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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. When Aeneas and his group arrived in Italy, they were greeted warmly by __________, the local king.

2. Amalthea was a _________ whose milk fed Zeus.

3. Procne became a ______________ that sang mournfully for her dead son whom she now regretted killing.

4. Odysseus and his men faced man eating monsters and strange magic, losing how many ships on their journey?

5. __________ was a beautiful nymph who was loved by a sea god called Glaucus.

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the purpose of many of these stories?

2. Of these two families, which deserved their bad luck the least? Why?

3. What are the purposes of myths, based on these stories?

4. Why might someone want a cornucopia?

5. What are two important lessons taught in the Odyssey?

6. How is Midas rewarded by Bacchus? Is this what many people would choose? Why or why not?

7. How does the story of Procne, Philomela, and Tereus explain the origins of species?

8. How is Odysseus set apart from other heroes? What does this say about the Greeks at this time?

9. Summarize two stories found in this section. How do they explain the qualities of a hero?

10. How did the bad luck of the House of Atreus begin? Why did it continue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dionysus and Demeter had two of the most important cults.

Part 1) Describe each of these gods and their roles in Greek mythology. How did they help man explain the ways in which the world works? How did this make these two gods so important?

Part 2) Why did these gods suffer more in their mythology than other gods? What does this reveal about the Greeks and their beliefs about man and the gods? How is this suffering both good and bad?

Part 3) Do the world's major religions today have gods that suffer? If so, explain this suffering. If not, why not? What does this suffering, or lack thereof, reveal about these religious believers?

Essay Topic 2

Greeks had a low opinion of women.

Part 1) Support the statement "Greeks had a low opinion of women" with information from this book. Why might the Greeks have had such a low opinion of women? How might this have affected the lives of women in ancient Greece?

Part 2) How do other world religions today view women? How does this view of women compare to that of the Greeks? What might be the reasons for any similarities and/or differences in this view of women?

Part 3) Has the view of women changed greatly over the centuries? If so, how? If not, why not? What can be done to continue to encourage equality between the sexes?

Essay Topic 3

Tragedy was often a part of Greek mythology.

Part 1) Describe four myths that one would consider tragic. What led to tragedy in each of these myths? How does the tragedy found in each myth compare to the tragedy found in the others?

Part 2) What is the purpose of this tragedy? What does it reveal about the Greeks? What lessons can still be learned from this tragedy today? Do tragedies such as this exist in contemporary literature? Why or why not?

Part 3) Do you believe that tragic tales are necessary for a culture? Why or why not? Is there a focus on tragedy in American literature? Why or why not? What does this say about Americans and their view of tragedy and loss?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,447 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample