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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. Who does Leeming say is the archetypal helper god in the Meso-American pantheon?

2. What is cosmogony?

3. To what does Leeming say the oldest myth refers?

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

5. What does Leeming say the gods function as in myth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Leeming say the Supreme Being represents in myths?

2. How does Leeming say that cultures still worship the Great Mother?

3. How does Leeming define the cosmic myth?

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

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

6. Who are the primary gods in the Egyptian pantheon?

7. How does Leeming say the Romans altered the Greek pantheon?

8. Describe the Hopi creation myth.

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

10. What stories or topics does Leeming include in the category of cosmic myths?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Leeming describes myths as concerning gods and goddesses, but they are also tales that transcend religion, and have an essential human, psychological truth, which is applicable beyond the particular religion that told the myth originally. In this light, discuss the religious nature of myth--do myths apply equally to atheists and believers?

Essay Topic 2

What is the setting for a myth, and is this collection the proper place for keeping these myths alive? Does a myth require a ceremonial, ritual, or religious setting, or a certain storytelling environment, or is a myth no matter where it is told or recorded. How much is a myth dependent on the circumstances of its telling? Is a myth different when it is analyzed than it is when it is told as a story in response to events of a question?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze two similar myths from different cultures, and characterize the fundamental correspondence between them. How do you account for the distinct features of each myth? Are they culturally relevant markers that characterize each culture? Are they superfluous to the essential myth itself, and therefore merely personal or individual in nature?

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