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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Circe ask her grandmother Tethys to help the mortal fisherman she loves?

2. What is the last thing Perses says to Circe before he leaves?

3. Who is the niece of Circe's that she meets for the first time in Crete?

4. How does Daedalus attempt to escape Crete?

5. What prophecy does Hermes tell Circe about herself?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Circe disgusted with Hermes' telling of how Ariadne dies?

2. How does Theseus manage to kill the Minotaur?

3. Why does Circe think the house on Aiaia is so lovely in Chapter 7?

4. What does Circe teach herself more about little by little in her exile on Aiaia?

5. What does Aaetes tell Circe at Pasiphae's wedding that shocks and saddens her?

6. What special gift does Helios have that Perse asks him to use at the birth of each of their children?

7. What is Circe's relationship with her brother Aaetes like when they are children?

8. What does the first ship of sailors who show up on Aiaia in Chapter 14 do to Circe, and how does she repay them?

9. How does Aaetes treat Circe when he comes to Aiaia in Chapter 13?

10. Who is the first visitor Circe has on Aiaia and why does that person come?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is it enough for Trygon to know that a person who comes to seek his poison is willing to endure endless agony without actually asking the person to go through with it? What is it about Circe's character that allows her to push though her reservations and pass Trygon's test to win the valuable venom? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

What lessons do Circe, other gods, and mortals learn about the role of prophecies and the fates during the course of the novel? Is there any instance in which a character or characters seem to have been able to change the outcome of a prophecy? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Why is it so important to Circe to finally destroy Scylla in Chapter 25, so important that she risks both hers and Telemachus's life to do it? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing references from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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