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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 danger do Aeneas and his men face by Aetna?

2. What atrocity does Pyrrhus commit in front of Priam?

3. To what does Aeneas attribute Darës' inability to beat Entellus?

4. After first meeting Dido, what does Aeneas send for from his ships?

5. What happens when souls are destined to be reborn in a second body?

Short Essay Questions

1. What ties Aeneas and his people to the land to which they are headed to settle?

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

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

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

5. Once Aeneas is definitely leaving, what disagreeable options lay before Dido that make death seem the best choice?

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

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

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

9. Why are Dido's suitors so angry when she takes up with Aeneas?

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 well do you think Aeneas would have been able to fulfill his fate without the help of gods and goddesses? As you answer, take into account the actions of divine beings working against him. If there had been no divine interaction on either side, what might have been the final outcome and why?

Essay Topic 2

The proper disposal of the dead is an important issue that runs throughout The Aeneid. Use examples from the work to explain how one should dispose of one's own dead and how one should allow one's enemy to dispose of their dead, and why.

Essay Topic 3

One of the main characteristics of epic poems such as The Aeneid (and The Iliad and The Odyssey) is that the poem starts "in medias res," or in the middle of the action. The narrative then reveals information about what came before through various means, such as characters telling tales of the past or the narrator providing background. Discuss how this work begins in the middle, what information the reader is eventually given about what happened before, how this information is provided, and what effect this structure has on the experience of reading the poem.

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