Lesson 1 Questions: Chapters 1 - 3

Ch. 2) In the Classical Period, the percentage of young men who could be expected to die in war was approximately ______ . A) 50% B) 30% C) 75% D) 10%

A) 50%

Ch. 3) The following best describes the tragedian _______________: "His characters tend to be types or to embody some principle." A) Aeschylus B) Euripides C) Pindar D) Sophocles

A) Aeschylus

Ch. 1) Which of the following would NOT be an example of an etiological divine myth? A) After his quest, Perseus went on to found Mycenae. B) Athens is so called because Athena won the right to be the patron god of the city in a competition with the sea god Poseidon. C) Demeter is worshipped as a mare because she once changed herself into that form. D) Mt. Etna is a volcano because the monster Typhoeus is buried underneath it.

A) After his quest, Perseus went on to found Mycenae.

Ch. 3) Which of the following is a false association? A) Bacchylides, 5th century writer of tragedy B) Modern Arabic, the Phoenician Alphabet C) Hammurabi, Babylonians D) Solomon, builder of the great temple at Jerusalem

A) Bacchylides, 5th century writer of tragedy

Ch. 3) Which of the following CANNOT be said about rhapsodes? A) Composed poems ex tempore B) Came chronologically after the aoidoi C) In terms of performance, resembled classical musicians, not jazz musicians D) Carried a large stick around with them

A) Composed poems ex tempore

Ch. 3) The following best describes the tragedian _______________: "Subjected the traditional myths to rigorous scrutiny and sometimes severe criticism." A) Euripides B) Sophocles C) Aeschylus D) Pindar

A) Euripides

Ch. 2) There were great migrations at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Dark Age. Miletus was one of the major cities they founded. What was the name of the region in which Miletus was located? A) Ionia B) Aeolia C) Attica D) Peloponnesus

A) Ionia

Ch. 3) Which of the following is a description of the god Enki? A) Lord of the earth, god of wisdom and magic, the trickster B) God of the storm C) God of the infinite expanse of the dome above us D) Goddess of sexual love and war

A) Lord of the earth, god of wisdom and magic, the trickster

Ch. 2) The Early/Middle Bronze Age people, known as the ______ , dominated the seas and were located on the island of Crete. A) Minoans B) Mycenaeans C) Dorians D) Indo-Europeans

A) Minoans

Ch. 3) Which of the following is a false association? A) Nebuchadnezzar - the Akkadian Empire B) Enki - Hermes C) Akkadians - Sargon D) Hittites - Anatolia

A) Nebuchadnezzar - the Akkadian Empire

Ch. 3) Which words CANNOT be applied to Demodocus? A) Rhapsode B) The Odyssey C) Blind D) Aoidos

A) Rhapsode

Ch. 1) The Greek dramatist ______ wrote plays about King Oedipus, but the myth of Oedipus predated his plays. A) Sophocles B) Homer C) Euripides D) Aeschylus

A) Sophocles

Ch. 2) ______ is a kind of customary belief that underlines the common plot device in myth known as the "violated prohibition." A) Taboo B) Narcissism C) Hetairai D) Miasma

A) Taboo

Ch. 2) In this chapter, you read that at one point in Homer's Iliad, Achilles's horses speak to him. What larger point about Greek myth was this example used to illustrate? A) That one feature of the mythic mentality is a blurring of distinctions among the animal, human, and divine worlds. B) That humans may know their fate, and even be warned about it, but they still cannot escape it. C) That we find folktale elements even in the Homeric epics. D) That although the gods were mostly indifferent to humans, certain heroes were favored and helped by them.

A) That one feature of the mythic mentality is a blurring of distinctions among the animal, human, and divine worlds.

