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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Cassandra walk into the palace?
(a) She refuses to run from her fate.
(b) She has nothing else to do.
(c) She hears Agamemnon calling for her.
(d) She hears Clytemnestra calling for help.

2. In her first appearance, Clytemnestra claims the chorus does not believe her. On what grounds does she base this claim?
(a) She is an inexperienced queen.
(b) She is a woman.
(c) She is not a holy woman.
(d) She is not faithful to her husband.

3. According to Clytemnestra's message to the herald, how has she kept her husband's house?
(a) She has been overwhelmed by the responsibilities of it.
(b) As well as she could.
(c) Safe and welcoming upon his return.
(d) She has given it over to someone else for safekeeping.

4. After Cassandra enters the castle and their monologue is interrupted, what dispute rises amongst the chorus?
(a) They do not know if Agamemnon or Clytemnestra is the more vicious of the two rulers.
(b) They do not know whether to stop the murder or let it be.
(c) They do not know if Cassandra spoke the truth.
(d) They do not know if there are gods walking among them.

5. Why does the herald believe what he claims about Agamemnon's brother?
(a) Menelaus is too good of a sailor to get lost.
(b) He does not believe Zeus is ready to take him yet.
(c) Helen loves Menelaus too much to harm him.
(d) Menelaus angered the gods by burning Troy.

6. What news does Clytemnestra initially bring the chorus?
(a) Menelaus will be taking over Mycenae.
(b) Troy has defeated the Greeks.
(c) Troy has been defeated.
(d) Agamemnon has died.

7. According to Clytemnestra, what did she watch for while Agamemnon was gone?
(a) She watched for any sign from the gods.
(b) She watched the horizon every day for his ship.
(c) She kept watch for any word of her husband.
(d) She watched the moon to see if the gods would tell her anything through it.

8. In the first part of the first play, what signal is the man on the roof looking for?
(a) A ship.
(b) A moonbeam.
(c) A bonfire.
(d) An arrow.

9. What interrupts the chorus's meditations on life at the end of the fourth part of "The Agamemnon"?
(a) Orestes returns to the city.
(b) Clytemnestra is laughing.
(c) Agamemnon is screaming.
(d) Cassandra is screaming.

10. What kept Agamemnon from leaving for Troy right away?
(a) No wind.
(b) He did not feel he had probable cause to go to Troy.
(c) He did not wish to leave his family.
(d) A prophecy.

11. To whom does Orestes pray while at his father's tomb?
(a) Aphrodite and Diana.
(b) Hera and Demeter.
(c) Hermes and Zeus.
(d) Athena and Apollo.

12. How does Electra know the offering on the tomb came from Orestes?
(a) His hair looks just like her own.
(b) The sword has the family crest on it.
(c) She wrote the letters to her brother.
(d) She gave the book to her brother.

13. According to Agamemnon, what was the cause of Troy's being "ground into dust?"
(a) It was the will of two kings.
(b) It was the will of the gods.
(c) It was because of a misunderstanding.
(d) It was over a woman.

14. To what does the chorus compare Troy after the herald exits?
(a) A beloved, though ungrateful child.
(b) A new baby.
(c) A wise king with a terrible advisor.
(d) An old man.

15. For what does Aegisthus thank the gods in the fifth part of the first play?
(a) Clytemnestra.
(b) The chorus.
(c) Justice.
(d) Their benevolence.

Short Answer Questions

1. What, according to the herald, is worth the suffering of the soldiers?

2. To what does the chorus compare life at the end of the third part of the first play?

3. What is Cassandra's final prayer?

4. What do the female attendants lay on the ground for Agamemnon to walk upon?

5. What is Aegisthus's relationship to Clytemnestra as demonstrated at the end of "The Agamemnon"?

(see the answer keys)

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