The Classical Era in World History 500 BCE to 500CE
Unit Two: The Classical Era in World History 500 BCE to 500 CE
Ways of the World, Ch 4-7
Topics in these units will include:
1. What common features can you identify in the empires described in chapter 4?
2. In what ways did these empires differ from one another? What accounts for those differences?
3. In what ways did these empires differ from one another? What accounts for those differences?
4. Do you think that the classical empires hold "lessons" for the present, or are contemporary circumstances sufficiently unique as to render the distant past irrelevant?
5. "Religions are fundamentally alike." Does the material of this chapter support or undermine this idea?
6. Is a secular outlook on the world an essentially modern phenomenon, or does it have precedents in the classical era?
7. "Religion is a double-edged sword, both supporting and undermining political authority and social elites." How might you support both sides of this statement?
8. How would you define the appeal of the religious/cultural traditions discussed in this chapter? To what groups were they attractive, and why?
9. What is the difference between class and caste?
10. Why was slavery so much more prominent in Greco-Roman civilization than in Indian or Chinese civilization?
11. What philosophical, religious, or cultural ideas served to legitimate the class and gender inequalities of classical civilizations?
12. "Social inequality was both accepted and resisted in classical civilizations." What evidence might support this statement?
13. "The histories of Africa and the Americas during the classical era largely resemble those of Eurasia." Do you agree with this statement? Explain why or why not.
14. "The particular cultures and societies of Africa and the Americas discussed in this chapter developed largely in isolation from one another." What evidence would support this statement, and what might challenge it?
15. What generated change in the histories of Africa and the
Ways of the World, Ch 4-7
Topics in these units will include:
1. What common features can you identify in the empires described in chapter 4?
2. In what ways did these empires differ from one another? What accounts for those differences?
3. In what ways did these empires differ from one another? What accounts for those differences?
4. Do you think that the classical empires hold "lessons" for the present, or are contemporary circumstances sufficiently unique as to render the distant past irrelevant?
5. "Religions are fundamentally alike." Does the material of this chapter support or undermine this idea?
6. Is a secular outlook on the world an essentially modern phenomenon, or does it have precedents in the classical era?
7. "Religion is a double-edged sword, both supporting and undermining political authority and social elites." How might you support both sides of this statement?
8. How would you define the appeal of the religious/cultural traditions discussed in this chapter? To what groups were they attractive, and why?
9. What is the difference between class and caste?
10. Why was slavery so much more prominent in Greco-Roman civilization than in Indian or Chinese civilization?
11. What philosophical, religious, or cultural ideas served to legitimate the class and gender inequalities of classical civilizations?
12. "Social inequality was both accepted and resisted in classical civilizations." What evidence might support this statement?
13. "The histories of Africa and the Americas during the classical era largely resemble those of Eurasia." Do you agree with this statement? Explain why or why not.
14. "The particular cultures and societies of Africa and the Americas discussed in this chapter developed largely in isolation from one another." What evidence would support this statement, and what might challenge it?
15. What generated change in the histories of Africa and the