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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. How old was Esca when he became a warrior with his tribe?
(a) 18.
(b) 16.
(c) 12.
(d) 20.

2. What kind of war does Centurion Quintus Hilarion say is "ever the most deadly kind, for it recks nothing of consequences" (15) in Chapter 1?
(a) "Holy war."
(b) "War of revenge."
(c) "Global war."
(d) "Direct-contact war."

3. Whose name is chanted by Marcus's battalion as they drive at the tribesmen with swords in Chapter 3?
(a) Caesar's.
(b) Tartarus's.
(c) Esca's.
(d) Marcus's.

4. Who was the legendary founder of the Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans in Greek mythology?
(a) Procyon.
(b) Perseus.
(c) Tartarus.
(d) Mithras.

5. What Legion "had been Marcus's shining goal for as long as he could remember" (9) according to the narrator in Chapter 1?
(a) A Greek Legion.
(b) A British Legion.
(c) An Egyptian Legion.
(d) A German Legion.

Short Answer Questions

1. What game does "draughts" refer to?

2. Where does Uncle Aquila say the only woman he ever cared for is buried in Chapter 5?

3. Who is the cook at Uncle Aquila's home?

4. How many paces does Esca walk behind his master?

5. What does Cottia say her aunt and uncle call her in Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is brought in to examine Marcus's leg in Chapter 8? Why?

2. How does Cottia feel about Roman culture and about her aunt?

3. What bet with Cradoc does Marcus propose in Chapter 2?

4. What do the Centurions discover to be making noise outside the fort in Chapter 3? How do they respond?

5. Why does Marcus buy the slave Esca?

6. How is Cottia described when her character is first introduced?

7. From what narrative point of view is the novel related?

8. Where is Marcus being tended to in Chapter 4? By whom is he being care for?

9. What does the rose in the wine jar symbolize?

10. How does Esca use weapons to illustrate the differences between Roman culture and the culture of the Celts?

(see the answer keys)

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