests on one leg, tilting hips and shoulders in opposition; it creates a naturalistic, relaxed stance seen in Classical work.
- What is red-figure pottery?
- An Athenian pottery technique from about 530 BCE in which figures are reserved in the clay colour against a painted black background, allowing finer painted detail.
- Define the Doric order
- A Greek architectural order with a plain cushion capital, no base, and a frieze of alternating triglyphs and metopes; the Parthenon uses it.
- What is an amphora?
- A two-handled Greek storage jar, often used for wine or oil, and frequently decorated with scenes that provide evidence for daily life and myth.
- Define res gestae
- Latin for 'things done'; used for a record of achievements, most famously the inscribed account of Augustus's deeds set up after his death.
- What was the Roman triumph?
- A state procession honouring a victorious general, who rode through Rome with captives and spoils to the Temple of Jupiter, displaying military success.
- Define damnatio memoriae
- A Roman senate decree erasing a person's name and images from public record after treason or disgrace, aimed at removing their memory from the state.
- What is a votive offering?
- An object given to a deity in fulfilment of a vow or as thanks, often left at a sanctuary; its quality reflects the dedicator's wealth and piety.
- Define anachronism
- Attributing an idea, object, or practice to a period where it did not exist; a common error when judging ancient evidence by modern assumptions.