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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. How does Leeming say Buddha was conceived?

2. What qualities does Leeming say Hercules shares with many heroes?

3. How does Leeming define the hero?

4. What does Leeming say the Norse tree of life represents?

5. In Leeming's account, why are temples and cities founded on mountains?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Leeming say the Mountain represents in myth?

2. What is significant in the story of Teiresias, in Leeming's description?

3. How does Leeming say describe the most important aspect of the hero's myth?

4. When does Leeming say that heroes tend to be born?

5. How does Leeming describe the myth of Gilgamesh?

6. What mythic significance does Leeming say European cathedrals have?

7. How does Leeming define the hero?

8. How does Leeming describe the significance of Jerusalem?

9. What does Leeming say the fall of a city represents?

10. How does Leeming describe the significance of the city in myth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast myths of the industrial or modern age with ancient or primitive myths. How are myths different in industrial times? What aspects of myths have remained the same?

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of the hero in contemporary culture? Are celebrities heroes, and if so, what traits distinguish them as heroes? Make an argument for the heroic status of a contemporary figure, using the definitions Leeming uses in The World of Myth.

Essay Topic 3

Read another book about mythology--even something short, like Karen Armstrong's "A Short History of Myth"--and compare and contrast Leeming's approach to myth to another author's. What are Leeming's main preoccupations, and what are his methods? What is his style for expressing them? What does he tend to include? What does he omit? How can you characterize Leeming's intellectual personality?

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