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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Eryximachus say about his omission of certain things in his speech?
(a) He maintains that he did not leave anything out.
(b) It is not intentional.
(c) He cannot remember any more.
(d) It is intentional.

2. Which one of the following is not one of the features that Aristophanes includes in his description of what humans were once like?
(a) They could roll over at great speeds.
(b) They had four ears.
(c) They could walk backwards or forwards.
(d) They could move objects through telepathy.

3. According to Phaedrus, who are Love's parents?
(a) The gods.
(b) There is no record of Love's parents.
(c) The earth and the sun.
(d) The moon and the sun.

4. In Aristophanes' opinion, how are humans originally shaped?
(a) They are square.
(b) They have no definite shape.
(c) They are the same shape as they are now.
(d) They are round.

5. As explained by Phaedrus, how does Orpheus die as a result of his cowardice?
(a) He is dragged through the streets.
(b) At the hands of women.
(c) He is beaten with clubs.
(d) He is thrown off of a cliff.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Eryximachus' ancestor, Asclepius, an expert in?

2. How does Eryximachus define symphony?

3. How does Eryximachus describe Pausanias' speech?

4. According to Agathon, how does love deal with old age?

5. What fear does Aristophanes have before making his speech?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Socrates first appear when he is introduced in the Symposium?

2. What is the intention of Aristophanes' speech, and what clarification does he add to the end of it?

3. What do Socrates and Aristodemus talk about on the way to the house and what is Aristodemus' dilemma?

4. What effect does love have on nature and the seasons, as mentioned in the end of Eryximachus' speech?

5. What is the setting of the Symposium and the circumstances around it?

6. What is the difference in the loves that Pausanias describes?

7. How is the story of the Symposium introduced and who is responsible for telling it?

8. How many kinds of love does Pausanias claim there are and why?

9. Who are the parents of love, according to Pausanias?

10. What is the description of the creature that Aristophanes gives at the beginning of his speech?

(see the answer keys)

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