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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Clytemnestra, what did she watch for while Agamemnon was gone?
(a) She watched for any sign from the gods.
(b) She watched the moon to see if the gods would tell her anything through it.
(c) She kept watch for any word of her husband.
(d) She watched the horizon every day for his ship.

2. What god does the leader of the chorus praise for Agamemnon's victory?
(a) Athena.
(b) Zeus.
(c) Apollo.
(d) Hera.

3. What, according to the herald, is worth the suffering of the soldiers?
(a) The blessings of the gods.
(b) Victory at war.
(c) The homecoming.
(d) Love.

4. In which city does "The Oresteia" begin?
(a) Athens.
(b) Troy.
(c) Mycenae.
(d) Delphi.

5. According to Agamemnon, what kept him strong during the war?
(a) His thoughts of his wife.
(b) His thoughts of his home.
(c) His thoughts of his children.
(d) Cassandra.

6. What gift did Apollo give Cassandra before the events of The Oresteia?
(a) The ability of persuasion.
(b) Prophecy.
(c) Immortality.
(d) The ability to speak in tongues.

7. To Aegisthus's consternation, of what does the chorus remind him?
(a) Clytemnestra did all the work in murdering Agamemnon.
(b) He was not fit to be a soldier.
(c) He is not of royal blood.
(d) He is half the man that Agamemnon was.

8. According to Aegisthus, what actually brought about Agamemnon's death?
(a) The will of the gods.
(b) Clytemnestra's vengeance.
(c) Agamemnon's disregard for others.
(d) The actions of Agamemnon and his father.

9. For whom is the chorus crying out to return after the death of Agamemnon?
(a) Menelaus.
(b) Orestes.
(c) Cassandra.
(d) Agamemnon

10. According to the chorus, what is the only thing Electra can pray for while at Agamemnon's grave?
(a) Her mother's salvation.
(b) The return of her family.
(c) The death of her father's murderers.
(d) Her own freedom.

11. What is the function of the herald at the beginning of the second part of the first play?
(a) He brings news of Orestes.
(b) He brings news of Agamemnon.
(c) He brings news of Iphigenia.
(d) He brings news of Aegisthus.

12. What does the signal that the man on the roof sees mean?
(a) Agamemnon is coming home from the Trojan War.
(b) King Priam is invading.
(c) Menelaus is coming home from the Trojan War.
(d) Agamemnon has died.

13. How does Clytemnestra defend her actions against Agamemnon to the chorus?
(a) She argues that there never was a curse.
(b) She argues that the Furies will not hurt her.
(c) She argues that she cannot be cursed again.
(d) She argues that she ended the curse.

14. What woman is accompanying Agamemnon on his return to Mycenae?
(a) Andromache.
(b) Phoebe.
(c) Briseis.
(d) Cassandra.

15. What does Orestes wonder about the women approaching his father's tomb?
(a) He wonders if they are there to mourn his father or a new tragedy.
(b) He wonders if they are there to desecrate the tomb.
(c) He wonders if they are there to move his father's body to safety.
(d) He wonders if they are there to celebrate his father's life.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the herald ask of the gods?

2. For what does Clytemnestra scold the chorus in the second part of the first play?

3. Why does the herald believe what he claims about Agamemnon's brother?

4. What is Aegisthus's reaction when the chorus brings up Clytemnestra and her role in the murders?

5. What is the lineage of the woman with Agamemnon in the third part of the first play?

(see the answer keys)

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