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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 will Athena appoint to pass judgment on the case between Orestes and the Furies?

2. Why does Apollo appear at his altar?

3. Where does the beginning of "The Eumenides" take place?

4. For whom do the disguised Orestes and Pylades cry out while outside the palace?

5. What does Apollo claim about mothers and fathers in the last part of "The Eumenides"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the conflict between the Furies and Apollo?

2. How does the chorus influence Cilissa when she enters?

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

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

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

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

7. What was Clytemnestra's dream?

8. What does Apollo say about the rights of parents during Orestes' trial?

9. How do Orestes and Pylades get inside the palace?

10. After receiving false news in the third part of the second play, what is Clytemnestra's reaction to news of Orestes' supposed death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one of the following options to write about. Cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

1) Electra as a passive character.

2) The herald's statements about the price of victory in war.

3) The curse on the house of Atreus.

Essay Topic 2

Is "The Oresteia" inherently misogynistic? Create a strong thesis (it is suggested that this thesis be centered on the characters for the sake of clarity) arguing that "The Oresteia" is or is not misogynistic. Points to consider are the treatment of Clytemnestra by the chorus, the role of Aegisthus, and Apollo's views on parents in the third play.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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