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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What past events does Cassandra see in a vision?
(a) The tragedies of the house of Atreus.
(b) The fall of Troy.
(c) The death of Achilles.
(d) The kidnapping of Helen.

3. What is Aegisthus's relationship to Clytemnestra as demonstrated at the end of "The Agamemnon"?
(a) He is her lover.
(b) He is her son.
(c) He is her father.
(d) He is her brother.

4. According to Clytemnestra's message to the herald, how has she kept her husband's house?
(a) Safe and welcoming upon his return.
(b) She has been overwhelmed by the responsibilities of it.
(c) She has given it over to someone else for safekeeping.
(d) As well as she could.

5. What was Apollo's reaction to Cassandra not meeting his expectations when he granted her with a gift?
(a) He cursed her to speak the truth but never to be believed.
(b) He took away her gift of prophecy.
(c) He turned the other gods against her.
(d) He impregnated her, shaming her family.

6. What does the herald ask of the gods?
(a) He asks that they send a sign for whether he should leave the city.
(b) He asks that they bless Clytemnestra and her family.
(c) He asks that they send Agamemmon good winds for his journey.
(d) He asks that they continue to bless Agamemnon on his return home.

7. What goddess demanded Iphigenia in sacrifice?
(a) Artemis.
(b) Demeter.
(c) Hera.
(d) Athena.

8. While mourning her father at his grave, what does Electra pray for the most?
(a) Menelaus's vengeance on Cltemnestra.
(b) The death of Aegisthus.
(c) Her mother's forgiveness.
(d) Her brother's return.

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

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

11. What advice does Electra ask of the chorus while at her father's tomb?
(a) She is unsure of how to pray.
(b) She is unsure if she is truly her father's daughter.
(c) She is unsure of whether to mourn her father.
(d) She is unsure of where to go when she runs away.

12. What news does Clytemnestra initially bring the chorus?
(a) Menelaus will be taking over Mycenae.
(b) Troy has defeated the Greeks.
(c) Troy has been defeated.
(d) Agamemnon has died.

13. What did Apollo expect in return for the gift he granted to Cassandra?
(a) Cassandra was to build a shrine to him.
(b) Cassandra was to honor him publicly.
(c) Cassandra was to give herself to him.
(d) Cassandra was to renounce all other gods.

14. 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 detached subject.
(b) The offerings come from Clytemnestra as a loving wife .
(c) The offerings come from a loyal follower.
(d) The offerings come from Electra as an angry daughter.

15. How does Agamemnon make his entrance?
(a) In a horse-cart.
(b) On foot.
(c) In a chariot.
(d) On horse back.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the women describe Clytemnestra in their first appearance in "The Libation Bearers"?

2. What does Orestes leave behind at his father's tomb in tribute ?

3. Who is the first character to speak in "The Oresteia"?

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

5. How is Aegisthus related to the house of Atreus?

(see the answer keys)

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