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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to the herald and the chorus, what has happened to Agamemnon's brother?
(a) His ship is lost after a storm.
(b) He was killed in battle.
(c) His men mutinied against him on the return home.
(d) He has returns home safely.

2. According to the chorus in the second part of the first play, what will always prevail?
(a) Love.
(b) Vengeance.
(c) Loyalty.
(d) Justice.

3. Towards the end of the first play, what does the chorus tell Clytemnestra they refuse to do?
(a) Allow her son to return.
(b) Allow Aegisthus to rule Mycenae.
(c) Allow Agamemnon to be buried without any offerings made to the gods.
(d) Allow her to retire.

4. What does Orestes leave behind at his father's tomb in tribute ?
(a) His sword.
(b) His sister's letters.
(c) A lock of his hair.
(d) A book of verse.

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

6. What is the herald's opinion on Troy and Paris?
(a) The city should have turned Paris over to the Greeks.
(b) Paris should have surrendered and the city left untouched.
(c) It is a tragedy.
(d) They got what they deserved.

7. For what does Clytemnestra scold the chorus in the second part of the first play?
(a) Not believing her.
(b) Not offering proper prayers to the gods.
(c) Not listening to the herald.
(d) Not respecting Agamemnon.

8. How do the women describe Clytemnestra in their first appearance in "The Libation Bearers"?
(a) Loving.
(b) Wise.
(c) Thrice-cursed.
(d) God-abandoned.

9. In the first part of the first play, according to Clytemnestra, what does Agamemnon have yet to endure?
(a) Another battle at sea.
(b) The journey home.
(c) His reign as king.
(d) The sacrifices to the gods.

10. What was Paris's actual deed that set off the Trojan War?
(a) He kidnapped Helen.
(b) He murdered Menelaus.
(c) He rejected Apollo.
(d) He dishonored Aphrodite.

11. What had Clytemnestra told her daughter to say in her prayers before she comes to the tomb in the second play?
(a) The offerings come from a loyal follower.
(b) The offerings come from Electra as an angry daughter.
(c) The offerings come from a detached subject.
(d) The offerings come from Clytemnestra as a loving wife .

12. 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 Iphigenia.
(c) He brings news of Aegisthus.
(d) He brings news of Agamemnon.

13. Who accompanies Orestes to Agamemnon's tomb in the beginning of the second play?
(a) An oracle.
(b) Odysseus.
(c) Pylades.
(d) Menelaus.

14. For which family member's sake did Agamemnon go to Troy?
(a) Paris.
(b) Hector.
(c) Menelaus.
(d) Priam.

15. According to Agamemnon, what was the cause of Troy's being "ground into dust?"
(a) It was because of a misunderstanding.
(b) It was the will of the gods.
(c) It was over a woman.
(d) It was the will of two kings.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Clytemnestra try to get Cassandra to do in the fourth part of "The Agamemnon"?

2. What does Aegisthus brag about to the chorus?

3. After Cassandra enters the castle and their monologue is interrupted, what dispute rises amongst the chorus?

4. In the first part of the first play, what signal is the man on the roof looking for?

5. In which city does "The Oresteia" begin?

(see the answer keys)

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