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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. ________________ was the goddess of marriage and women.

2. Theseus was the son of ____________, king of Athens, but he was brought up in a city in southern Greece.

3. Another story tells that Zeus was angry with early men and sent what to destroy them?

4. How did the Greek gods act?

5. The Romans believed in the Olympian gods, giving them different ___________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What lesson can be learned about the power of the gods from these stories? Is this lesson still relevant today? Why or why not?

2. What do all of these stories reveal about the gods?

3. Why were women seen as lesser beings? How does Greek mythology support this belief regarding women?

4. How does the story of the Trojan War support the fact that many heroes have the same fatal flaw?

5. Describe Greek heroes. What was the most common flaw? Is this a common flaw in humanity? Why or why not?

6. Why did Greek mythology come to exist? What was its purpose?

7. How were Homeric heroes different from earlier Greek heroes? What does this say about the Greeks at the time?

8. Who won the Trojan War? How did they win? What do their successful tactics say about them?

9. Describe one of the Greek creation stories. How does this story compare to your own idea regarding the creation of the world?

10. How was Theseus honored by the Athenians? Why was he honored in this way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

By the 5th century BC, the Greeks were beginning to doubt the truth of the myths.

Part 1)Describe the Greeks myths up to this point. How might the Greeks have been affected by these myths? Why might the Greeks have begun to doubt the validity of the myths? What does this reveal about the Greeks of the 5th century BC?

Part 2) How did this doubt affect Greek mythology and the Greek gods? Who played a large role in spreading this doubt? Why did they want to spread doubt?

Part 3) How have modern religions be affected by feelings of doubt? How do modern religions deal with feelings of doubt among its believers, as well as outsiders? Would you consider these world religions to be myths, similar to Greek mythology? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

There are several love stories that are a part of Greek mythology.

Part 1) Summarize two of these love stories. What is the purpose of each of these love stories? What do these stories say about love? How does this reflect the ancient Greek's view of love?

Part 2) How are love stories an important part of other cultures? How is love a universal part of life? How does it differ from one culture to the next? Why is it such an important part of the spectrum of human emotion?

Part 3) To you, what does it mean to love? How important is love to one's quality of life? Explain. How have you witnessed love in your own life? How has this affected you? How might it influence your behavior towards others?

Essay Topic 3

The author states that Greek mythology should not be seen as a Bible of religious belief.

Part 1) What is meant by this statement? How should Greek mythology be viewed? Why should it not be understood as a Bible of religious belief? How might this affect one's belief in the Greek gods? How does this affect the power of these gods?

Part 2) How did this give freedom to various Greek writers and thinkers throughout history? How did these writers and thinkers influence Greek mythology? Why did they influence it in this way?

Part 3) Would a religion such as what is known as Greek mythology flourish today? Why or why not? What is necessary for a religion to be successful today? How does this reflect mankind today? What does it also reveal about the ancient Greeks?

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