Humanities Exam 1

Is a social, economic, and political entity distinguished by the ability to express itself through images and written language

encompasses the values and behaviors shared by a group of people, developed over time, and passed down from one generation to the next.

able to convey a sense of 3-D space on a 2-D surface

ex: cave drawings

use of shading in drawings

representations that imitate the actual appearance of the animals/people

ex: greek statues

those whose survival depended on the animals they could kill and the foods they could gather

"big stones"

these works were constructed without the use of mortar and represent the most basic form of architectural construction.

ex: Stonehenge

from the Celtic crom "circle" and lech "place".

ex: Stonehenge

a story that a culture assumes is true.

stories that have survived in cultures around the world that developed without writing

a partly underground ceremonial enclosure that dates back to Anasazi times with a hole in the floor that symbolizes the emergence of the people from the underworld.

a form of creation myth

Ex: Zuni Pueblo Emergence Tales

belief that the forces of nature are inhabited by living spirits

the practice of investing plants, animals, and natural phenomena with human form or attributes

large temple complexes topped by a sanctuary

ex: the Ziggurat at Ur

also known as Hierarchy of Scale

the most important figures are represented as larger than the others.

a class/category of story with a universal theme.

a long, narrative poem in elevated language that follows characters of a high position through a series of adventures, often including a visit to the world of the dead.

• ex: the Iliad and the Oddessy, the epic of Gilgamesh

words or phrases that characterize a person

ex: "Enkidu, the protector of herdsmen"

words or phrases used in place of another to suggest a similarity between the two

ex: as when Gilgamesh is described as a "raging flood-wave who destroys even walls of stone"

compare two unlike things by the use of the word "like" or "as"

ex: the land shattered like a pot

scriptural fathers of the Hebrew people

men who were prophetic not in the sense of foretelling the future, but rather in the sense of serving as mouthpieces and interpreters of Yahweh's purposes.

a state ruled by a god or by the god's representative

balanced left and right

the integration of multiple perspectives into a single unified image

"writing of the gods" from the greek hieros "holy" and gluphein "th engrave"

stylized drawings that represent objects or beings, which can be combined to express ideas

pictograms used to represent sounds

signs used to indicate which category objects or beings is in question

ritual object

ex: a gift to a god or goddess that was placed ina temple to ensure that the king, or perhaps some temple official, would have access to a palette throughout eternity.

conventions of representation that Egyptian culture used for the rest of its history

a place or state free from worry, pain, and the external world.

good and righteous conduct reflecting the cosmic moral order that underlies all existence

city-states

"top of the city"

citadel that could serve as a fortification, but which usually functioned as the city-state's religious center

a large open space that served as public meeting place, marketplace, and civic center.

long open arcade supported by colonnades (rows of columns)

the sculpted blocks that top columns

creation myth

ex: story of Adam and Eve

a technique in which the artist hammers out the design from the inside

huge blocks of rough-hewn stone used to make walls

a system of political organization held together by ties of allegiance between a alord and those who relied on him for protection

greek jar with an egg-shaped body and two curved handles used for storing oil or wine

pride

the greeks believed that as long as they did not overstep their bounds and try to compete with the gods (the sin of hubris) the gods would protect them

a "coming together" of men to share poety, food, and wine.

enclosed vestibule at the front of a building

the principle interior space of a building

the arrangement, proportions, and appearance of the temple foundation, columns, and lintels

Doric order, Ionic order, and Corinthian order

the innermost sanctuary housing the place where, in a temple with an oracle, the oracle's message was delivered

a row of columns that stands on the stylobate (raised platform of the temple)

the raised platform of the temple

when columns swell about 1/3 of the way up and contract again at the top

rounded two-part capital of the doric order

tabletlike stone that top enchinus (rounded capital)

the bottom layer of the entablature

"young man"

celebration of male body through sculpture

"maidens"

the vessel in which wind and water are mixed

poem to be sung to the accompaniment of a lyre

small local areas comparable to precincts or wards in a modern city

believed by the Greeks to be the most beautiful of all proportions

ratio 8:5 or 1.618:1

large entryway

low wall

imaginary central line

"counterpoise"

