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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What course of action does Tiresias propose he take in order to help avenge the king's murder?
(a) He will pray to Zeus for guidance.
(b) He will summon the king's ghost.
(c) He will sacrifice himself to the gods for the end of the plague.
(d) He will go to the Oracle himself.

2. From where did Oedipus come?
(a) Rome.
(b) Troy.
(c) Thebes.
(d) Corinth.

3. What news does the messenger give Oedipus in the fourth act?
(a) Tiresias is a fake.
(b) Polybus has died.
(c) Creon has seized control of Corinth.
(d) Zeus has ended the plague.

4. What does the messenger reveal to Oedipus about his past?
(a) Oedipus' mother is Jocasta.
(b) Oedipus was adopted.
(c) Oedipus has no royal blood.
(d) The messenger is Oedipus' father.

5. Who kills Polyxena?
(a) Menelaus.
(b) Agamemnon.
(c) Pyrrhus.
(d) Ulysses.

6. What does Hecuba tell the chorus they must not do in regards to Priam?
(a) Pity him.
(b) Betray his memory.
(c) Remember him as frail.
(d) Speak unkindly against him.

7. How does Ulysses trick Andromache into revealing Astyanax's location?
(a) He pretends to leave but watches her walk into the tomb.
(b) He suggests that the boy is a coward.
(c) He claims Hector's tomb must be torn down.
(d) He watches her eyes as she looks around for him.

8. What does the old shepherd reveal to Oedipus about his parentage?
(a) Oedipus' mother is his wife, Jocasta.
(b) Oedipus' mother died in childbirth.
(c) He is Oedipus' father.
(d) Oedipus' mother is the queen of Corinth.

9. What does Agamemnon claim about Achilles' behavior during battle?
(a) He helped the Trojans whenever the Greeks angered him.
(b) He won the war for them.
(c) He was a coward.
(d) He killed people on both sides of the battle.

10. Why is Andromache jealous of Polyxena?
(a) Polyxena will be treated as a princess in her marriage.
(b) Polyxena has been blessed by Zeus.
(c) Polyxena will die on her native soil.
(d) Polyxena has accepted her fate.

11. About what does Hector warn Andromache in a dream?
(a) Polyxena is going to be sacrificed.
(b) She must take care of Hecuba.
(c) The Greeks will attempt to claim her as a prize.
(d) The Greeks will kill their son.

12. Why can Ulysses not spare Astyanax?
(a) Astyanax can rightfully claim to be an heir to the Spartan throne.
(b) Astyanax needs to join his father in the afterlife.
(c) Calchas demands the sacrifice.
(d) Ulysses will be killed by Agamemnon if he does not comply with orders.

13. What is significant about Polyxena being given a quick death?
(a) It shows the Greeks respected her courage.
(b) Agamemnon defied the demands of the sacrifice for Achilles by not killing her slowly.
(c) The gods were merciful.
(d) She committed suicide.

14. Why does the messenger in the fourth act urge Oedipus to leave the city?
(a) Oedipus must take Polybus' throne.
(b) Oedipus must flee the plague.
(c) Oedipus is the reason for the plague.
(d) Oedipus is about to be betrayed.

15. What does Oedipus reveal to Jocasta at the end of the play?
(a) He is cursed by the gods.
(b) He never loved her.
(c) He is her son.
(d) He is leaving Thebes.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the chorus, what is the best way for a man to die?

2. For what purpose does Tiresias wish to take a particular action after he is unable to clarify the Oracle's message?

3. What does Oedipus believe about the news from Creon from the ghost?

4. Who is Oedipus' father in Corinth?

5. Who is Creon?

(see the answer keys)

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