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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. Where does Leeming say the Greek name Zeus comes from?
(a) The Sanskrit for light or day.
(b) The Persian for power.
(c) The Egyptian for thunder.
(d) The Sumerian for death.

2. For what does Leeming say the gods are metaphors?
(a) Earth, wind, water and fire.
(b) Timeless laws of the universe.
(c) Elements of society, as well as human emotions.
(d) The collective unconscious.

3. How do the Greeks explain the presence of winter?
(a) Hades conquers earth.
(b) Hera goes away on a trip.
(c) Zeus bans fertility.
(d) Demeter mourns for her daughter.

4. How does Leeming say the Greek pantheon differs from other pantheons?
(a) The Greek gods were imposed on cultures Greeks influenced.
(b) The Greek gods retained their local origins and cults.
(c) The Greek gods had a great number of human attributes.
(d) The Greek gods were not always more powerful than humans.

5. What does Leeming say is important about dying gods?
(a) Dying gods protect humans from their feelings about death.
(b) Dying gods let cultures experience death and resurrection.
(c) Dying gods explain the seasons.
(d) Dying gods give men reasons to go to war.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is the Norse pantheon first described in writing?

2. Whom does Leeming say parallels the serpent in the Christian garden in the Norse pantheon?

3. What does Leeming say was the central organizing principle of the Christian Creation myth?

4. Why does Leeming say cultures give human form to Supreme Beings?

5. What is eschatology?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Leeming say the figure of the trickster?

2. Describe the Indian creation myth.

3. What does Leeming say the Great Mother represents?

4. Why does Leeming say that cosmogonies are predominantly feminine?

5. How does Leeming describe the Greek pantheon as a family?

6. How does Leeming say that pantheons can be described?

7. What does Leeming say is the creation myth for modern people?

8. What relationship does Leeming describe between politics and religion in the myths of the Egyptian pantheon?

9. Describe the Hebrew creation myth.

10. How does Leeming define the cosmic myth?

(see the answer keys)

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