This space contains reference material
from the article "Jurors & Juries,” beginning next to Question 24.
Jurors & Juries
by Collomia Charles
The Areopagus was a court whose members were former archons or state
officials. The court met next to the Acropolis, on a hill that was
also called Areopagus, which means “the hill of Mars.” Similar in
many ways to a Council of Elders, the Areopagus upheld the rules and
traditions of the aristocracy of Athens for centuries. Then, in 462
B.C., the Athenian statesman Ephialtes greatly weakened its power.
He did so by transferring most of the powers once assigned to the
Areopagus to the Heliaia, the high court of Athens.
With Ephialtes’ changes, most cases were no longer judged by a small
segment of the population that was experienced, wealthy, and
powerful, but by juries whose members were everyday Athenians. We
know much about what happened in these courts, because speeches
survive from trials covering everything from murder to embezzlement
of public funds to political misconduct.
Jury Selection
In 507 B.C., Cleisthenes divided Athens into 10 demes, or districts.
To form a jury pool of 6,000, each of the 10 demes chose, by lot,
600 citizens over the age of 30. After swearing an oath, each juror
was given a ticket inscribed with his name, his father’s name, his
deme, and a letter of the alphabet to show in which section of the
jury pool he belonged. For most trials, a jury consisted of 501
citizens, but some were as small as 201 or as large as 1,501.
Enormous juries made it almost impossible for either side to use
bribery, intimidation, or trickery to win a verdict.
Athenian courts had no judges or lawyers, only an organizing
official known as the hegemon. The prosecutor and the defendant each
spoke for himself. Within a specific amount of time that was marked
by a water clock (the hole at the bottom allowed the water to escape
slowly or to be stopped from flowing if there was a pause in the
proceedings), each had to make a persuasive argument, read aloud the
laws that were important in his case, and call the witnesses who
supported his argument.
Public Speaking Becomes
All-Important
In this type of court system, the ability to speak well in public
became extremely important. So, there soon arose a group of
professional educators, known as sophists, who claimed that they
could teach students to argue either side of any case. They also
said that they could train students to think and act in a way that
would give them an advantage if they ever had to appear in court.
Soon, an entirely new profession was launched—that of logographos,
or speech writer. If anyone did not feel confident enough to create
his own persuasive speech, he could now hire someone to write it for
him.
How They Voted
After both speakers finished presenting their cases in court, the
jury voted. As early as the 450s B.C., voting was done by secret
ballot. According to the fourth-century B.C. Greek philosopher
Aristotle, jurors were given two ballots. Each was a copper disk
with a rod through the middle. One rod was hollow; the other was
solid. A juror would choose the hollow ballot if he agreed with the
prosecutor and the solid ballot if he agreed with the defense. Each
juror would drop the ballot he had chosen into a bronze jar; the
other ballot—the one he did not use—he would drop into a wooden jar.
After the votes were counted and guilt or innocence had been
established, the court would decide on a penalty. Juries could
impose fines, strip citizens of their rights, and impose sentences
of exile or death. Imprisonment was possible, but rare and only for
non-citizens. In 399 B.C., in what has become history’s most famous
trial, the Greek philosopher Socrates was found guilty of impiety
and corrupting the young men of Athens. He lost his case by only 30
votes. However, when jurors voted for his punishments, 110 jurors
voted for the death penalty. Why the change? It is said that
Socrates’ suggestion that he be given a dinner at public expense and
then that he pay an extremely small fine angered those jurors who
had earlier voted him “not guilty.”
For Questions 1-12, please select the correct definition of the given vocabulary word.
commensal
dirty
interdependent
an illusion
deprived
diurnal
interdependent
active by day
unnoticeably
relating to smell
chimera
dirty
interdependent
an illusion
deprived
subtly
interdependent
active by day
unnoticeably
relating to smell
olfactory
interdependent
active by day
unnoticeably
relating to smell
bereft
interdependent
an illusion
deprived
dirty
delude
permanently
abruptly
to fool
bendable
precipitously
permanently
abruptly
to fool
bendable
bedraggled
dirty
abruptly
to fool
bendable
symbiotic
interdependent
an illusion
deprived
dirty
indelibly
permanently
abruptly
to fool
bendable
pliable
permanently
abruptly
to fool
bendable
Which of the following sentences is written correctly?
Turl got the wrong answer from his machine.
Within minutes, the machine had flinged demands.
The idea lended itself well to modern fiction.
He could have shutted his machine off.
Which of the following sentences is written incorrectly?
The machine has burst from the ground.
He has got himself involved.
The mayor and aldermen flung Turl.
Friendship nearly costed him his life.
What—according to the manual—is the best judge of land, and how is Pi’s island unlike land?
the eyes; It’s green.
a foot; It’s flexible.
a tongue; It’s sweet.
the ears; It’s silent.
Each of the following—according to Pi—is one of the fears that can’t be trained out of humans except which?
startle reaction at noises
vertigo
hunger
response to the approach of a killer
Why aren’t the meerkats on the island afraid of Pi and Richard Parker?
They have existed for generations without predators.
They know that the tiger and the boy should fear them.
They are blind and cannot see them.
They can defend themselves well.
Why are the ponds on the island filled with fresh water and how does Pi ultimately prove this?
falling rainwater; He sees dead ocean fish.
the meerkats; He sees the meerkats drink.
evaporation; He puts some water in the sun.
desalinating algae; He tastes the water.
What does Pi find in the algae island’s “fruit” tree that makes him realize the true nature of the island?
meerkats
blankets
teeth
fish
Where do Pi and Richard Parker end their journey, and why does Pi weep?
