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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Shufti take so long to retaliate against Tanus and his band of men?
(a) He is gathering over a thousand of his own soldiers.
(b) He is waiting for Tanus's caravan to tire.
(c) He is waiting for orders from his captain.
(d) He is waiting for nightfall.

2. What is the name of the band of men who terrorize the Upper Kingdom?
(a) Shrikes.
(b) Akh-Seth.
(c) Kratas
(d) Men of Salitis.

3. Near the end of the wedding feast, what does Taita discover about Pharaoh's personality?
(a) He is incapable of loving anyone other than himself.
(b) He is a heartless man.
(c) He is a kind man.
(d) He is a lewd man.

4. During her feast to celebrate Taita, what gift does Lostris try to give him?
(a) Three new slave boys.
(b) His freedom.
(c) His own house apart from hers.
(d) New physician's tools.

5. What color does Lostris wear to prove she is a virgin bride?
(a) Blue like water lilies.
(b) Gold like the sun.
(c) Red like fine wine.
(d) White like a pure heart.

Short Answer Questions

1. What hunt do Taita and Lostris attend with Pharaoh before the windstorm strikes?

2. When Tanus disappeared, to whom did he hand over his squadron and Pharaoh's seal?

3. Why did Taita help Tanus enter the army?

4. How is Lostris thrown from the Breath of Horus?

5. Who is Kratas?

Short Essay Questions

1. What power does Pharaoh's seal have? Why must a man acknowledge it, as Tanus does when Neter comes to arrest him? Is this seal a sign of power or of weakness?

2. When Taita disguises himself as a priest so that he is not recognized in his native city Thebes, how is he treated? What does this say about the Egyptian people's attitude toward their religion? What does this say about the priests' ethics?

3. How does Tanus show his devotion to his chosen god Horus? How do the people respond to this devotion? What does this say about the roles of the gods in the Egyptians' lives?

4. What account does Taita give of the girl he loved when he was sixteen? How does his telling of it, half his lifetime later, show the changes he has gone through? Is he more cynical or more understanding of what happened?

5. After Taita is whipped because he dares to petition for Lostris and Tanus's marriage, Lostris cares for his wounds. How does she reveal that she is still a child? What hope does the reader have that her marriage to Tanus will occur?

6. What is the significance of the double crown of Egypt? Why might Taita mention it so often when he describes Pharaoh?

7. What scheme does Taita dream up to help Tanus engage the Shrikes in battle for the first time? How is this scheme something that perhaps only Taita would think of?

8. How does Taita foreshadow the coming marriage for Lostris? How does this affect the element of surprise within the novel?

9. What danger does Taita find in his basket of pomegranates and mangoes? What does this danger say about his place in society?

10. What is the immediate effect as Tanus begins to rout the Shrikes? How does this change affect people's loyalty to Pharaoh? What do you think might be the long-term effects of this new loyalty?

(see the answer keys)

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