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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who accused Oedipus of not being his father's real son?
(a) a stranger passng through the town
(b) the local prophet
(c) his cousin, son of his mother's sister
(d) a drunk man at a dinner

2. What city was the father who raised Oedipus from?
(a) Corinth
(b) Sparta
(c) Athens
(d) Thebes

3. Where did Laius order his infant child to be put?
(a) in a river
(b) on a mountain
(c) in a field
(d) in the ocean

4. Who does the shepherd say gave him the infant child?
(a) Laius
(b) Jocasta's maid
(c) Laius's servant
(d) Jocasta

5. What does Oedipus say that he still fears, after hearing the news of Polybus' death?
(a) the plague on the land
(b) wedding his mother
(c) the wrath of Apollo
(d) Creon's treachery

6. What does the chorus leader say he does not know about Oedipus'scharges against Creon?
(a) what charges Oedipus made against Creon
(b) whether Creon understand the charges Oedipus made
(c) Oedipus's steadiness and state of mind when making the charges
(d) whether Teiresias was there when Oedipus made the charges

7. What gives Oedipus hope that he did not kill Laius?
(a) The murder seems to have taken place at a different time than Oedipus remembers.
(b) The survivor may see Oedipus's face and be able to identify that he's not the killer.
(c) The description of the carriage does not match the one Oedipus remembers.
(d) The survivor reported being attacked by a band of thieves, not one man.

8. What does Jocasta ask Oedipus to do regarding her brother?
(a) make her responsible for Creon
(b) hold Creon in prison until he can discover the truth
(c) send Creon away instead of killing him
(d) trust that Creon is telling the truth

9. What part of her and Laius' infant child does Jocasta say Laius bound?
(a) his ankles
(b) his knees
(c) his elbows
(d) his wrists

10. Who does Jocasta say Laius had with him, as an escort?
(a) fifteen of the best men
(b) ten heralds
(c) no one
(d) five men, including a herald

11. What children did Polybus have before Oedipus?
(a) a son who died
(b) a son who was stolen away
(c) a daughter who died
(d) none

12. What does Creon say Oedipus should do to get proof of Creon's innocence?
(a) talk to the oracle at Delphi
(b) look inside his own heart
(c) speak with Teiresias again
(d) question his sister Jocasta

13. What made Oedipus angry, when he encountered the stranger's carriage on the road?
(a) The stranger and his entourage tried to force Oedipus off the road.
(b) The stranger's entourage tried to arrest Oedipus for being a vagrant on the road.
(c) The stranger asked Oedipus why he had left his parents' home.
(d) The stranger insulted Oedipus as they passed each other.

14. When Creon turns the tables and begins questioning Oedipus, what is the first question he asks?
(a) whether there is some unknown explanation for Teiresias's information
(b) whether Oedipus killed Laius
(c) whether Oedipus is married to Creon's sister
(d) whether the townspeople believe Oedipus is guilty

15. What does Oedipus say the chorus' position will result in?
(a) Oedipus' exile or death
(b) Creon becoming a tyrannt
(c) destruction of Thebes
(d) war with Corinth

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Creon deny that he has a desire to do?

2. What was the messenger's profession when he found the infant Oedipus?

3. What does the old shepherd fear will happen to him if he tells the truth?

4. Why does the messenger tell Oedipus he is not Polybus' son?

5. Who first sees the old shepherd approaching?

(see the answer keys)

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