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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Xeones refuse to narrate anymore?
(a) He grows bored with the work.
(b) He realizes that telling Xerxes of Spartan warfare is treason.
(c) He learns that Xerxes is going to kill him after he completes his story.
(d) He finds out about the mutilation of king Leonidas' body.

2. What does Dienekes tell the Egyptian about freedom?
(a) He tells the Egyptian that the only free men are dead men.
(b) He tells the Egyptian that freedom must be bought with steel, not gold.
(c) He tells the Egyptian that it is better to live as a slave than to die free.
(d) He tells the Egyptian that freedom is a state of mind.

3. What does Dienekes teach about fear?
(a) He teaches that fear is silly and unmanly.
(b) He teaches that the only thing to fear is fear itself.
(c) He teaches that fear is a very real, and dangerous thing.
(d) He teaches that fear defeats the enemies of Sparta.

4. Why does Polynikes feel that Spartans are superior to any other people?
(a) He feels that the gods show more favor to the Spartans than to anyone else.
(b) He feels that all men are equal.
(c) He says that the Spartans are far more intelligent than anyone else.
(d) He says that they are better because of war and manly valor.

5. What happens to Xeones when he is caught stealing?
(a) The farmers cut off his right hand.
(b) The farmers drive nails through his hands.
(c) He is made to pay for what he stole.
(d) The farmers beat him severely.

6. Who is Dienekes' squire?
(a) Suicide is his squire.
(b) Rooster is his squire.
(c) Xeones is his squire.
(d) Alexandros is his squire.

7. What point does the author illustrate in these battle scenes about ancient warfare?
(a) War is a great and glorious undertaking.
(b) Men who make their business warfare rather than farming perform better on the field.
(c) War is, unfortunately, unavoidable.
(d) War is a bloody business, and not for the faint of heart.

8. How many sons has Arete born Dienekes?
(a) They have had many sons.
(b) They have had one son.
(c) They have had three sons.
(d) They have had only daughters.

9. Who is Paraleio?
(a) She is the wife of Xerxes.
(b) She is a prostitute.
(c) She is the mother of Alexandros.
(d) She is the cousin of Xeones.

10. What kind of story does Xerxes want to hear in chapter one?
(a) He wants to hear "A Tale of Two Cities".
(b) He wants to hear a tale of generals and kings.
(c) He wants to hear "the infantryman's tale".
(d) He wants to hear about Spartan life during times of peace.

11. What is the half helot's nickname?
(a) His nickname is Dog.
(b) His nickname is Suicide.
(c) His nickname is Rooster.
(d) His nickname is Bob.

12. How are Spartan boys punished?
(a) They are whipped with sticks.
(b) They are locked in small rooms, called hotboxes.
(c) They are given harsh labor assignments as punishment.
(d) They are starved for short periods of time and totally ignored.

13. What is Hermion's nickname?
(a) He is called Rooster.
(b) He is called Pretty Boy.
(c) He is called The Archer.
(d) He is called Mountain.

14. Who is the half helot's father?
(a) His father is a farmer.
(b) His father is king Leonidas.
(c) His father is a member of the council.
(d) His father had been a Spartan soldier.

15. Xeones tells of an exercise that the people in the baggage train practice where they serve as punching bags for the Spartan heavy infantry. What is this exercise called?
(a) It is called sparring.
(b) It is called The Ploughman's Blade.
(c) It is called The Breaking.
(d) It is called The Oak.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Xeones become in the Spartan army?

2. By what other name is Sparta called?

3. To whom does Xeones tell his story?

4. What does agoge boua mean?

5. How do the soldiers show their disfavor when Polynikes is scolding Alexandros?

(see the answer keys)

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