I. Multiple-Choice Questions: 90%
1. (
) In Book 1, Apollo brings plague on the Achaeans because (A) Troy is
Apollo's birthplace
(B) Achilles insults Leto's beauty
plunders Apollo's temple
2. (
(C) Menelaus
(D) Agamemnon mistreats a priest of Apollo
) Which of the following were all great Greek heroes in the Trojan War?
(A) Achilles, Odysseus, and Aeneas
(B) Hector, Priam, and Cadmus
(C) Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus
(D) Menelaus, Agamemnon, and
Ajax
3. (
) How does Odysseus escape the Cyclop’s cave? (A) A cap of invisibility
and winged sandals (B) Wine, a very sharp stick, and lots of rams (C)
A hollow wooden horse (D) A winged horse and a magic spear
4. The Trojan War was caused by （Ａ）Troy's monopoly of the spice trade
（Ｂ） Agamemnon's abduction of Chryseis
（Ｃ） the fight over
who would possess the jewel-studded Trojan horse
（Ｄ）Paris'
5. (
abduction of Helen
) Who had a face that launched a thousand ships?
(C) Cleopatra (D) Helen of Troy
(A) Hera (B) Medusa
6. Who is Achilles' most beloved companion? (A) Hector (B) Nestor
(C)
Patroclus
(D) Diomedes
7. (
) Why did the Trojans take the gigantic wooden horse within the city’s walls?
(A) If they did not, they would offend Aphrodite. (B) The Greeks
expected them to leave it outside the gates, which would offend Athena.
(C) They were desperate for firewood after years of siege. (D) Zeus
himself had given it to them.
8. (
9. (
) Who is the greatest Trojan champion? (A) Hector (B) Priam (C) Paris
(D) Achilles
) From which three goddesses does Paris have to choose the fairest? (A)
Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera (B) Demeter, Hera, and Persephone (C)
Aphrodite, Demeter, and Hestia
10. (
11. (
12. (
(D) Aphrodite, Artemis, and Athena
) Odysseus is especially beloved by which goddess?
Thetis (C) Aphrodite (D) Hera
(A) Athena (B)
) Who is the greatest warrior of the Trojan War? (A) Hector (B)
Patroclus (C) Ajax (D) Achilles
) Why does Odysseus say he wants to leave Calypso's island? (A) He
wants to be there for his son's wedding. (B) He wants to get home and
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can think of nothing else.
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(C) He wants to kill the suitors. (D) While
Calypso is lovely, his wife is more beautiful.
) What was Odysseus' main activity on the island of Calypso? (A)
drawing (B) eating (C) fishing (D) weeping
) Whom does Zeus sent to Calypso (A) Athena (B) Hera (C) Hermes
(D) Iris
) On which day of his voyage from the island of Calypso does Odysseus
first spot land? (A) 9 (B) 8
(C) 12 (D) 27
) Why is Odysseus suspicious of Calypso's helping him get ready to depart?
(A) Because he heard her plotting with the messenger of Zeus. (B)
Because it is storm season and a raft is too flimsy for the weather. (C)
Because she refuses to swear an oath on the River Styx. (D) Because
she tells him to build a raft to go home.
) What is Calypso up to when the divine messenger arrives? (A) dancing
(B) feasting (C) sewing (D) weaving
) In Penelope’s archery contest, through how many axes must Odysseus
fire his arrow? (A) two (B) eight (C) twelve (D) thirteen
) How is Odysseus able to listen safely to the Sirens’ song? (A) He has
his men bind him to the ship’s mast. (B) Athena makes the Sirens appear
ugly to him. (C)
He eats a lotus flower, rendering him unable to swim
to the Sirens’ island.
（Ｄ） He isn’t; he plugs his ears with wax as the
ship passes the Sirens’ island.
) When is The Iliad thought to have been composed? (A) The twelfth
century B.C. (B) The fifteenth century B.C. (C) The eighth century B.C.
(D) The third century B.C.
) How long has the Trojan War been going by the time The Iliad begins?
(A) Nine years (B) Eight months (C) One week (D) The poem begins
with the beginning of the war
) What provokes Achilles’ rage against Agamemnon? (A) Agamemnon’s
demand that Achilles hand over Briseis (B) Agamemnon’s insults of
Achilles’ lineage (C) Agamemnon’s defeat of Achilles in a footrace (D)
Agamemnon’s repeated sending of Achilles to the front lines, where the
danger of being killed is greatest
) Where is Achilles’ old armor most vulnerable to attack? (A) At the heel
(B) At the elbow (C) At the neck (D) At the neck
) In the warrior society of the Iliad, what makes the world go round? (A)
Pride (B) Love (C) War (D) Loyalty
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25. (
) If reputation and pride is what every warrior is after, then what is the way
to get it? (A) Fear (B) Spirit (C) Loyalty (D) Competition
26. What name did Odysseus tell cyclop Polyphemus whom he blinded? (A)
Anyone (B) Nobody (C) None (D) Everybody
II. Short Essay Questions10%: Please answer one of the following questions.
1. In what ways does Odysseus develop as a character during the course of the
narrative? Does he develop at all?
2. What is the double standard Calypso complains about in The Odyssey and in the
ancient Greek society as a whole?
3. Who is a greater victim of pride in The Iliad, Achilles or Hector?
4. What are the characteristics of an epic poem?
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