Ch. 2) Which of the following is NOT one of the class divisions thought to have existed among the Indo-Europeans? A) merchants B) food producers C) kings and priests D) warriors

A) merchants

Ch. 1) ______ is NOT one of the three principal elements of myth. A) metaphor B) setting C) plot D) character

A) metaphor

Ch. 2) "Blood guilt" is one of the beliefs of the Greeks that is alien to us. What is the technical term for this belief? A) miasma B) snimism C) pollution D) sacrifice

A) miasma

Ch. 1) A modern analogy to divine myth is ______ . A) theoretical science B) history C) astrology D) psychology

A) theoretical science

Ch. 2) Which of the following is NOT true about slavery in Greece? A) Slaves in Greece mostly came from the north: Thrace and even higher up. B) A slave had some rights under the law. C) Slavery made up from a quarter to a third of the workforce. D) If he could save enough money, a slave could eventually buy his freedom

B) A slave had some rights under the law.

Ch. 3) _______________ is the Mesopotamian deity being described here: "Sky; originally the supreme authority, he later shrank into a remote being with little influence on human affairs." A) Inanna B) An C) Gilgamesh D) Enlil

B) An

Ch. 3) "The queen of the great below" is a description of the Mesopotamian deity _______________. A) Enlil B) Ereshkigel C) Gilgamesh D) Ki

B) Ereshkigel

Ch. 3) Who is the Mesopotamian sex goddess? A) Ki B) Inanna C) Enlil D) An

B) Inanna

Ch. 1) What was the context for the key statement in this chapter: "Truly, in studying the history of the interpretation of myth we study more how peoples's prejudgments have changed than we study myth itself." A) The changing Greek views of themselves can be seen in the variants of the classical myths. B) Interpreters of myth tend to find in it what they want to. C) All classical myths are at heart coded explanations for the origins of the cosmos. D) Classical myth tells us what the ancients thought of celestial phenomena and how that understanding changed.

B) Interpreters of myth tend to find in it what they want to.

Ch. 3) _______________ is the Mesopotamian deity being described here: "Mother Earth, the rich silt built up from the river floods." A) An B) Ki C) Gilgamesh D) Inanna

B) Ki

Ch. 2) Dramatic theater, which preserves many of the myths, was an innovation of the ______ . A) Roman Period B) Late Archaic Age/ Early Classical Period C) Early Dark Age D) Hellenistic Period

B) Late Archaic Age/ Early Classical Period

Ch. 1) The principal way oral tales differ from literary works is that ______ . A) Literary works in Greece instruct and try to pass on truth; many oral tales are designed just to entertain. B) Literary works have an identifiable author. C) Oral tales are more often about fantasy than literary works. D) There are many versions of literary works, but only a single version of an oral tale.

B) Literary works have an identifiable author.

Ch. 3) Which of the following is a description of the Sumerian god Enlil? A) God of the infinite expanse of the dome above us B) Lord of the storm, embodied force, power, the unruly violence of the thunderstorm C) Sun God D) Goddess of sexual love and war

B) Lord of the storm, embodied force, power, the unruly violence of the thunderstorm

Ch. 2) The ______ and the ______ were the two great civilizations of the Bronze Age. A) Mycenaean; Spartan B) Minoan; Mycenaean C) Minoan; Cretan D) Athenian; Minoan

B) Minoan; Mycenaean

Ch. 3) Which of the following does NOT belong to the linguistic group of people called the "Semites?" A) Akkadians B) Sumerians C) Hebrews D) Babylonians

B) Sumerians

Ch. 3) Which of the following is the correct relative chronology of the peoples in Mesopotamia? A) Akkadians - Sumerians - Babylonians B) Sumerians - Akkadians - Babylonians C) Babylonians - Akkadians - Sumerians D) Sumerians - Babylonians - Akkadians

B) Sumerians - Akkadians - Babylonians

Ch. 2) Which of the following is true? A) The Greeks would sacrifice to the gods in the expectation that they would be rewarded in the next life. B) The Greeks believed that the gods did not create the world, they only dwelt in it. C) The gods imposed a moral code on their devotees. D) The Greeks never ridiculed their gods.

