1

CLA 2323 : GREEK MYTHOLOGY

2nd midterm: March 12th, 2013
Total marks: 70 (20% of final grade)
Please fill in your answer on the scantron sheet.
Dont forget to fill in your name and student number
1. Generally speaking, the myths of Artemis are characterized by
her: a. devotion to the hunters
b. love of mankind
c. cruelty d.
inventions e. sexual promiscuity
Ovid writes Before her marriage, Niobe had known Arachne, when she lived in Lydia
while still a girl. Even so she took no warning from the punishment of her compatriot to give
the gods their proper place and moderate her tongue
2. Why was Niobe punished? a. She saw Apollo in his divine glory
b.
She bragged about her beauty c. She bragged about the skills and
beauty of her children d. She opened the box with the divine secrets e.
She bragged that she was more fertile than Leto
3. Who punished her?
d. Hera

a. Apollo and Artemis b. Aphrodite

c. Leto

4. What was her punishment? a. she was turned into a spider b. She
was flayed alive
c. All her children were killed d. She was
burned to ashes e. her children were transformed into rocks
5. What are the similarities with Arachnes story? One of them
does NOT belong here:
a. hubris b.
metamorphosis c. etiology. d. looking taboo
6. How does Greek myth account for the similarity between the word
for "dolphin" and the site of Apollo's oracle, "Delphi "?
a. Apollo's sacred animal is the dolphin b. Dolphins are especially numerous
near the site of Delphi. c. Apollo, disguised as a dolphin, hijacked a boat
and compelled its crew to become his priests
d. Dolphins, being hard to
catch, were an especially prized sacrifice to Apollo
7. How did the laurel become sacred to Apollo?
a. On the spot where Apollo was born, a laurel tree sprang up. b. On the spot
where Apollo killed the snake, a laurel tree sprang up
c. His sanctuary at
Delphi was noted for the laurel trees which grew on Mt. Parnassus
d.
Daphne was turned into a laurel tree to escape Apollo's advances

8. For rejecting Apollo after promising to have sex with him,

Cassandra was condemned to:
a. live forever as an old woman
b. have snakes for hair
c. have all her lovers reject her d. have the gift of
prophecy but never be believed
9. The story of the transformation of Kallisto
a. explains the creation of the constellations Great Bear and Little Bear
b. refers to the creation of the constellation Orion c. refers to the
inscription on the
golden apple of Eris d. refers to Artemis as
a goddess of childbirth
10. Where did you, o turtle living in the mountains, get this speckled shell that you have on,
a beautiful plaything? Come, I shall take you and bring you inside. You will be useful to
me Who is talking?
a. Apollo b. Hermes c. Hephaestos d.
Ares e. Dionysus
11. What happened to the turtle? a. He killed it and ate it to acquire
strength and endurance b. He killed it and used the shell to make it to a
lyre c. He killed it and used the shell for divination, by observing the
patterns of cracks
d. He killed it and used the shell to create jewelry to
appease his mother
12. Hermes stole Apollos cattle because he wanted to:
a. establish himself as the god of thieves
b. become the god of
shepherds c. attract the attention of the Olympians d. punish Apollo for
stealing his lyre e. perform sacrifices in order to get satisfaction from the
smell
13. Which of the following describes the best the verb which is
derived from the name of Tantalos?
a To agitate or upset greatly
b To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it
out of reach
c To reproach in a mocking, insulting, or contemptuous manner
d To inflict severe pain or torture
14. Which of the following describes the best the adjective that
derives from the name of Eris and is quite relevant with her
presence in the wedding of Thetis and Peleus?
a a person who disputes; who is good at or enjoys controversy
b someone who contests an outcome
c someone who imputes guilt or blame
d someone who systematically obstructs some action that others want to
take

