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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. Whose family survived Zeus' anger?

2. ____________ was the other brother of Zeus and ruler of the underworld, where mortals went when they died.

3. What did Medea do to the daughter of the king of Corinth?

4. The Greeks created their gods in whose image?

5. The Titan called Cronus fought his father and took his power. Fearing that his children would do the same when they grew up, what did he do to each newborn baby?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Perseus famous? Does this make him a hero? Why or why not?

2. What are two ancient sources that can be used to study Greek mythology? How is each of these sources useful?

3. How does the story of the Trojan War support the fact that many heroes have the same fatal flaw?

4. How did Medea help Jason? Why did she help him? Should she have helped him? Why or why not?

5. What ended when Atalanta was married? What does this reinforce in Greek culture?

6. Who won the Trojan War? How did they win? What do their successful tactics say about them?

7. How did Zeus become the king of the gods?

8. Why were the Greek gods worshiped? How does this reason compare to the reasons one might worship a god today?

9. How was Theseus honored by the Athenians? Why was he honored in this way?

10. How were Homeric heroes different from earlier Greek heroes? What does this say about the Greeks at the time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

King Midas was rewarded by Bacchus.

Part 1) Describe the story of King Midas. Why was he rewarded? How did this reward affect him? What does this reveal about King Midas? What can be learned from this story?

Part 2) How does Midas' story compare to other myths? What theme or themes can be found in this story? How is each theme also popular in other Greek myths? How might each theme also be important to the ancient Greeks? Are these themes important today? Why or why not?

Part 3) What is a tale or myth that is told today in the U.S.? Describe this tale. What are the themes found in this tale? What is the moral of this tale? How does this tale compare to Greek mythology? What does this tale reveal about modern Americans?

Essay Topic 2

The Greek gods were based on the perfect man.

Part 1) What did the Greeks consider a perfect man? Why might they have thought this? How did the gods reflect this attitude regarding man? How did this, in turn affect man?

Part 2) Choose two Greek gods or goddesses. What human qualities do they have? How do these gods or goddesses affect humans? How might one relate to these gods or goddesses?

Part 3) What are two world religions of today? Describe their god or gods. How do these gods compare to the Greek gods? What might this reveal about the people who worship this god or these gods today?

Essay Topic 3

The author states that Greek mythology should not be seen as a Bible of religious belief.

Part 1) What is meant by this statement? How should Greek mythology be viewed? Why should it not be understood as a Bible of religious belief? How might this affect one's belief in the Greek gods? How does this affect the power of these gods?

Part 2) How did this give freedom to various Greek writers and thinkers throughout history? How did these writers and thinkers influence Greek mythology? Why did they influence it in this way?

Part 3) Would a religion such as what is known as Greek mythology flourish today? Why or why not? What is necessary for a religion to be successful today? How does this reflect mankind today? What does it also reveal about the ancient Greeks?

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