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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. Midas was a king rewarded by ______________ with any gift he chose.

2. After escaping from Troy, Aeneas traveled with whom to find a new home?

3. Modern scholarship usually dates The Odyssey to around the ______ century BC.

4. This story is very different from the other myths in the book for ____________ reasons.

5. The gods were furious and sent him to ______________, a section for punishment in the underworld.

Short Essay Questions

1. What story explains the creation of spiders? How does this explain the creation of spiders?

2. Why might Zeus have struck Aesculapius dead?

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

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

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

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

7. Why is the Odyssey considered an epic poem? Why was it so important to the Greeks?

8. How is Aeneas like both Jason and Odysseus?

9. Why might someone want a cornucopia?

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

Mythology has been an important part of human cultures around the world.

Part 1) Support this statement with information from this text, as well as information you have learned from other sources. Why is mythology so important to humans? What does it provide mankind?

Part 2) Why have certain mythologies, such as Greek mythology, been so important for other cultures besides their own? How has Greek mythology and Greek culture influenced other areas of the world? How are the cultures of others seen in the way people live in the United States, and even in the way our country operates?

Part 3) Does modern mythology exist? If so, what is it? If not, why not? What information and beliefs from today will be passed on to future generations? How might our beliefs and ideas influence those living in the future? Use the text to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

There are two families discussed in this book who suffer greatly.

Part 1) Who are these two families? How did they become so unlucky? Were they deserving of this bad luck? Why or why not? Could this luck have been avoided? If so, how? If not, why not? Could anyone in these families have stopped the passing along of bad luck? If so, how? If not, why not?

Part 2) What do these stories say about those who act poorly and offend the gods? What do these stories also say about the gods themselves? In our own culture, do we believe that bad luck can be passed down through a family? Why or why not?

Part 3) Do you believe in luck? Why or why not? How did you come to have this belief? How does this belief influence your daily decisions and actions? Might your belief regarding luck ever change? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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