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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. Whose ghost is urging the Eumenides to chase Orestes?

2. What does Orestes believe about the vision he is having at the end of "The Libation Bearers"?

3. What ends up freeing Orestes from the Furies at the end of "The Eumenides"?

4. According to the chorus, to what did Clytemnestra give birth in her dream?

5. What do the Eumenides claim about Orestes' travels in the second part of "The Eumenides"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Clytemnestra's dream significant to Orestes?

2. What does Athena decide to do about judging the case between Orestes and the Furies?

3. What does Orestes mean when he cries out to Zeus in the second part of "The Libation Bearers"?

4. Who is revealed to be encouraging the Furies to hunt Orestes and why?

5. After receiving false news in the third part of the second play, what is Clytemnestra's reaction to news of Orestes' supposed death?

6. According to their words in the second part of the third play, what do the Furies believe about their rights?

7. According to what he tells Electra and the chorus, why is Orestes seeking vengeance for his father's death?

8. In the beginning of "The Eumenides", what is the oracle's vision and what does it mean?

9. What are the Furies and why are they tormenting Orestes at the end of "The Libation Bearers"?

10. Why do the Furies claim Orestes' journey to Athens has been useless when they catch up with him in the second part of "The Eumenides"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one of the following options to write about. Cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

1) Electra as a passive character.

2) The herald's statements about the price of victory in war.

3) The curse on the house of Atreus.

Essay Topic 2

Clytemnestra and Orestes are two of the main characters upon which "The Oresteia" is centered. Discuss the following:

Part 1) Compare and contrast Clytemnestra and Orestes.

Part 2) How do their missions of vengeance differ and how do the gods (including the Furies) look upon them?

Part 3) Orestes' exile by Clytemnestra and how it affects the outcome of the play.

Essay Topic 3

The language of "The Oresteia" alternates between being simple dialogue and poetically complicated. Discuss the use of language in the following format:

Part 1) The chorus invoking the gods.

Part 2) The simple exchanges of dialogue.

Part 3) The stylized speeches of Cassandra and the Furies.

Cite specific examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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