Chapter 17 Questions

Question 1

Which cannot be described as one of the ten most frequent motifs in saga?
A. The hero has an extraordinary birth.
B. The hero is helped by a divine or human ally.
C. The hero becomes a god.
D. His enemies usually instigate his achievement.

Answer 1

C. The hero becomes a god. (409)

Question 2

What is arete? 
A. "excellence" 
B. "piety" 
C. "temperance" 
D. "suffering"

Answer 2

A. “excellence” (409)

Question 3

Who is not included in the original Seven against Thebes? 
A. Amphiaraüs 
B. Parthenopeus 
C. Capaneus 
D. Eteocles

Answer 3

D. Eteocles (432)

Question 4

Who wrote the tragedy Seven against Thebes? 
A. Hesiod 
B. Euripides 
C. Sophocles 
D. Aeschylus

Answer 4

D. Aeschylus (433)

Question 5

Who is the mother of Amphion and Zethus? 
A. Dirce 
B. Antiope 
C. Merope 
D. Thebe

Answer 5

B. Antiope (417)

Question 6

Greek saga concerns cities and regions that were important in what historical period?
A. the classical period, from 480 to 404 B.C.
B. the late Bronze Age, from 1600 to 1100 B.C.
C. the Hellenistic period, from 323 to 146 B.C.
D. the Archaic Age, from 750 to 479 B.C.

Answer 6

B. the late Bronze Age, from 1600 to 1100 B.C. (412)

Question 7

Who was the legendary founder of Thebes? 
A. Cadmus 
B. Labdacus 
C. Lycus 
D. Laius

Answer 7

A. Cadmus (414)

Question 8

What woman was abducted by Zeus in the guise of a bull? 
A. Io 
B. Pasiphae 
C. Phaedra 
D. Europa

Answer 8

D. Europa (415)

Question 9

The noble houses of Thebes were descended from the "Spartoi," whose name means: 
A. "men of battle" 
B. "those who live purely" 
C. "sown men" 
D. "armed men"

Answer 9

C. “sown men” (415)

Question 10

How did Laius bring a curse upon his house?
A. He killed Lycus, the legitimate king, and tied his wife to the horns of a bull.
B. He tried to seduce the goddess Hera.
C. He carried off the son of his host.
D. He married his mother and killed his father.

Answer 10

C. He carried off the son of his host. (420)

Question 11

The name Oedipus means: 
A. big head 
B. many-footed 
C. riddle-man 
D. swellfoot

Answer 11

D. swellfoot (421)

Question 12

Who raised Oedipus but weren't his parents? 
A. Laius and Jocasta 
B. Laius and Merope 
C. Polybus and Merope 
D. Polybus and Jocasta

Answer 12

C. Polybus and Merope (421)

Question 13

In what place was Oedipus promised a respite from his sorrows? 
A. Thebes 
B. Corinth 
C. Mycenae 
D. Colonus

Answer 13

D. Colonus (425)

Question 14

What trinket would prove the undoing of Alcmaeon? 
A. a chest 
B. a ring 
C. a brooch 
D. a necklace

Answer 14

D. a necklace (432)

Question 15

For what treasonous act was Antigone condemned?
A. She buried her brother Eteocles.
B. She refused to marry Creon’s son Haemon.
C. She buried her brother Polynices.
D. She cursed the priest Tiresias.

Answer 15

C. She buried her brother Polynices. (436)

Question 16

Which of the following is not true of Tiresias?
A. After his death, he lost the gift of prophecy.
B. He was blinded by Juno for taking Zeus’ side in a quarrel.
C. He was blinded by Athena after he saw her naked.
D. He is descended from one of the Spartoi.

Answer 16

A. After his death, he lost the gift of prophecy. (439-440)

Question 17

What is the name of the sons of the Seven against Thebes? 
A. the Spartoi 
B. the Heptad 
C. the Epigoni 
D. the Opheltes

Answer 17

C. the Epigoni (438)

Question 18

Who tied Dirce to the horns of a bull? 
A. Amphion and Zethus 
B. Zetes and Calais 
C. Castor and Pollux 
D. Lycus and Laius

Answer 18

A. Amphion and Zethus (417)

Question 19

Eteocles and Polynices were:
A. two members of an expedition against Thebes
B. twins who built the walls of Thebes
C. sons of Oedipus who killed each other at the same moment
D. prophets of Apollo

Answer 19

C. sons of Oedipus who killed each other at the same moment (434)

Question 20

Which two individuals escaped the battle of the Seven against Thebes? 
A. Hippomedon and Capaneus 
B. Parthenopaeus and Eteocles 
C. Polyneices and Tydeus 
D. Amphiaraüs and Adrastus

Answer 20

D. Amphiaraüs and Adrastus (432)