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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 was for in Mayan culture?

2. What does Leeming say ancient cultures realized through cosmogonies?

3. Who was the oldest divine being in the Greek pantheon?

4. How does Leeming define gods?

5. Who does Leeming say parallels Lucifer in the Norse pantheon?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Leeming describe the Norse pantheon?

2. Describe the Indian creation myth.

3. What contribution does Leeming say Hesiod made to Greek creation myths?

4. How do different cultures describe the Apocalypse?

5. Where does Leeming say the figures of Supreme Beings came from in myths?

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

7. How does Leeming describe the Greek pantheon?

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

9. How does Leeming define the gods?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

What is the difference between a myth and a legend or fairy tale? Cite examples from The World of Myth to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

What was the time before the gods like? Not just in the myths, but in the cultural idea of gods: what were the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, or Norse pantheons like before they were seen as pantheons? How did the disparate and local gods become pantheons that seemed to rule over a territory through a religion or system of myths?

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