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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Octavia.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Overall, why are the subjects and chorus loyal to Octavia?
(a) Octavia brought blessings from the gods to Rome.
(b) Octavia is the daughter of their ally, the king of Corinth.
(c) Octavia is well-liked by the subjects.
(d) She is the actual heir to the throne, not Nero.

2. At the end of the third act of "Phaedra," the chorus cries, "Why dost thou dwell afar,/ All too indifferent to men,/ Not anxious to bring blessing to the good,/ And to the evil, bane"? About what is the chorus lamenting?
(a) Phaedra has committed suicide.
(b) Hippolytus has been murdered.
(c) Hippolytus has tried to kill his father.
(d) Phaedra falsely accused Hippolytus of rape.

3. What does the messenger reveal that Oedipus refuses to do in the fifth act?
(a) Tell Jocasta the truth about their relationship.
(b) Commit suicide.
(c) Flee Thebes.
(d) Free the imprisoned Creon.

4. Who did Tantalus serve as a meal to the gods?
(a) Pelops.
(b) Plisthenes.
(c) Thyestes.
(d) Atreus.

5. What does Seneca warn Nero will happen if he kills Octavia?
(a) Jove will punish him.
(b) He will be tormented by ghosts for the rest of his life.
(c) He will lose all favor with his subjects.
(d) He will be fulfilling a prophecy leading to Nero's death.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Astyanax defy the Greeks at his death?

2. What message does the ghost of Jocasta's husband send?

3. How does Oedipus punish himself at the end of the play?

4. What does Nero claim about his wife to Seneca in "Octavia"?

5. What does Octavia believe will happen when Nero marries Poppaea?

(see the answer key)

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