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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. Who is Odysseus compelled by the gods to go visit in Chapter 17?

2. What happens to Odysseus's men before they can return to Ithaca from Aiaia?

3. Who comes to Aiaia with a prophecy for Odysseus?

4. Where do Circe and Telemachus go first on their journey?

5. What does Helios say about Circe in relation to the rest of his children?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Circe's most significant act of transformation, which she preforms on herself in Chapter 27, meant to achieve?

2. What kind of a disposition does Circe's baby, Telegonus, have as an infant?

3. Who is Odysseus's patron and why does she turn her back on him?

4. How does Circe keep Telemachus safe as they face Scylla?

5. What does Circe use as leverage against Helios when she summons him to ask him to lift her exile in Chapter 25?

6. What does Odysseus learn through the prophecy about how he will die?

7. What does Penelope teach Telegonus to do that he had never been able to do before?

8. What does Circe think Athena must feel when her son Telegonus says he will go to Italy in Telemachus's place?

9. In Chapter 24, why do Telemachus and Penelope need some time to talk and walk alone?

10. How does Telemachus reply to Athena when she makes her request of him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is it enough for Trygon to know that a person who comes to seek his poison is willing to endure endless agony without actually asking the person to go through with it? What is it about Circe's character that allows her to push though her reservations and pass Trygon's test to win the valuable venom? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Circe's sister Pasiphae contrives deliberately to give birth to the monster, the Minotaur, and then insists Circe be the one to attend her at the birth. Why does Pasiphae do both of these things, and what does the Minotaur symbolize? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing the sources of the difficulties and tensions that arise between Circe and her son Telegonus as Circe raises him in exile with her on Aiaia.

(see the answer keys)

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