B) The Greeks believed that the gods did not create the world, they only dwelt in it.

Ch. 2) The event historians refer to as the end of the Classical and the beginning of the Hellenistic Period is ______ . A) the first Olympic games in 776 B) the death of Alexander the Great C) the conquest of Alexandria by the Romans D) the defeat of the Persians at Salamis and Plataea

B) the death of Alexander the Great

Ch. 1) Which of the following is among the words used in the most elemental definition of myth? A) legendary B) traditional C) etiological D) literary

B) traditional

Which of the following could NOT be called a folktale type? A) quest B) trickster C) Cinderella

B) trickster

Ch. 3) When and why did the Hebrews start studying and compiling their ancient myths in what eventually would be known in the West as the Old Testament? A) 1st century A.D.; to preserve their history after the Roman sack of Jerusalem B) 2000 B.C.; so as not to forget their history in the city of Ur in Mesopotamia C) 6th century B.C.; to learn why Yahweh had abandoned them in the Babylonian Captivity D) 13th century B.C.; to record their history preceding the exodus from Egypt under Moses

C) 6th century B.C.; to learn why Yahweh had abandoned them in the Babylonian Captivity

Ch. 1) Which of the following mythical figures did Socrates compare himself to as a way of illustrating his own behavior? A) Apollo B) Orestes C) Achilles D) Niobê

C) Achilles

Ch. 2) Which of the following is a correct ordering of the major historical periods of Greek history? A) Hellenistic, Archaic, Dark, Classical, Bronze B) Archaic, Bronze, Classical, Hellenistic, Dark C) Bronze, Dark, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic D) Bronze, Archaic, Dark, Classical, Hellenistic

C) Bronze, Dark, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic

Ch.1 ) A myth involving the character Orestes was used by the Athenians to explain why they drink from their own cups at their Festival of the Cups. The book cited this example to show how _________. A) The Greeks believed in ghosts B) The Athenians usually shared cups during festivals C) Legends can also serve an etiological function D) The Greeks believed in spiritual pollution

C) Legends can also serve an etiological function

Ch. 1) What was the point of the phrase "The myth of Oedipus is the complex of all the variants"? A) The Oedipus myth is reported differently in Homer and Sophocles. B) The truest version is the one written in the earliest literature. C) Myths appear to us in a number of different versions, no one of which can be said to be more authentic than another. D) Only the literary sources have any importance for the study of myth.

C) Myths appear to us in a number of different versions, no one of which can be said to be more authentic than another.

Ch. 3) The following best describes the tragedian _______________: "Likes to show the dignity of human beings in conflict with superior, often divine forces; a noble individual caught in overwhelming crisis." A) Aeschylus B) Euripides C) Sophocles D) Pindar

C) Sophocles

Ch. 3) Why is it that the Archaic Period is so important for our knowledge of Greek myth? A) Greek philosophers first began to comment on the myths. B) Democracy emerged in the institution of the polis. C) The Greeks first started recording their myths in this period. D) The Greeks came into contact with Near Eastern myth.

C) The Greeks first started recording their myths in this period.

Ch. 2) What did the Greeks believe the Dorians did? A) built the great megaliths that are scattered throughout the ancient world. B) destroyed the palace at Cnossus on Crete C) invaded and destroyed the Mycenaean palaces on the Greek mainland. D) attacked and sacked Troy

C) invaded and destroyed the Mycenaean palaces on the Greek mainland.

