Midterm 1 Essay Questions (Oral exams too)

You will be required to answer one of the following two essay questions for the midterm:

Pick one of the following civilizations: Mesopotamia, Persia, or Egypt and compare and contrast it to one of the following civilizations: Greece, India or China. What were the political structures like? What were the religious and social structures of these communities? How was writing and architecture viewed in these cultures? Discuss how each dealt with warfare and contact from the outside. What was the role of women in these civilizations? Which group do you think was a “more successful society” and why? Make sure to note how were they similar or different?

Compare and contrast the civilizations of the early Greeks with the Greeks under Macedonian rule. How did the political structure change or remain the same? How did religious and social structures of these communities remain the same or change? How did the view of art, science and philosophy change? Discuss what changes occurred in warfare and contact from the outside. How and why was Alexander successful at “Hellenizing” his empire? What was the role of women in this new empire? Compare the role of the gods in The Iliad and Oedipus. What does that show about the changing Greek view of man’s place in the world and his relationship to the gods?