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

2. Hesiod's _______________ is another main source, which asked questions about the origins of things.

3. Another story tells that Zeus was angry with early men and sent what to destroy them?

4. Homer, an ancient Greek _________, provided a lot of important insight in his epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

5. Pygmalion fell in love with the statue of a woman that he had created. Venus took pity on his aching heart and turned the statue into a real, living woman. Pygmalion married her and named her ____________.

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Overall, what were the initial roles of the Greek and Roman gods? How might this have been beneficial for mankind?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Describe Greek heroes. What was the most common flaw? Is this a common flaw in humanity? Why or why not?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are two families discussed in this book who suffer greatly.

Part 1) Who are these two families? How did they become so unlucky? Were they deserving of this bad luck? Why or why not? Could this luck have been avoided? If so, how? If not, why not? Could anyone in these families have stopped the passing along of bad luck? If so, how? If not, why not?

Part 2) What do these stories say about those who act poorly and offend the gods? What do these stories also say about the gods themselves? In our own culture, do we believe that bad luck can be passed down through a family? Why or why not?

Part 3) Do you believe in luck? Why or why not? How did you come to have this belief? How does this belief influence your daily decisions and actions? Might your belief regarding luck ever change? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 2

Tragedy was often a part of Greek mythology.

Part 1) Describe four myths that one would consider tragic. What led to tragedy in each of these myths? How does the tragedy found in each myth compare to the tragedy found in the others?

Part 2) What is the purpose of this tragedy? What does it reveal about the Greeks? What lessons can still be learned from this tragedy today? Do tragedies such as this exist in contemporary literature? Why or why not?

Part 3) Do you believe that tragic tales are necessary for a culture? Why or why not? Is there a focus on tragedy in American literature? Why or why not? What does this say about Americans and their view of tragedy and loss?

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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