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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. What are the sailors aboard Acoetes' ship transformed into after their failed attempt to kidnap Bacchus?

2. What is the name of the goddess that threatens Niobe?

3. Who is Venus having an affair with when her husband, Vulcan, discovers them?

4. What does Medea agree to do in exchange for marrying Jason?

5. How many years is Tereus married to Procne before he begins to see other women?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Tereus believe that his relationship with Procne is doomed from the start?

2. Why is the beautiful princess transformed into a Crow?

3. How does Perseus come to marry Andromeda?

4. According to Ovid, how is the earth created?

5. What is the result of Phaeton's visit to the Sun?

6. Who are Philemon and Baucis?

7. What happens when Cephalus calls for a breeze to cool him in the woods?

8. What happens when Medea attempts to help Pelias' daughter return their father to an age of youthfulness?

9. What prophecy does Meleager's mother remember in regards to her son's life and death?

10. How does Minerva respond to Arachne's portrait of the gods?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Snakes and birds are the most commonly referred to animals in the text. Explain what each of these animals symbolizes in the Olympian world, and why they were the animals that humans were most commonly transformed into.

Essay Topic 2

Taking a woman by force is an unfortunately common practice in Ovid's "Metamorphoses". Explain how women are treated by the gods in the novel, and how the practice of taking a woman by force relates to the idea of love.

Essay Topic 3

Pythagoras acts as an important speaker at the end of Ovid's novel. Explain the arguments that Pythagoras gave, and how they acted to summarize the messages that Ovid attempted to make throughout the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 888 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample