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Classical Mythology SP 2018 Prof Connors Consolidated List Of Classics 430: Classical Mythology SP 2018 Prof Connors Consolidated list of sample midterm questions These questions are my intellectual property and are not to be posted by you to any other platform (e.g. Quizlet) with out my express written permission These questions are samples, to show you the level of detail you need to be able to work with and the general ways that questions may be constructed and formatted. Some of these questions may appear on the exam. Note that there are not sample questions for each lecture. Be sure to carefully review the lecture outlines and powerpoints for each lecture along with the readings in addition to reviewing the sample questions below. The correct answer is underlined 1. "Let us begin our song with ____________________, who dwell upon the great and rugged mount of Helicon and dance with gentle feet around the indigo spring and around the altar of Cronus’ mighty son" What belongs in the blank? a. The Graces b. The Seasons c. The Muses d. The Dryads e. The Oreads 2. In ancient Greek, the term aoidos referred to a. a defense lawyer b. a shepherd c. a chariot driver d. an oral poet e. a footsoldier 3. Hesiod's Theogony was written down during the ___________________. a. early Bronze Age b. Neolithic Period c. Classical Period d. Hellenistic Period e. Archaic Period 4. Which Greek word best corresponds to the definition 'a traditional tale significant to its community'? a. mythos b. physis c. techne d. polis e. aoidos 5. ****In a museum in Italy you see a painting of nine women dancing and one old man holding a lyre. You are most likely looking at a representation of a. The wedding of Paris and Helen b. The Wedding of Menelaus and Helen c. The Muses d. The invention of the lyre e. The rise of Zeus ***Note that questions of this type require you to become familiar with the visual 'language' of representing Greek and Roman myths but don't require that you memorize the date or artist of a particular artwork. 6. The first phase of creation, according the account in Hesiod's Theogony, was a.Gaea b. Tartaros c. Eros d. Paradise e. Chaos 7. The Hecatonchires were distinguished by their a. single eyes b. hundred hands c. thunderbolts d. ability to swim e. love for Gaea 8. Zeus' thunderbolts are made by a. Gaea b. mountain floods c. Cyclopes d. Mnemosyne e. Hyperion 9. The father of Phaethon was a. Tithonus b. Uranus c. Pontus d. Oceanus e. Helius 10. While driving the chariot of the sun, Phaethon crashed because a. the animals of the zodiac frightened him and the horses b. a bull came out of thie ocean to destroy him. c. his father cursed him d. his mother was driven mad an attacked him e. he swerved to avoid hitting his beloved Eos 11. Eos is the goddess of the a. dawn b. hearth c. chariot d. moon e. marriage bed 12. Tithonus had eternal life because a. he sacrificed his first born son b. Eos asked for him to be immortal c. he knew the secret of who would be more powerful than Zeus d. he invented a potion that would keep him alive e. he drank from the correct spring in the underworld. 13. 'But when grey hair appeared on ___________'s cheeks and his temples, more and more __________ avoided their once happy bed. She attended him still in her house, rendering all her affection, giving him food and ambrosia and clothing his chilly old body. But finally .... she closed him up in his room" Who is being described? a. Cronus and Rhea b. Tithonus and Gaea c. Zeus and Hera d. Tithonus and Eos e. Phaethon and Selene ----- A few sample questions from Chapter 2 (which you should be sure to read before the midterm) 14. Which period listed below is most likely to be described as "a time of profound social disorganization, depopulation, and impoverishment"? a. The Classical Period, b. the Holy Roman Empire c. The Mycenaean period d. the Dark Age, e. The Archaic Period 15. Linear B is a. a writing system used to record the Greek language during the Mycenaean Period b. a road network on the island of Crete c. an architectural style d. a type of plough e. a style of planting olive orchards 16. The Greek alphabet was an adaptation of Phoenician writing. Its most significant difference from the Phoenician writing system is that it includes signs for writing a. vowels b. plurals c. the names of plants d. the names of gods e. the letter b 17. The Greek alphabet was developed in approximately a. 3000 BCE b. 1600 BCE c. 1200 BCE d. 800 BCE e. 400 BCE --------- 18-19. 'Thereafter Gaea was bedded with _______#18__________, lord of heaven, and bore deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, and Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, gold Phoebem and fair-featured Tethys, Last of all she gave birth to _______#19________, that scheming intriguer, cleverest child of her brood, who hated his lecherous father.' The name that belongs in the blank labelled #19 is a) Cronus b) Pontus c) Typhoeus d) Uranus e) Zeus The name that belongs in the blank labelled #19 is a) Prometheus b) Epimetheus c) Uranus d) Cronus e) Zeus 20. "________________ lay in wait to devour each of his children at birth" a. Chaos b. Uranos c. Typhoeus d. Cerberus e. Cronus 21. Uranus tried to prevent his children from overthrowing him by: a) devouring them b) exiling them c) enslaving them d) transforming them e) keeping them hidden in Gaea 22. Uranus was overthrown when: a) Cronus castrated him b) Rhea betrayed him c) Typhoeus defeated him d) Zeus killed him 23. Uranus was overthrown when a) he was pinned under a mountain b) Typhoeus defeated him c) the Giants attacked him d) Cronus severed his genitals 24. A cosmogonic myth describes: a) the end of the gods b) the birth of the world c) the sacred marriage d) the Trojan War 25. A theogonic myth describes: a) the end of the world b) the birth of the gods c) the sacred marriage d) the Trojan War 26. Which of the following is not characteristic of creation myths from ancient Mesopotamia a) emphasis on the importance of water b) the presence of an assembly of gods led by a god serving as king c) successive divine battles leading to present world order d) a ruling god who has power over storms e) continuing and consistent involvement of the gods in human affairs 27. Which god's actions determined the specific ritual for animal sacrifice to the gods? a) Hephaestus b) Hermes c) Prometheus d) Odysseus 28. "for once, when the gods and mortals were gathered to feast at Mekone, __________, trying to hoodwink great Zeus's wits and attention, had cheerfully butchered and served up the succulent flesh of an ox. To the others, gods and men, he handed the meat in due portions, ..., wrapped in the outermost layer of the ox's stomach.... But the white bones he slyly concealed in shining fat, and to Zeus he presented the neatly wrapped bundle." Whose name belongs in the blank? a) Tantalus b) Lycaon c) Typhoeus d) Cronus e) Prometheus 29. How was Prometheus punished for helping humankind? a) bound to a pillar and pecked by an eagle b) forced to support the sky on his shoulders c) turned into a wolf d) transformed into a cicada e) turned to stone 30. [Zeus] bound __________ the schemer in inescapable fetters, a torment to bear, and through them he drove a mighty stone pylon, and sent a long-winged eagle to gnaw his incorruptible liver. By day the bird fed upon it, but each night as much was replenished as was lost on the day before Whose name belongs in the blank? a) Pentheus b) Typhoeus c) Lycaon d) Epimetheus e) Prometheus 31. The creation of Pandora was ordered by Zeus…: a) as punishment b) as a gift c) out of confusion d) to fulfill a wish 32. According to Hesiod, what remained in Pandora’s jar after she let all the troubles escape? a) fear b) Piety c) Hope d) justice e)Confusion 33. Pandora’s name comes from Greek words meaning a) fore-thinker b) All-troubles c) All-gifts d) jar-opener 34. 'With a nasty smile, the father of men and gods told famous Hephaestus to hurry, to knead the water and clay to add human speech and strength, to give it a goddess's form and the lovely face of a maiden. What 'maiden' is being described? a) Galatea b) Myrrha c) Pyrrha d) Persephone e) Pandora 35. The punishment of Prometheus was: a) insatiable hunger b) to fill leaky jars c) to push boulders uphill d) to have his liver eaten out by an eagle 36. In order to avoid a prophecy of the birth of a son stronger than him who would overthrow him, Zeus refuses to marry which figure? a) Thetis b) Leto c) Helen d) Hestia 37. “They neither plow nor sow by hand, nor till the ground, though grain grows untended, and wine-grapes, in clusters, ripen in heaven’s rain.” This description of a more innocent and peaceful kind of primitivism is characteristic of myths of: a) the Iron Age b) the Golden Age c) the Mycenaean Age d) the flood 38. Which one of the following is not a goddess with whom Zeus united in an allegorically suggestive sexual union? a) Themis b) Xenia c) Mnemosyne d) Metis 39.
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