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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. What happens to everything the Harpies touch?

2. Which of the following is not an effect that Dido says has been caused by her love affair with Aeneas?

3. What does Ilioneus ask of Dido?

4. How does Aeneas put out the burning Trojan ships after the Trojan women set them on fire?

5. What does Dido tell Aeneas she will do after he leaves?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. How does talking to Anchises prepare Aeneas to go build a new city for the Trojans in Italy?

4. Which gods and goddesses are actually involved in the fall of Troy and what actions do they take?

5. Describe the "marriage" between Dido and Aeneas.

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

7. What instances in Book V reveal how the Trojans feel about burying their dead?

8. What are Neptune's feelings toward Troy and toward Aeneas? How do these feelings affect Aeneas' journey on the sea?

9. Why is Juno so angry with the Trojans?

10. What fate does Laocoön meet and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the actions of Juno and Venus throughout the story. For what reasons do these two goddesses become entangled in the affairs of humans? At what points do they cross the line and become too involved? At what points does Jupiter intervene and tell them to stop? What techniques and strategies do they use to change the outcomes of events in the world below?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

What role do the Muses play in the telling of this tale? When and why does Virgil call upon them? Upon which particular Muses does he rely?

(see the answer keys)

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