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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. Which of the following is not an excuse Aeneas offers to Dido for why he must leave her?

2. What sign does Aeneas see during the ritual for his father?

3. Of what is Helenus' city a replica?

4. Which of the following must Aeneas do to enter the underworld?

5. What happens every time Aeneas tries to tear a branch from a tree in Thrace to construct a roof for the altar of his new colony?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the Harpies.

2. How will Aeneas start the line that turns into the rulers of the Roman Empire?

3. Why is Juno so angry with the Trojans?

4. How does Anchises explain the process by which souls become reborn?

5. What are some instances where Aeneas betrays a hastiness in temperament in Book 2?

6. Explain how Deïphobus died and why his body is mutilated.

7. Why might the Trojan women have been tempted to set fire to the ships even without Juno and Iris befuddling them?

8. What are some ways the characters in Book 2 are affected by fate?

9. Why should Aeneas not have tried to found a city in Thrace?

10. How does Aeneas feel about having to leave Dido and to what extent does he allow his feelings to influence his decision to leave her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How much of Turnus' fate at the end of The Aeneid is due to fate, and how much is it due to fortune? As you answer, consider and discuss the following points:

1) What effect did Jupiter have on the outcome of the fight and why?

2) How might things have turned out differently if Turnus had not taken plunder from Pallas?

3) What has Jupiter said all along about the interworkings of fate and fortune and the time allotted each man to live?

Essay Topic 2

Compare the information about the future depicted on the shield of Aeneas with the information about the future told to Aeneas when he travels to the underworld to see Anchises. How are the depictions alike? How are they different? What might these similarities and differences signify?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the role of signs, portents, omens, prophesies, and so forth in The Aeneid. What are some forms these signs take? Who sends them, if anyone? Can false signs be sent, and if so, for what purpose? How do people fare when they interpret signs correctly and follow them? How do they fare when they try to act against them?

(see the answer keys)

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