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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens among pro-Athens allies at that time?
(a) The abandon Athens and seek alliance with Persia.
(b) They fight to reinforce their own democracies.
(c) Various pro-Athenian cities consider abandoning democracy for oligarchy.
(d) They form a new league excluding Athens.

2. What happens in the second battle at Syracuse?
(a) Nicias finally takes aggressive action.
(b) Gylippus leads his troops to victory.
(c) Cleon comes and takes command of the Athenians.
(d) Alcibiades arrives with reinforcements.

3. What desecration of religious idols is charged to Alcibiades?
(a) The vandalism of the Hermae of Athens
(b) Setting fire to the temple of Apollo
(c) The stoning of the Oracle at Delphi
(d) Knocking over the statues of Athena

4. What claim does Alcibiades make when the Phoenician navy remains neutral in the Aegean?
(a) He claims it is his personal influence with the Phoenicians.
(b) He claims that he enlists the Spartan fleet to battle the Phoenicians.
(c) He claims that the Phoenicians are little better than pirates.
(d) He claims that rumors of Phoenician ships in the area are false intelligence.

5. How does a lunar eclipse enter into the Athenian plans to withdraw?
(a) It gives the Syracusans a chance to attack in darkness.
(b) It iss viewed as an omen and the Athenians wait too long to depart.
(c) It gives the Athenians a chance to withdraw in darkness.
(d) It terrifies the Syracusans and causes them to withdraw.

6. How do the Athenians respond to the many defeats suffered in 414 BC?
(a) They refuse to believe that it is as bad as reported.
(b) They recall Demosthenes and put him on trial.
(c) They continue to pour their resources and personnel into the Syracusan conflict.
(d) They order the Athenian navy to return to Athens.

7. How does Thucydides picture certain charismatic generals during the years of the Peloponnesian War?
(a) Of little significance to the outcome of the war
(b) Men who have great personalities but little war experience.
(c) Able single-handedly to turn the fortunes of the people they serve.
(d) A lot of talk and no action

8. What does Athens do in Scione?
(a) Executes the men and enslaves the women and children
(b) Establishes a new military base of operations
(c) Prepares for a long winter
(d) Gains another ally

9. What practice does Thucydides not value other than recognizing its effect on politics and the military?
(a) Visiting the oracles
(b) Praying to Apollo
(c) Reading omens in the stars
(d) Casting lots

10. What are the feelings of many Athenians leading up to the problems in Sicily?
(a) Many Athenians feel that Sicily is a simple matter.
(b) Most feel that Athens has become invulnerable.
(c) Many feel that Cleon needs to be in Sicily.
(d) Many feel that Nicias iss unneseccarily inactive.

11. What is commonly called the peace of Nicias by modern scholars?
(a) The end of the Peloponnesian War
(b) A six-week halt to the hostilities
(c) The treaty of alliance between Sparta and Athens during the winter of 422 to 421 BC
(d) A time under Nicias when Sparta is afraid to attack.

12. Who negotiates with both sides--Sparta and Athens--after the defeat at Syracuse?
(a) Demosthenes
(b) Tissaphernes, the Persian satrap
(c) Alcibiades
(d) Sicily's ambassadors

13. How did Thucydides see the period of 422 to 421 BC?
(a) A time when no military operations are launched.
(b) Part of a continuous military struggle with a lull included.
(c) A period of rearmament for both sides
(d) An era of more guerilla warfare

14. What marks the period of the peace of Nicias from 421 to 413 BC?
(a) Minor but constant friction between Athenian and Spartan interests
(b) Military buildups which precluded an skirmishes at all
(c) Economic growth of both Athens and sparta
(d) Several major battles between Athens and Sparta

15. Why does Thucydides create his own chronology for his history?
(a) He wants to exert influence over the Grecian calendar.
(b) He clearly intends it for a wider readership than just the Athenians.
(c) He is not sure of exact dates during the war.
(d) There is a unified calendar of which he does not approve.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Thucydides write about important speeches and rhetoric during his time?

2. When Alcibiades is eventually recalled for blasphemy, what does he do?

3. What occurs between Athens and Sparta during the winter of 422 BC?

4. What transpires in Syracuse in 414 BC?

5. What is the contradiction of Tissapherne's interaction with Sparta?

(see the answer keys)

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