3
15. Demeter, after wandering the world in search of her daughter,
she comes to ___________. This is where she will eventually reveal
her divine identity and command the citizens to build her a great
temple.
a. Thebes b. Cyprus
c. Arcadia d. Eleusis e. Ephesos
16. But while Demeter still had her dear child in her arms, suddenly her heart sensed some
treachery; trembling with dread she asked quickly: My dear child, have you eaten any food
while you were below? What did she eat?
a. kernels of corn b. pomegranate seeds c. pine cone seeds d. roots of
wheat
e. asphodels and ash
17. Demeter sensed some treachery. Her fear was that her
daughter:
a. had lost her virginity
b. will have to spend one third of the year away from her
c.
will lose her beauty and youth d. will never be able to become a mother
18. When he had made his offering at the altar, he stood and timidly prayed If you gods
are able to grant everything, I desire for my wife He did not dare to say my ivory
maiden. One of the following is NOT true:
a. Thats the story of Pygmalion and Galateia b. He prays to Aphrodite
c. He sculpted a female statue because he did not like any of the women
on his island
d. His ivory maidens name means joy of
love e. The deity granted his wish
19. Father and Mother grant this gift to your son who bears both your names. Let any man
who enters this pool come out half a man. Which one is correct?
His parents
are
a. Ares and Aphrodite and he lost his
virility after he saw Artemis naked
b. Hermes and Maia and he was
transformed into a centaur after he swam into that pool
c. Apollo and
Daphne and he was turned into a satyr d. Hermes and Aphrodite and he
was transformed into an androgynous being
20. The Greeks regarded ___________ as the center of the world, a
location determined by Zeus when he sent out two eagles, one
from each horizon, to see where they would cross
a. Delphi
b. Dodona c. Delos d. Athens e. Mt. Olympus
21. One of the following is NOT true for Poseidon: a. He was
responsible for geological phenomena b. He shared a temple with
Athena on Acropolis
c. He taught people about ship building d. He
was worshipped as a god of strong foundations
22. Poseidons involvement in the myth of Medusa a. shows us
his connection with horses. b. reflects his revengeful nature c.

4
explains the creation of the island of Delos d. reflects his kindness
towards heroes e. all of the above
Match the name with its possible meaning
23.
a. The Unseen
Demeter
24. Hades
b. The Radiant
25.
c. The Spirit of Stones
Phoebos
26. Hermes
d. Wealth
27. Pluto
e. Mother Earth

Match the Greek name with the equivalent Roman

28.
a. Demeter
Mercury
29. Mars
b. Hermes
30. Ceres
c. Poseidon
31. Diana
d. Ares
32.
e. Artemis
Neptune
Match the titles of the deities with the correct deity and the
meaning or mythic connection
a. Pythios
b. Pallas
c. Potnia
d.
e. Cypris
Theron
Psychopomp
os
33. Athena
34. Hermes
35. Aphrodite
36. Apollo
37. Artemis
38. Connected to the serpent that was slayed at Delphi
39. The one who guides the souls to the underworld
40. Connected to a small statue with protective powers
41. Mistress of wild animals
42. Connected to a place with a strong worship of Aphrodite
43. Christians get much of the image of Satan from the
personality of the Greek god Hades.
a. True
b. False
Questions from the Epics (Iliad and Odyssey)

5
Make the Greeks pay with your arrows for my tears. So he spoke in prayer and Phoebos
heard him and came down in fury from the heights of Olympus And his descent was like
nightfall.
44. How did Greeks suffer the wrath of the god? a. They and their
animals were victims of a plague b. Their food and water supplies were all
poisoned c. Their ships were burned by the divine fire d. Dark clouds
covered their camp
45. How is the punishment fitting to the character of the god? a. He is
the archer god
b. He is the war god c. He is the fire
god d. He is the wilderness god
___________ stood behind Achilles and seized him by his auburn hair.
46. Fill the blank: Who stood behind Achilles and controlled his
temper?
a. Apollo b. Thetis c. Hera d. Athena e. Iris
[Menelaus] launched himself at Paris again in the hope of killing him with his bronze spear.
47. What happened next? a. Aphrodite pushed Menelaus hand so he
missed Paris
b. Aphrodite covered
Paris with a mist and whisked him away
c. Aphrodite illuminated
Helens beauty as she watched the duel from the walls and distracted
both warriors
d. Paris prayed to Aphrodite to save
his life and she temporarily blinded Menelaus

Be of good courage now Diomedessince I have put inside your chest the strength of your
father; I have taken away the mist from your eyesso that you may well recognize the god
and the mortalDo not battle head on with the gods immortal; but only if ____________
comes to the fighting .you may stab with the sharp bronze.
48. Who is talking to Diomedes? a. Hera b. Apollo c. Athena d.
Poseidon e. Hades
49. What is the name of the divinity that Diomedes is allowed to
wound (Fill the blank)?
a. Apollo b. Aphrodite
c. Hermes d.
Poseidon e. Artemis
50. How was that divinity wounded? a. the spear tore the skinover the
palm base; and blood immortal flowedthe ichor
b. leaning on [the bronze spear]
drove it into the depth of the belly c. .caught a stonerugged and huge ..and hit in

