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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Creon say about the god's call to avenge Laius' death now?
(a) He says it will be an easy task.
(b) He says it is too late for revenge.
(c) He says it is fitting.
(d) He says the gods have asked the impossible.

2. How does Creon's face look as he approaches?
(a) happy
(b) nonexpressive
(c) sad
(d) angry

3. Who does Teiresias say he was "wise enough" to?
(a) Creon
(b) Apollo
(c) the gods
(d) Oedipus' parents

4. Where has Oedipus sent Creon?
(a) to wander the wilderness
(b) to Apollo's shrine
(c) to Zeus's oracle
(d) to the kingdom of Corinth

5. Who does Oedipus accuse Teiresias of being in league with?
(a) Jocasta
(b) Apollo
(c) Creon
(d) the oracle

6. What does Oedipus wish for himself, if he unknowingly hosted the murderer at his home?
(a) all the bad things he wished upon the murderer
(b) eternal damnation
(c) to be ripped from his land and family
(d) a life of solitude and sobriety

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

8. What argument does Oedipus offer that Teiresias is not really a prophet?
(a) Teiresias did not answer the Sphinx's riddle.
(b) Teiresias changes his prophesies from one day to the next.
(c) Teiresias's prophecies conflict with the oracle.
(d) Teiresias is only faking blindness.

9. Before he leaves, what does Oedipus say will happen?
(a) The murderer will definitely be caught and punished.
(b) The gods will decide the outcome, and the murderer's fate is in their hands.
(c) Either the murderer will be caught and punished, or else they will all be ruined.
(d) The whole town, and Oedipus himself, will definitely be ruined.

10. At the end of the scene, what does Oedipus ask the people to stand up and take?
(a) arms
(b) the news to the outlying farms
(c) pity on him in his misery
(d) their suppliant branches

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

12. What does the priest point out about Oedipus overcoming the Sphinx?
(a) Oedipus defeated the Sphinx only out of sheer luck.
(b) Oedipus was able to defeat the Sphinx because of his powerful arm and his connections to royalty.
(c) Oedipus used superior training to defeat the Sphinx, and no one else had the same benefits.
(d) Oedipus had no more knowledge or instruction than the townspeople, and yet was able to solve the riddle.

13. What does Oedipus decree that no citizen of Thebes shall do?
(a) pray to any god but Apollo until the murderer is found
(b) talk or gossip about the murder
(c) shelter, talk, or consort with the murderer
(d) leave the town until the murderer is found

14. Who does Teiresias say he serves?
(a) Zeus
(b) Creon
(c) Oedipus
(d) Apollo

15. Who leads Teiresias into Oedipus' presence?
(a) Creon
(b) Jocasta
(c) the chorus leader
(d) a small boy

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Teiresias say about the murderer's financial condition?

2. How has Teiresias' pronouncement made the chorus feel?

3. Why does Oedipus say he's not punishing Teiresias?

4. What does Oedipus ask Teiresias to do, after Teiresias says Oedipus is the murderer?

5. What does Oedipus accuse Creon of?

(see the answer keys)

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