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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. What does Orestes claim has taken away the sin of his mother's murder away?

2. Where was Orestes when he was told to avenge his father?

3. What do the Furies demand to know in court from Orestes?

4. What does Apollo tell the court about his decree to Orestes?

5. What does Aegisthus claim after his entrance in "The Libation Bearers"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Apollo appear to Orestes while at Delphi?

2. 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"?

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

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

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

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

7. How does Clytemnestra attempt to defend herself against Orestes in the last part of "The Libation Bearers"?

8. Why is Clytemnestra's dream significant to Orestes?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the reactions of Clytemnestra and Cilissa when they receive false news of Orestes' "death." Consider, then, the words of Apollo in the third play about the roles of the mother and the father in a child's life. What is the play saying about the nature of maternal love? Create a strong thesis and use specific examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the following topics to write about:

1) The description of Clytemnestra being "god abandoned."

2) Clytemnestra's relationship with Aegisthus.

3) The use of the Trojan women as the chorus in the second play.

Essay Topic 3

A constant, repeated theme in the first play of "The Oresteia" is that the Trojans got what they deserved when their city fell and people killed or enslaved. Explore this theme in the larger context of the entire play cycle. What does it mean when characters in "The Oresteia" are justifiably punished? How do they react to being punished? Cite specific examples from the text to support your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

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