6
the neck
ponderous hand so that the knees went slack

d. drove a blow at the breast with the

Father Zeus and you other blessed gods come here so that you may see something that is
laughable and cruel; how Aphrodite always holds me in contempt since I am lame and
loves the butcher ____________ because he is handsome and sound of limp
51. Who is talking? a. Ares b. Hephaestos c. Hermes d. Apollo
52. What is the name of the butcher? a. Ares b. Hephaestos c.
Hermes d. Apollo
53. What is the trick that is laughable and cruel? a. they were
stuck in bed by an invisible glue b. They were frozen in uncomfortable
positions c. they were trapped by an invisible net d. they were hung
upside down
Which deity is saying the following?
a. Aphrodite
b. Poseidon
c. Hephaestos

d. Ares

54. My mother, the bitch, wanted to get rid of me because I was a cripple and threw me out
of the skies into the sea
55. Come here! Paris wants you to come home to him. There he is in his bedroom, dazzling
in looks and dress. You would never believe he had just come in from a duel.
The speaker refers to which deity in this speech?
a. Aphrodite
b. Hera
c. Athena

d. Ares

56. You shifty hypocrite, dont come whining to me. I hate you more than any other god on
Olympus. Rivalry, war, fighting-these are the breath of life to you
57. Zeus set you as a lioness against females, allowing you to destroy women at your
discretion You would do better to slaughter beasts than to fight your superiors.
58. He dressed himself in gold, picked up his splendid golden whip, mounted his chariot and
drove across the waves The sea made way for him in delight, the chariot flew along and
the bronze axle remained dry below as his bounding horses carried him towards the Greek
ships
This describes: a. Okeanos b. Helios c. Zeus d. Poseidon e.
Apollo
59. You fool! You must have lost your senses when you decided to help the Trojans. You
seem to have forgotten all the hardships you and I endured at Ilium

7
Here Poseidon is addressing Apollo. One of the following is NOT
true:
a. Apollo and Poseidon were sent by Zeus to serve Troys king for a year
b. Poseidon created springs around Troy to increase their water supply
c. Poseidon built the walls of Troy and Apollo tended the kings sheep. d.
The Trojan king refused to honor them and even threatened to lop off their
ears.
60. Yet all the gods pitied him except Poseidon who pursued the heroic Odysseus with
relentless malice till the day when he reached his own country.
The reason the god was angry with him was: a. Odysseus did not
offer him enough sacrifices to his altars b. It was the stratagem of the
Wooden Horse conceived by Odysseus that caused the destruction of the
Walls of Troy built by Poseidon
c. Odysseus blinded Poseidons son, the Cyclops Polyphemus
d. Poseidon was in love with the nymph Calypso and wanted to get rid of
his rival.
61. He will try all kinds of transformations and change himself onto every beast on earth
and into water and blazing fire. But hold him fast and grip him all the tighter. This
creature is: a. Typhoeus, the hurricane, conquered by Zeus b.
Proteus, the prophetic Seal herdsman captured by Menelaus
c. Triton,
the merman captured by Odysseus d. Pegasus the flying horse captured
by Herakles

Picture Questions
62. This image portrays: a. The triumphant Greek gods after the fall of
Troy b. Poseidon triumph over Athena in the naming of the city of
Poseidonia c. Athenas triumph over Poseidon as it is depicted on
Parthenon d. the victory of the Athenian cavalry in the battle of
Marathon.
63. This is the statue of: a. Apollo after his battle with the dragon b.
Asclepius and the healing snake c. Poseidon in his role as an earth god.
d. Hades as the god of fertility
64. In this image: a. Apollo is performing the ritual of purification to
Orestes b. Odysseus is taking away the swine form from his companions
transforming them to humans again
c. Ares is instilling

8
animal instincts in a Trojan warrior d. Paris is thinking about abducting
Helen and thus insults Menelaus hospitality
65. This image shows
a. The return of Persephone by Hades b. The wedding of Peleus and
Thetis
c. The wedding of Zeus and Hera
d. Paris and Helen eloping
66. What offense did the victim commit?
a. He raped one of the
goddesss companions b. he killed the sacred deer c. He saw the
goddess naked d. He broke his oath of virginity
67. This myth shares common motifs and is quite similar to
another myth involving:
a. The hunter Orion who
was killed by a scorpion b. Tiresias who became blind
c. Marsyas who was flayed alive d. Hippolytos who was killed by a bull
68. The figures as shown in numbered order are:
a. Demeter, Pluto, Persephone Zeus
b. Gaia, Erichthonios, Athena, Hephaestos
c. Eleusis, Demophon, Demeter, Zeus
d. Eileithyia, Apollo, Leto, Zeus
69. One of the statements below is FALSE.
a.
The image depicts a myth that is an example of autochthony
b. The image depicts a myth where the baby is a result of an incomplete
rape.
c. The image depicts a myth that involves hubris and punishment
70. This image shows
a. Orpheus about to lose his wife Eurydice
b. Helen guided by Hermes to Paris
c. Coronis who prefers a mortal lover than Apollo
d. Aphrodite guided to Anchises