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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the text of Thucydides' history end?
(a) With Thucydides returning from exile back to Athens
(b) With a summary of the entire war
(c) With predictions about future wars
(d) In mid-sentence, seven years prior to the conclusion of the war

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

3. What ultimatum does Athens give to Melos?
(a) Build triemes for Athens or face an embargo
(b) Surrender supporters of Sparta or face the consequences
(c) Join the Delian League or remain neutral
(d) Pay tribute or be wholly destroyed

4. Why does the Athenian attack on Messana fail?
(a) Bad weather sinks many Athenian ships.
(b) An earthquake stops the invasion.
(c) The Spartans arrive before Athens.
(d) A betrayal by Alcibiades

5. What happens in 411 BC to the Athenian democracy after the defeat at Syracuse?
(a) All the leaders resign in helplessness.
(b) Martial law is declared to restore order and democracy.
(c) Athenian democracy collapses under the pressure of assassinations and military defeat.
(d) The democracy splits into three separate factions.

6. Stylistically speaking, what is the quality of Thucydides' text?
(a) Its simplicity of style makes it simple for even non-scholars to study.
(b) It is complex and extraordinarily dense which often leads to difficulty with clear interpretation of issues.
(c) It is uneven and often misleading.
(d) It is archaic and fails to deliver what Thucydides had hoped for.

7. Where is Thucydides writing his History of the Peloponnesian War?
(a) In the Library of Alexandria
(b) In Sparta
(c) Underground Athens
(d) In exile

8. How do scholars generally explain the contradictions in Thucydides' text?
(a) Thucydides seems to have a great deal of trouble making up his mind.
(b) Over time. he revises his opinions and understanding but does not always update all relevant textual passages.
(c) Much of the manuscript is lost and Thucydides forgets what he has said earlier.
(d) Correctly analyzed, what appears to be contradictions are actually not.

9. Who incites the revolt of Chios?
(a) Alcibiades
(b) Brasias
(c) Demosthenes
(d) Tissaphernes

10. What occurs between Athens and Sparta during the winter of 422 BC?
(a) Athens and Sparta set up their defenses for the next year.
(b) Diplomatic negotiations continue throughout the winter.
(c) Athens and Sparta first sign a peace treaty and then develop an alliance of sorts.
(d) They redraw the map of Greece.

11. Why are the Peloponnesian triremes better equipped?
(a) They are made of teak wood imported from Africa.
(b) They are carrying missle launching equipment.
(c) They carry flamethrowing catapults.
(d) Their prows are stronger and their rams reinforced.

12. How are the triremes used in naval combat?
(a) They are outfitted with dart throwing devices.
(b) They come alongside another trireme and break its oars.
(c) The move in quickly and are able to board the enemy ship.
(d) They aim for the enemy ship and ram it.

13. Who is instrumental in getting Sparta to join Syracuse against Athens?
(a) Pericles
(b) Alcibiades
(c) Brasias
(d) Cleon

14. What is the relationship of Melos to Athens during the period of the peace of Nicias?
(a) Melos accedes to all Athanian demands and comes under the Athenian umbrella.
(b) Melos seeks to evade entanglement in the Delian League.
(c) Melos sends envoys to both Athens and Sparta.
(d) Melos then engages Athens in political rhetoric and refuses to yield to Athenian demands.

15. What is Alcibiades able to do in the Peloponnesus?
(a) Establish new strongholds
(b) Create an Athenian-dominated, anti-Spartan alliance.
(c) Form a successful naval blockade
(d) Surround Sparta

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the significance of Thucydides' inclusion of the story of Aristogiton and Harmodius?

2. Who arrives in Sicily and changes the course of the conflict with Athens?

3. How does Thucydides picture certain charismatic generals during the years of the Peloponnesian War?

4. Why does Thucydides suddenly include more information on Peloponnesian events?

5. What happens to the Athenian attack on Amphipolis?

(see the answer keys)

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