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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. Earlier heroes were superhuman individuals who fought alone against monsters and strange creatures, while the Trojan heroes fought whom?

2. Otus and Ephialtes were ___________ who wanted to prove that they were the equals of the gods.

3. The inventor warned his son ______________.

4. Achilles could not stand the slight to his honor that Agamemnon brought about by ______________.

5. What happened when King Minos locked this inventor up in his own labyrinth?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. What is the lesson that is to be learned in the story of Phaeton? How is this an important lesson?

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

8. Why were women seen as lesser beings? How does Greek mythology support this belief regarding women?

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

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 2

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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