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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 Leeming say the flood represents as a metaphor?

2. Who is Frigg, in the Norse pantheon?

3. When were the Coffin Texts made?

4. What does Leeming say cosmogonies represent?

5. For what does Leeming say the gods are metaphors?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Leeming define the cosmic myth?

2. Describe the first creation myth to originate in Egypt.

3. How does Leeming address the fall from grace or perfection in creation myths?

4. Describe the stages through which the Greek pantheon developed, in Leeming's account.

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

6. How do different cultures describe the Apocalypse?

7. How does Leeming define a "cosmogony" and what kinds of stories are contained in cosmogonies?

8. How does Leeming define the gods?

9. Describe the Mesopotamian creation myth.

10. Describe the Hopi creation myth.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How useful is the term monomyth for the study of myth? How useful is it for analyzing a particular myth? Analyze a myth of your choice by relating it to its underlying monomyth, and discuss the benefits and limitations of the term "monomyth" as an analytical tool. How useful is it?

Essay Topic 2

Read another book about mythology--even something short, like Karen Armstrong's "A Short History of Myth"--and compare and contrast Leeming's approach to myth to another author's. What are Leeming's main preoccupations, and what are his methods? What is his style for expressing them? What does he tend to include? What does he omit? How can you characterize Leeming's intellectual personality?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast myths of the industrial or modern age with ancient or primitive myths. How are myths different in industrial times? What aspects of myths have remained the same?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 972 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample