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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 does the water nymph transform the attacking animals into?

2. What type of bird is Picus transformed into when he rebukes Circe's advances?

3. Where does Scylla hide out after her transformation?

4. To whom does the council award the armor that has been fought over by Ajax and Ulysses?

5. What is the name of the nymph sent to Alcyone to inform her of Ceyx's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Myrrha transform into a tree?

2. What does Ovid predict about the words of his novel in his epilogue?

3. How does Hyacinth find himself transformed into a flower?

4. What does Alcyone see in her dream brought to her by the nymph Sleep?

5. How does Hecuba exact her revenge on her son, Polydorus?

6. What story does Hippolytus tell Numa's wife when she is mourning over her husband's death?

7. Why does Pythagoras believe that man should abstain from eating meat?

8. Why does Ulysses believe that he should be entitled to Achilles' armor after he dies?

9. How does Hippomenes outsmart Atalanta?

10. How does Orpheus die?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pythagoras acts as an important speaker at the end of Ovid's novel. Explain the arguments that Pythagoras gave, and how they acted to summarize the messages that Ovid attempted to make throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Almost all interactions with the Olympian gods resulted in either punishment or reward for the lesser beings. Choose one example of punishment and one example of reward given by the Olympian gods. How does this dichotomy affect the relationship that lesser beings have with the Olympian gods throughout the text?

Essay Topic 3

Many characters take over as the active narrator in "Metamorphoses". Choose one narrator who functioned as the main storyteller in the novel, and explain how the story was altered by that character's unique voice and perspective.

(see the answer keys)

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