View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Orithyia was carried away against her will by whom?

2. After killing some of the Sun-god's ______________, all of Odysseus' men were punished by drowning in a storm.

3. Oedipus saved the city from _____________, a monster that asked riddles of travelers who passed by.

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

5. Agamemnon's son Orestes was instructed by Apollo's oracle to slay the murderer of his father. This meant killing whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Aeneas tied to the great Roman Republic?

2. How is this bad luck tied to the future of the city of Thebes?

3. Why might someone want a cornucopia?

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

5. How are the lessons learned from these stories relevant today?

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

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

8. What are the Danaids known for doing? Why might they have done this?

9. Why were there many plays written about this family?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Murder frequently takes place in Greek mythology.

Part 1) Describe two stories in which a murder or murders take place. Why do these murders take place? How do these murders affect the other characters in the story? How might the murders affect those who hear this story?

Part 2) Is murder a popular theme of American folk tales? Why or why not? What does this reveal about the Greeks? What does this reveal about Americans? How does this theme of murder add to the drama and tragedy of Greek mythology?

Part 3) What do you believe is the most popular of themes in American tales? Use at least two stories to support this belief. Why is this a popular theme? What does this reveal about Americans?

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

There are several pre-Trojan War heroes that are of great significance.

Part 1) Who are these heroes? Describe each of these heroes and summarize his stories. How did each of them become a hero? What commonalities existed between these heroes?

Part 2) What do these heroes reveal about pre-Trojan War Greece? Based on these stories, what can be learned about how these Greeks felt about heroes, the gods, and their own lives? Do these myths seem realistic? Do you think that the Greeks believed these adventures had actually occurred? Why or why not?

Part 3) Describe the Trojan War heroes. How were they different from the pre-Trojan War heroes? Why? What were heroes like in early America? What made someone a hero at that point in our history? Are the qualities the same today as then? Why or why not? Might the definition of a hero change over time? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,292 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample