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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. How does Plutarch explain public anger both Dion and Brutus received for their stands against Dionysius II and Caesar respectively?

2. According to Plutarch, what lead to the death of Aratus' father?

3. In the comparison of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus (henceforth identified here as "The Roman Brothers") with Agis and Cleomenes ("The Spartans"), how does Plutarch refer to Tiberius and Caius as a unit?

4. Who does Plutarch report to be the father of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus?

5. What does Plutarch consider to be the difference in the military achievements between Dion and Brutus?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Plutarch describe the defeat of Brutus after the death of Caesar?

2. What did Plutarch consider to be the difference between the several wives that Demetrius took as opposed to Antony taking up with Cleopatra?

3. How did Antony inspire a revolt against the assassins of Caesar, according to Plutarch?

4. How did Plutarch show the differences in the motivations for speaking between Demosthenes and Cicero?

5. Why does Plutarch suggest Caesar showed favor to Brutus despite Brutus siding with Pompey during the civil war with Caesar?

6. Why does Plutarch report that Artaxerxes had his son, Darius, executed?

7. What is a primary difference that can be inferred between the ancient Spartan civilization and the ancient Roman Empire from Plutarch's comparison between the Gracchi and the Spartans?

8. What difference does Plutarch recognize in the raising of the Gracchi Brothers (Tiberius and Caius) and The Spartans (Agis and Cleomenes)?

9. How did Plutarch compare the military achievements of Brutus and Dion?

10. What does Plutarch report to be the condition of Rome as Tiberius began his political career in Rome?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Caesar spared Brutus despite his alliance with Pompey in the civil war between Pompey and Caesar. What made Brutus important enough to spare and what does it say of Brutus that he participated in the assassination of Caesar after Caesar spared him. Explain your answers with support from Plutarch's "Lives" from both the chapters on Brutus and Caesar.

Essay Topic 2

Plutarch's biography of Alexander gave explicit details of how Alexander was supposedly a demigod and Plutarch's reports of Alexander's youth seemed to give support to the myth. Detail Plutarch's accounts of Alexander's supposedly divine heritage and two stories from his youth which could be taken to suggest that Alexander's intelligence and physical abilities were well above normal.

Essay Topic 3

Artaxerxes faced family challenges from his brother and even his sons. Compare his brother's challenge against his inheriting the throne to the conspiracy of Artaxerxes' son, Darious, and the turmoil Ochus brought to his brothers to earn the right to inherit the throne. In the comparison, detail Artaxerxes' responses to the challenges and how each challenger adjusted their tactics to attempt to take Artaxerxes' crown.

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