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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 was the fatal flaw of most Greek heroes?

2. Phaёthon was the son of the Sun-god ____________.

3. When Alcyone's husband Ceyx was killed in ______________, the pitying gods sent her a dream to tell her the truth about what had happened to him.

4. How is the creation myth of the Greeks peculiar?

5. Of what did Psyche become the goddess?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Hercules purify himself? Do you see this as being necessary? Why or why not?

3. Choose another one of the love stories. How does this story show the kindness the gods are capable of feeling?

4. What do all of these stories reveal about the gods?

5. What led to the Trojan War? Was this war necessary? Why or why not?

6. Describe the appearance and behavior of the Greek gods. What does this reflect, regarding the attitude towards mankind?

7. Describe one of the Greek creation stories. How does this story compare to your own idea regarding the creation of the world?

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

9. Choose another love story from this section. How does this story show control or the lack of control?

10. How were early royal Greek families able to claim lineage with the gods? How might they have benefited from this?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Murder frequently takes place in Greek mythology.

Part 1) Describe two stories in which a murder or murders take place. Why do these murders take place? How do these murders affect the other characters in the story? How might the murders affect those who hear this story?

Part 2) Is murder a popular theme of American folk tales? Why or why not? What does this reveal about the Greeks? What does this reveal about Americans? How does this theme of murder add to the drama and tragedy of Greek mythology?

Part 3) What do you believe is the most popular of themes in American tales? Use at least two stories to support this belief. Why is this a popular theme? What does this reveal about Americans?

Essay Topic 2

According to the Greeks, in the beginning their was only chaos.

Part 1) Describe the main stories of creation and the birth of man, according to Greek mythology. How do these stories compare to each other? What might be the reasons for differences between these stories?

Part 2) How do these stories compare to the creation stories found in world religions today? What might be the reason for any similarities? Are you surprised by these similarities? Why or why not?

Part 3) What are your beliefs regarding the creation of the universe and the birth of man? From where do your beliefs come? How has your culture influenced your beliefs regarding creation? How important is one's culture to one's beliefs? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

There are several pre-Trojan War heroes that are of great significance.

Part 1) Who are these heroes? Describe each of these heroes and summarize his stories. How did each of them become a hero? What commonalities existed between these heroes?

Part 2) What do these heroes reveal about pre-Trojan War Greece? Based on these stories, what can be learned about how these Greeks felt about heroes, the gods, and their own lives? Do these myths seem realistic? Do you think that the Greeks believed these adventures had actually occurred? Why or why not?

Part 3) Describe the Trojan War heroes. How were they different from the pre-Trojan War heroes? Why? What were heroes like in early America? What made someone a hero at that point in our history? Are the qualities the same today as then? Why or why not? Might the definition of a hero change over time? Why or why not?

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