Ch. 1) Which of the following is the principal source for what we have of ancient myth? A) ancient philosophers B) ancient historians C) literature D) vase painting

C) literature

Ch. 1) The Greeks came to contrast mythos with their word ______ which means something more like a reasoned explanation than a story. A) anthropos B) deos C) logos D) mythologia

C) logos

Although the myths are classifiable into general types, caution must be exercised because ______ . A) Greek myth relies heavily on Near Eastern myth, to which these types do not apply B) these classifications ignore the etiological and religious dimensions of myth C) most existing myths blend elements of all three into one story D) myth is itself not a useful category

C) most existing myths blend elements of all three into one story

Ch. 1) Which of the following is NOT a common feature of folktale? A) common people B) talking animals C) royal heroes involved in great wars D) tricksters

C) royal heroes involved in great wars

Ch. 3) Greek polytheism allowed room for the development of Greek humanism because _______________. A) the Greek gods were anthropomorphic ("man shaped") B) the Greeks lived in poleis, where the worth of an individual was valued C) the Greeks never considered their myths to be sacred and authoritative expressions of the will of their gods D) the Greek philosophers rejected the Greek gods

C) the Greeks never considered their myths to be sacred and authoritative expressions of the will of their gods

Ch. 2) The democracy in Athens can be said to begin with the reforms of Clisthenes about the end of the ______ . A) 7th century B) 5th century C) 8th century D) 6th century

D) 6th century

Ch. 2) ______ was the major city of the area known as Attica. A) Mycenae B) Sparta C) Cnossus D) Athens

D) Athens

Ch. 1) ______ is the type of myth that serves both to entertain and to justify (or challenge) customary morals. A) Divine myth B) Motif C) Legend D) Folktale

D) Folktale

Ch. 2) Besides Aeolia, the other major area founded by refugees from the invasions that preceded the Dark Age was called ______ . A) Euboea B) Lesbos C) Boeotia D) Ionia

D) Ionia

Ch. 3) It is most likely that the Greeks came in contact with Near Eastern myths in the _______________. A) Bronze Age B) Hellenistic Period C) Classical Period D) Late Dark Age

D) Late Dark Age

Ch. 2) ______ was the site of the battle in 490 B.C., where the Persians were soundly defeated by a much smaller Greek force. A) Athens B) Plataea C) Salamis D) Marathon

D) Marathon

Ch. 3) The word or phrase _______________ CANNOT be applied to the Hittites. A) Anatolia (Central Turkey) B) 1600 B.C. to 1200 B.C. C) Indirectly inherited cultural traditions from the Sumerians D) Phoenician script

D) Phoenician script

Ch. 2) In this chapter, there was a reference to the mythic figure Thyestes, a prince of Mycenae, who unknowingly ate his own sons. What larger point was this myth used to illustrate? A) That family relations among royalty in the Bronze Age was considered barbarous by civilized Greeks. B) That most ancient civilizations needed to practice cannibalism because of the scarcity of food. C) That, though rare, cannibalism was practiced in Greece even in the historical period. D) That sometimes myths contain practices that aren't observed by the people who tell them.

D) That sometimes myths contain practices that aren't observed by the people who tell them.

Ch. 2) Which of the following statements is false? A) The Romans, having relatively little indigenous myth of their own, adopted Greek myth. B) It was through the Romans that Greek myth was transmitted to the West. C) The Greeks called themselves Hellenes. The word "Greek" comes to us from the Romans. D) The story of Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, comes from a famous passage in Homer's Odyssey.

D) The story of Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, comes from a famous passage in Homer's Odyssey.

Ch. 1) An example of an etiology would be: ______ . A) an aition B) Mt. Olympus as the home of the gods C) demigods as half human and half divine D) Zeus as the sender of rain

D) Zeus as the sender of rain

Ch. 1) In which of the following areas of inquiry into myth would anthropology play the greatest role? A) assessment of the lasting human significance of specific myths or groups of myth B) the analysis of the role specific myths play or played within the culture C) the study of how one culture's myths are related to those of other cultures D) the recording and compiling of a given culture's myths

D) the recording and compiling of a given culture's myths

Ch. 1) How far back do the classical myths date? A) to the time of Homer, in the 9th and 8th centuries B.C.E. B) to the fall of Rome, about 1500 years ago C) to about the middle of the 4th century B.C.E,, the time of Plato D) to before the introduction of writing and even farther back.

D) to before the introduction of writing and even farther back.