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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. For what does the chorus pray in the third part of the second play?
(a) They pray that Orestes will die in his revenge attempt.
(b) They pray that Zeus will stop the plot.
(c) They pray that Orestes will have his revenge successfully.
(d) They pray that the entire royal family will perish.

2. What do the Eumenides claim about Orestes' travels in the second part of "The Eumenides"?
(a) The voyage should have killed him.
(b) Orestes is defying the will of the gods.
(c) Apollo has been granting him unfair advantages in his travels.
(d) His journey has been useless.

3. From where has Athena flown when she makes her entrance?
(a) Troy.
(b) Rome.
(c) Mycenae.
(d) Delphi.

4. What does Athena decide about the case presented to her by Orestes and the Furies?
(a) She sides with Orestes.
(b) She sides with Orestes, but refuses to grant him sanctuary.
(c) She sides with the Furies.
(d) It is not part of her divine right to judge this case.

5. What is heard from inside the palace after Aegisthus enters it?
(a) Aegisthus screaming as he is being murdered.
(b) Orestes screaming as he is murdered by Aegisthus.
(c) Electra screaming as Aegisthus murders her.
(d) Pylades is screaming as Aegisthus murders him.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why should Apollo's claim about the nature of parenthood appeal to Athena?

2. Why does Clytemnestra grieve after the false news of her son's death?

3. Why does Apollo claim that Clytemnestra needed to be killed?

4. What do the Furies celebrate in poem and dance in the second part of "The Eumenides"?

5. When the Furies do not awaken, what does the ghost urge them to dream about?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Orestes mean when he cries out to Zeus in the second part of "The Libation Bearers"?

2. What ends up being the fate of the Furies at the end of the play?

3. According to what he tells Electra and the chorus, why is Orestes seeking vengeance for his father's death?

4. Why do the Furies claim Orestes' journey to Athens has been useless when they catch up with him in the second part of "The Eumenides"?

5. Why is it important that Orestes tell Athena who his father was when the goddess comes to him?

6. What does Orestes find ironic about the deaths of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra?

7. After he is freed at the end of "The Oresteia", what does Orestes claim to want for the future?

8. In the beginning of "The Eumenides", what is the oracle's vision and what does it mean?

9. What was Clytemnestra's dream?

10. What are the Furies and why are they tormenting Orestes at the end of "The Libation Bearers"?

(see the answer keys)

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