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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What course of action does the chorus leader suggest Oedipus should take?
(a) search every house in the city
(b) consult the prophet Teiresias
(c) send another emissary to Delphi
(d) look inside his own palace

2. What does Oedipus ask Teiresias to do, after Teiresias says Oedipus is the murderer?
(a) leave Thebes immediately
(b) fight him
(c) fall on his knees and pray
(d) repeat what he's said

3. Who does the priest say has gathered?
(a) townspeople from the very young to the very old
(b) everyone but those ill from disease
(c) all the young and hearty townspeople
(d) all the sick and elderly townspeople

4. What does the chorus say about Oedipus' possible motive for killing Laius?
(a) The chorus remembers rumors of a quarrel between the two houses.
(b) The chorus thinks Oedipus may have desired the throne.
(c) The chorus knows of no quarrel between the two houses.
(d) The chorus thinks Oedipus may have been angry.

5. Why does the chorus think it's time for the murderer to flee?
(a) Oedipus is against him.
(b) The ire of the city is rising against him.
(c) Zeus' son, Apollo, is against him.
(d) Teiresias will eventually name him.

6. What is Creon's relationship to Oedipus?
(a) father-in-law
(b) no relation
(c) brother-in-law
(d) brother

7. Who does Oedipus say he's seeking vengeance for?
(a) himself and the people of Thebes
(b) the land and the god Apollo
(c) the gods and the prophets
(d) Creon and Jocasta

8. What does the chorus leader think of Oedipus' curses on the murderer?
(a) that the murderer will laugh at them
(b) that the murderer will ignore them
(c) that the murderer will make fun of them
(d) that the murderer will take them seriously

9. Who does the chorus leader say should reveal the murderer?
(a) Laius
(b) Oedipus
(c) Creon
(d) Apollo

10. What does Creon say has caused the disasters to the town?
(a) a fight between protecting gods
(b) a slight to the gods
(c) an unfulfilled prophecy
(d) an unavenged murder

11. Why does the priest say they've come to Oedipus?
(a) because he's the one they all blame
(b) because he's the first among men
(c) because he's a god to the town
(d) because he's got the power of wealth

12. What does Teiresias say about the murderer's eyesight?
(a) that he can see but will be blind
(b) that he can see but not the past
(c) that he can see but not the future
(d) that he can see but not himself

13. Why does Oedipus say his sorrow is greater than the townspeople?
(a) Oedipus's heart is greater and therefore his sorrow is greater.
(b) Oedipus says his personal loss from the plague is worse than anyone else's.
(c) Oedipus has sorrow for himself, the city, and all the townspeople.
(d) Oedipus is full of fear that he will be dethroned.

14. What does the chorus leader rebuke both Oedipus and Teiresias for?
(a) being angry and quarrelling instead of finding the murderer
(b) not listening to each other and talking at cross purposes
(c) not talking with Jocasta
(d) not talking with Creon

15. What does Teiresias say about his own wisdom, after Oedipus questions him about Laius' murderer?
(a) It brings no benefits.
(b) It is misunderstood, even by himself.
(c) It is fleeting and unreliable.
(d) It is a blessing and a curse.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where has Oedipus sent Creon?

2. What does Oedipus call the people of Thebes?

3. What does Oedipus decree that no citizen of Thebes shall do?

4. How is the tale of Oedipus and the Sphinx treated in the town?

5. How does Creon's face look as he approaches?

(see the answer keys)

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