Weight-shift

the square panels between the beam ends under the roof

wise men

a focus on the actions of human beings, political action being one of the most important

a process of inquiry and instruction characterized by continuous question-and-answer dialogue designed to elicit a clear statement of the knowledge supposed to be held implicitly by all reasonable beings

the seat of both intelligence and character

moving from specific instances to general principles, and from particular to universal truths

seeks the eternal perfection of pure ideas, untainted by material reality

was a farce in which actors disguised themselves as satyrs (1/2 goat and 1/2 man replete with extravagant genitalia)

a broadly satirical comedy

an amusing or lighthearted play designed to make its audience laugh

basis for tragedy is conflict, but the tensions at work in tragedy (murder and revenge, crime and retribution, pride and humility, courage and cowardice) have far more serious consequences

leading character

represents opposing will

when plays were performed in sets of four

where plays were performed in the open area of the agora

"dancing space"

side entryway to a circular performance space

the stage on which the actors performed and where painted back-drops could be hung

the 9 sister goddesses who presided over song, poetry, and the arts and sciences and gave divine inspiration

the harmonious and beautiful order of the universe

music in which different pitches were believed to evoke different emotions

age in the fourth and third centuries BCE

that regards woman as it's sexual object

procedures for testing theories about the nature of the world that, over time, would lead to the great scientific discoveries of Bacon, Galileo, and Newton

the cleansing, purification, or purgation of the soul

two premises from which a conclusion can be drawn

belief that the good life is attainable only through balanced action

the attempt to elicit an emotional response in the viewer

mythological tribe of humans possibly represents athenian greeks

gave birth to tragedy

• small groups of people ranging from a dozen to 100
• kinship based
• nomadic
• hunter-gatherers
• egalitarian

Paleolithic-old stone age

• kinship based clans in the hundreds
• small agriculture
• egalitarian
• settled in villages

• thousands of people
• villages
• class divisions
• has chief or leader who makes decisions
• religion binds the people
• ancestor worship
• specialization of labor

• hundreds of thousands
• king has close to a monopoly on power
• literate elites
• judicial and police system
• slavery
• taxes
• urban areas of civilization

• wife of Akenaten
• possible co-regent of Egypt

introduced monotheistic religion to Egypt

pharoah who united upper and lower Egypt

Akkadian ruler who united the Sumerian city-states in mesopotamia

Babylonian king who codified the law in writen form

Talion-eye for an eye

saw himself as a god

his daring and exciting life is associated with the Hellenistic aesthetic

circular, colonnaded walkway, encloses a projecting rock that lies directly beneath its golden dome.

prophesy that the world would end in apocalypse

the coming of God on the day of judgement, and that the post-apocalyptic world would be led by a messiah

anointed one, leads post-apocalyptic world

a small, organized group that separates itself from the larger religious movement because it asserts that it alone understands god's will and therefore it alone embodies the ideals of the religion.

spread the word of his life and resurrection

comes from the greek evangelos "bearer of good"

from the greek tupos "example" or "figure"

Christians interpreted Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Issac, as prefiguring god's sacrifice of his son

the subject matter of a work, both literal (factual) and figurative (symbolic)

a four-part monarchy ruling the empire from capitals in Solana

worldwide council

a pre-scribed doctrine

the rites prescribed for public worship

meaning "common" or "popular"

became the official bible of the roman catholic church

8 four-line stanzas, each written short-long, short-long, short-long, short-long

hymn's are written this way

method of chanting, where one side of the choir responds to the other

entrance hall to church proper

a transverse aisle that crossed between the nave and the apse in a church

a long arm, the nave, with 3 shorter arms, the apse and the arms of the transept

a zone with windows that lit the length of the church

so called because of its circular structure, topped by a dome

the reconciliation of different rites and practices into a single philosophy or religion

cults whos initiation rites were secret

triangular curving vault sections that spring from the corners of the base between arches

images, or decorative embellishments

from the greek eikon "icon" or "image" and klao "break" or "destroy"

the practice of destroying religious images

the central space opens out into semi-circular bays or niches, which themselves open, through a triple arcade, to the ambulatory

makes objects appear to tip upward and elongates and heightens figures

the scriptures of islam

means "recitations"

the undertaking of a pilgrimage to mecca

a sacred invocation that can be translated "in the name of allah, the beneficent, ever-merciful"

meaning "narrative" or "report"

consists of sayings of muhammad and anecdotes about his life

the impassioned religious struggle that could take either of two forms: a lesser from, holy war ; or a greater form, self-control over the baser human appetites

place of prostration

many-columned covered area

"resting upon pillars"

literally "curtain"

the requirement that women be covered or veiled

simple scarf which covers the wearer from head to toe, leaving only her hands and her face (or part of her face) exposed

the art of producing artistic, stylized writing

successors to muhammad who assumed political and religious authority

persons of very near total enlightenment, but who have vowed to help others achieve buddhahood before crossing over to nirvana

meaning "those whose essence is wisdom"

a kind of burial mound

literally "circle"

the buddhist diagram of the cosmos

symbolic gestures