Canada; He is relieved and overjoyed to be rescued.
Mexico; He doesn’t give a proper goodbye to RP.
Costa Rica; His family is dead.
Hawaii; He wants to stay on the lifeboat.
Which sentence is written correctly?
“They might have swum farther if they hadn’t drunk so much pool water,” claimed Coach Barnes.
“They might of swum farther if they hadn’t drunk so much pool water,” claimed Coach Barnes.
“They might have swum further if they hadn’t drunk so much pool water,” claimed Coach Barnes.
“They might have swum farther if they hadn’t drank so much pool water,” claimed Coach Barnes.
Where do Richard Parker and the meerkats choose to sleep every night, and what do these two choices have to do with one another?
Richard Parker and the meerkats sleep in the trees because the algae island is a deadly carnivorous organism that feeds at night.
Richard Parker sleeps in the lifeboat and the meerkats sleep in the trees because there are other predators on the island.
Richard Parker sleeps in the lifeboat and the meerkats sleep in the trees because the algae island is a deadly carnivorous organism that feeds at night.
Richard Parker sleeps in the lifeboat by himself and the meerkats sleep next to Pi because predators sleep alone and prey seeks company.
Before discovering the algae island’s true nature, Pi describes it as “Gandhian” (p. 270). How does the island figuratively behave like the Indian leader? Is this a good comparison (considering only what Pi knows about the island at the time)? Once Pi discovers the island’s true nature, is the comparison still valid (true) or does the comparison become invalid (untrue)? Knowing its true nature, to what (or who) would you compare the island?
The algae island that Pi discovers behaves like the Indian leader Gandhi because it “resists by not resisting” (p. 270). In other words, the island’s algae work hard to eat the waves surreptitiously. The aggressive structure of the algae allows it swallow vast waves. Like the Indian leader, a proponent and an originator of the concept of violent resistance, the algae island conquers the power of the waves by seeming to not resisting them. Waves leave the island diminished, resembling the diminished wielders of power who have tried to put down social groups forcefully throughout history. From what Pi knows about the island at the time, this comparison seems fairly apropos. Once the true nature of the island is discovered by Pi, the comparison doesn’t ring quite so true. Pi finds that the island is actually a carnivorous organism that consumes unsuspecting creatures for sustenance. Due to its seemingly harmless, placating nature and truly deadly tendencies, the island is more like Hitler who attempted to destroy the entire Jewish race. Surely, the island’s true nature is what convinces Pi that he must flee it immediately.
At first, Pi describes the algae island as Gandhian because the meerkats on the island behave nonviolently just as Gandhi taught his followers to behave. Also, the island provides for the meerkats and keeps them safe. Once Pi discovers the island’s true nature, the comparison is still valid because those who know the island’s nature are safe as long as they go to the trees at night. Knowing its true nature, I would compare the island to a classroom because a classroom has passive individuals and aggressive ones. Also, a classroom is an island both in a school and in the world at large.
The algae island that Pi discovers behaves like the Indian leader Gandhi because it “resists by not resisting” (p. 270). In other words, giant waves from storms are simple absorbed by the island without tumult. The weaved structure of the algae allows water to pass through it without resistance. Like the Indian leader, a proponent and an originator of the concept of non-violent resistance, the algae island resists the power of the waves by not resisting them. Waves leave the island diminished, resembling the diminished wielders of power who have tried to put down non-violent movements forcefully throughout history. From what Pi knows about the island at the time, this comparison seems fairly apropos. Once the true nature of the island is discovered by Pi, the comparison doesn’t ring quite so true. Pi finds that the island is actually a carnivorous organism that consumes unsuspecting creatures for sustenance. Due to its seemingly harmless, placating nature and truly deadly tendencies, I’d compare it to cigarettes that satisfy in the short term but destroy life in the long run. Surely, the island’s true nature is what convinces Pi that he must flee it immediately.
Before discovering the algae island’s true nature, Pi describes it as “Gandhian” because the island figuratively behaves like a person. It lures in fish and consumes them. It hosts meerkats and protects them just as the Indian leader did. This is a good comparison. Once Pi discovers the island’s true nature, the comparison is no longer valid because Gandhi was certainly not a carnivore. Knowing its true nature, I would compare the island to Alferd Packer who was a famous cannibal who killed and ate members of his group near Lake City, Colorado.
Which sentence from the article “Jurors & Juries”
best supports the idea that the use of juries increased the likelihood of Athenian trials being impartial?
To form a jury pool of 6,000, each of the 10 demes chose, by lot, 600 citizens over the age of 30.
After swearing an oath, each juror was given a ticket inscribed with his name, his father’s name, his deme, and a letter of the alphabet to show in which section of the jury pool he belonged.
For most trials, a jury consisted of 501 citizens, but some were as small as 201 or as large as 1,501.
Enormous juries made it almost impossible for either side to use bribery, intimidation, or trickery to win a verdict.
Read the sentence from the article “Jurors & Juries."
After swearing an oath, each juror was given a ticket
inscribed with his name, his father’s name, his deme, and a letter of the alphabet to show in which section of the jury pool he belonged.
In the context of the excerpt, the word “inscribed” most nearly means
sealed.
shadowed.
illuminated.
marked.
In the article “Jurors and Juries,” the author
most likely includes information about the trial of Socrates in order to
illustrate the proceedings of a typical trial by jury in Athens.
explain that philosophers often had a negative impact on society.
demonstrate how philosophers changed the Athenian justice system.
show that juries had significant power to influence the fate of a defendant.