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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 Plutarch report to be the first Roman official to try to take up the issue that confronted Tiberius after his election as tribune?

2. What is the reason Plutarch gives for Aratus deciding to make alliance with Philip of Macedon?

3. How does Plutarch report that Demosthenes and Cicero showed the differences in their personalities through their speeches?

4. Why did Plutarch claim Artaxerxes' mother favored Cyrus as king when Darius died?

5. What does Plutarch identify as the difference in the characters between "The Roman Brothers" and "The Spartans"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Plutarch claim Atarus did to free Sicyon from the tyrant Nicocles?

3. What does Plutarch consider to be the difference in the deaths of the Gracci and the Spartans?

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

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

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

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

8. 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?

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

10. How does Plutarch show the differences in the personalities between Demosthenes and Cicero through their rhetorical style?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Tiberius Gracchus was responded to the needs of homeless soldiers who's property was taken by legal schemes made by land owners while the soldiers were fighting wars. Investigate the reasons the soldiers were fighting the wars that took them from their homes, how wealthy land owners were in a position to manipulate laws, and how Tiberius was able to get land reform laws passed in spite of opposition in the senate. Summarize your essay with a position statement of what the government could have done at any point of the process to deal with the problem in a just manner.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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