Chapter 4 - Culture and Religion in Eurasia/North Africa

Confucian family beliefs

________ were rigorously patriarchal, and they set the tone for defining the lives of both men and women.

Athens

Between 600 and 300 B.C.E, the roots of Greek rationalism formed, coinciding with the prosperity of Greek city- states, particularly ________, and the expansion of its artistic, literary, and dramatic traditions.

arts curriculum

He advocated for a broad liberal ________ that included language, literature, history, philosophy, and ethics, all of which were applied to practical issues in administration.

Hinduism

________ is inherently tolerant, "argues a renowned researcher, "and would rather absorb than rigorously exclude ..

Confucius

________ had emphasized the value of education and a genuine desire for moral improvement and good government, and Daoist thought went opposite to this in many respects.

visible matter

Democritus proposed that ________ was formed when atoms, small "uncuttable "particles, interacted in various combinations.

tradition of ancestor veneration

includes visiting the graves of the deceased, pre- sending them with sacrifices, and creating commemorative tablets and shrines in their honor, had long been essential to Chinese popular culture.

Dao

an enigmatic concept that refers to the way of nature, the underlying and unchangeable principle that underlies all natural phenomena, is the basic concept of Daoist thinking

Daoists

yearned for an earlier time, "an age of perfect virtue" that had been shattered by the Confucian quest for something greater, during Confucius' highly prized world of civilization

Upanishads

a collection of religious books, evolved from this unhappiness (oo-PAHN-ee-shards)

Buddhism

distinct religious practice went out in its birthplace as it was absorbed into a larger Hindu tradition, but it expanded extensively and prospered in other areas of Asia, notably in its Mahayana form

"Guardians"

commanded by a "philosopher-king," would control it. Such individuals would be able to see beyond the material world's numerous illusions and understand the "world of forms," where concepts like goodness, beauty, and justice had a true and unchanging existence

Saint Paul

early convert whose missionary efforts throughout the eastern Roman Empire led to the foundation of tiny Christian communities that included non-Jews, beginning the transformation of Christianity from a small Jewish sect to a world religion