February 11, 2026
University of Toronto Scarborough
Department of Historical and Cultural Studies
CLAA06H3 S – Classical Mythology: Greece and Rome
Sessional Lecturer: Giulio Leghissa
Midterm (25% of the entire course)
Total Score: 72
1. QUIZ (Score: 10)
Identify the correct answer among those listed (in some cases, more than one answers
are correct):
1. According to Hesiod in the Theogony, what was the first element (or deity) to exist in the
universe or kosmos?
a) Zeus; b) Earth; c) Eros; d) Chasm/Chaos
2. What is the name of the Titan who dares to steal the fire from Zeus—and who is punished
accordingly?
a) Hermes; b) Chronus; c) Epimetheus; d) Prometheus
3. What is the name of the goddess known as the daughter of Demeter?
a) Gaia; b) Persephone; c) Eris; d) Chore
4. How is the god Hermes called in hymns?
a) fast-paced; b) bright-eyed; c) Argus-slayer; d) white-haired
5. What does the first part of the name Aphrodite (Greek: aphros) mean?
a) perfume; b) foam; c) sea; d) intercourse
6. Where was Hesiod born?
a) Rome; b) Athens; c) Smyrne; d) Ascra
7. What is the meaning of the name Homer (Greek: homeros)?
a) child of the gods; b) shepherd; c) singer of tales; 4) hostage
8. Which festival/ceremony is usually associated with the worshipping of Demeter?
a) the Olympic games; b) the Eleusinian Mysteries;
c) the Pythic games; d) the killing of the Helots
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February 11, 2026
9. Who is the Athenian politician (and tyrant) who is accompanied by a woman representing
Athena in a procession around the city?
a) Pericles; b) Pisistratus; c) Clisthenes; 4) Xerxes
10. What is the name of the king of Pylos in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey?
a) Agamemnon; b) Paris; c) Nestor; d) Priam
2. QUIZ (Score: 10)
Associate the event to the correct hero/heroine or god/goddess:
1. The liberation of the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers
Persephone
2. The swallowing and vomiting of a stone
Anchises
3. The stealing of Apollo’s cattle
Cecrops
4. The abduction of Persephone
Prometheus
5. The eating of pomegranate
Hades
6. A temple built in Paphos
Aphrodite
7. The birth from Zeus’ head
Athena
8. The intercourse with Aphrodite
Chronus
9. The re-growth of the liver overnight
Zeus
10. The first mythical king of Athens
Hermes
3. QUIZ (Score: 10)
Find the intruder in these groups and declare what are these groups about:
1. Zeus; Hera; Chronus; Poseidon
2. Hestia; Athena; Artemis; Aphrodite
3. Ajax; Ulysses; Herakles; Achilles
4. Maia; Apollo; Rhea; Hermes
5. Demeter; Poseidon; Hades; Persephone
6. Uranus; Gaia; Apollo; Eros
7. Owl; olive tree; lyre; helmet
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8. bow; eagle; thunderbolt; lightning
9. river; seas; horses; wine
10. Poseidon; Athena; Hermes; Cecrops
4. Short Response (Score: 10)
“[…] No form of things remained the same; all objects were at odds, for within one body
cold things strove with hot, and moist with dry, soft things with hard, things having
weight with weightless things. God—or kindlier Nature—composed this strife; for he
rent asunder land from sky, and sea from land, and separated the ethereal heavens from
the dense atmosphere…”
1. Where does this passage come from? Who is the author? (Score: 2)
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2. What is the context of this passage? (Score: 2)
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3. What are the differences between this passage and other texts dealing with the same topic
analyzed in class? (Score: 6)
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5. Short Response (Score: 10)
“Taking it on his left arm, he tried it out with a plectrum in a tuned scale, and it rang
out impressively under his hand; and Phoibos Apollo laughed for pleasure, the lovely
soundof its wondrous voice invaded his sense, and sweet longing captivated his heart as
he listened. […] he spoke authoritatively of the immortal gods and of dark Earth, how
they were born originally and how each received his portion. Remembrance first of the
gods he honored in his song, the mother of the Muses, for she had Maia’s son in her
province…”
1. Where does this passage come from? Who is the author? (Score: 2)
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2. What is the context of this passage? (Score: 2)
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3. Beside music, what other function or feature contributed to make Apollo and the
mysterious god here referred to ‘companions of adventures’? (Score: 6)
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6. Short Response (Score: 10)
“[…] In amazement she reached out with both hands to take the pretty plaything. But
the broad-wayed earth gaped open on the plain of Nysa, and there the Hospitable Lord
rushed forth with his immortal steeds, Kronos’ son whose names are many. Seizing her
by force, he began to drive her off on his golden chariot, with her wailing and screaming
as she called on her father Zeus, the highest and noblest. But no one heard her voice,
none of the immortals or of mortal men…”
1. Where does this passage come from? Who are the characters involved in this passage?
(Score: 2)
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2. What is the myth this passage refers to? Who are the main characters of the myth?
(Score: 2)
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3. What does this myth explain? Provide the two possible explanations? (Score: 6)
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7. PASSAGE NOT ANALYZED IN CLASS. Make a guess about the author/title of the
work this passage comes from and analyze its content based on what you already know.
(Score: 12)
“____, king of the gods, took as his first wife Metis (Wisdom), she who of the gods and
mortal human beings knows the most. But when she was about to give birth to the
goddess, bright-eyed _____, he deceived her mind by craft and with guileful words he
put her into his belly, by the counsels of Earth and of starry Sky: for this was how they
had prophesied to him, lest some other one of the eternally living gods hold the kingly
honor instead of Zeus. For it was destined that exceedingly wise children would come to
be from her: first she would give birth to a maiden, bright-eyed Tritogeneia, possessing
strength equal to her father’s and wise counsel, and then to a son, a king of gods and of
men, possessing a very violent heart. But before that could happen Zeus put her into his
belly, so that the goddess would advise him about good and evil.”
1. Who is the author and what is the title of the work this passaeg comes from? (Score: 2)
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2. Fill the gaps in the text. Who are the “king of the gods” and the “bright-eyed”? What hints
in the text hep you identify the latter? (Score: 4)
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3. What is the main theme in this passage—indeed, the theme underlying the entire work?
Explain how this passage relate to other passages from the same work we have analyzed in
class (Score: 6)
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7. BONUS (Score: 3)
Choose ONE of the following options (two pages max.)
1. “MUSE, TELL ME OF THE DOINGS OF …”: Write down your own hymn to a
god/goddess (whether ‘real’ or of your own invention) that might explain of some
phenomenon of our world. You can take inspiration from the texts analyzed in class.
2. “IN TRUTH, FIRST OF ALL CAME TO BE …”: Write down your own myth of the
creation of the Universe (or kosmos). You can take inspiration from the texts analyzed in
class.
3. IT’S NOT SCIENCE, IT’S… MYTHOLOGY, BABY! Take a phenomenon or fact
(natural, astronomical, digital) that can be scientifically explained and turn it into a
mythical story, with heroines/heroes and goddesses/gods. You can take inspiration from
the texts analyzed in class.
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