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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. Who did Brutus join in the successful assassination attempt against Caesar, according to Plutarch?

2. Which one of the four being compared does Plutarch report had no great action worthy of a commander?

3. What does Plutarch claim Demosthenes did with his suicide?

4. Who led a conspiracy to overthrow the Roman Government that Plutarch reports Cicero exposed in the Senate?

5. How was the Artaxerxes from Plutarch's "Lives" related to the first Artaxerxes to rule over Persia?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Plutarch identify as the marks of Cicero's oratory style?

2. What important position does Plutarch report Atarus took with Achaea, a league of Greek cities?

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

4. Why does Plutarch claim that Dion was banished from the court of young Dionysius?

5. Why does Plutarch claim that Philip had Atarus poisoned?

6. 1.What does Plutarch recognize as the major difference between the governing styles between the Gracchi and the Spartans?

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

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Plutarch's reports of suicides among the figures he profiled plays very prominently in what he considers the figure's nobility or lack thereof. Compare the suicides of Cato and Otho. Explain the circumstances that led to the suicide, reasons the two gave for committing the act, and how you believe the act is a reflection of the character that Plutarch developed in his biography.

Essay Topic 2

Plutarch's biography of Sertorius established a pattern of examining the life of a leader whose live and experiences were intertwined with other lives that were covered by Plutarch. Sertorius directly confronted Pompey in Spain and both were affected by the Roman tyrant Sylla. How were both Sertorius and Pompey affected by Sylla, and how did the different relationships with Sylla influence the confrontation they had with each other?

Essay Topic 3

The last political position Phocion took was his support for Cassander as King of Macedon. Explain why Phocion, a Greek, was in the position to be concerned with who was the king of Macedon, what Cassander's opponent did in response to Phocion's support, and whether or not that opponent's tactic achieved his desired goal.

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