Western Literature 2016/11/10(Week9)

Midterm

I .The Immortal 1% x 10 = 10%

Greek Name	Position(description, keywords)	Roman Name
Aphrodite	The golden goddess of Love and beauty	Venus
Ares	The god of war	Mars
Athena (Athene)	The virgin goddess of wisdom and invention.	Minerva
Demeter	The goddess of harvest	Ceres
Hades	The god of the underworld	Pluto
Hephaestus	The god of the blacksmith, husband of Venus	Vulcan
Persephone	The queen of the underworld	Cora
Poseidon	The lord of the Sea	Neptune
Artemis	The virgin goddess of hunting/moon, Apollo’s twin sister	Diana, Selene
Zeus	The lord of the sky	Jupiter

II. Multiple choice: 1% x 15 = 15%

1.The “Ancient World” refers to (A) prehistoric culture (B) European culture before 800 B.C.E. (C) the culture of the Mediterranean Basin before 400 B.C.E. (D) the culture of fifteen B.C.E. Greece.

2.Ancient Greeks considered their gods (A) arbitrary and capricious toward humans (B) paragons of virtues (C) representatives of natural forces (D) always benevolent toward humans.

3.One of Greece’s greatest contributions to Rome was (A) democratic government (B) rhetoric (C) the strategy of warfare (D) mathematics.

4.A belief system is the way a society (A) views the world and human life (B) acts for the betterment of others (C) understands the heavens (D) categorizes Nature.

5.Latin literature began with (A) the plays of Plautus and Terrance (B) a translation of the Odyssey (C) Vergil’s Aeneid (D) The speeches of Cicero.

6.The first Roman emperor was (A) Julius Cesar (B) Ptolemy (C) Augustus (D) Nero.

7.In general, Rome and Romans were (A) liberal (B) conservative (C) middle-of-the-road (D) anarchists.

8.When does Achilles die? (A) In Book 4 (B) in Book 12 (C) In Book 24 (D) He doesn’t die in The Iliad.

9.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.

10.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.

11.According to legend, in what sense was Homer deficient? (A) hearing (B) sight (C) taste (D) touch.

12.Which of the following characterized the Roman political system? (A) It separated church and state (B) It separated political power among different authorizes (C) It was an absolute monarchy (D) It did not levy taxes.

13.The Egyptian writing system known as hieroglyphics relied on (A) an alphabet for consonant sounds (B) a system of pictographs (C) wedge-shaped characters, like cuneiform, but more elaborate (D) an alphabet for consonant and vowel sounds.

14.One of the earliest literary texts was the Sumerian epic poem called Gilgamesh. What writing system was used to first record this epic poem? (A) Phoenician (B) Latin (C) cuneiform (D) hieroglyphics.

15.The earliest literature took the form of (A) oral stories and songs (B) poems collected in anthologies (C) stories in holy books (D) epics inscribed on stone tablets.

III. Identification: 1% x 25 =25%

1.         

(p. 189) Sing; Goddess, Achilles’ rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls Of heroes into Hades’ dark, And left their bodies to rot as feast For dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done. The Iliad begins with opening lines that state an invocation to the goddess. Identify the name of the goddess.

Muse

2.

But I will tell you this: (p. 193) Since Phoebus Apollo is taking away my _____, Whom I’m sending back aboard ship with my friends, I’m coming to your hut and taking Breseis, Your own beautiful prize, so that you will see just how much Stronger I am than you, and the next person will wince At the thought of opposing me as an equal. Identify the name of the prophetess whom brought the crisis to the Achaean troop.

Chryseis

3.

Well, I’m going back to Phthia now. Far better (p. 193) To head home with my curved ships than stay here, Unhonored myself and pilling up a fortune for you. Identify the name of the speaker (who is talking) of the above citation. After being insulted by Agamemnon’s request of a replacement war prize, the speaker threatens to return home with the Myrmidons.

Achilles

4.

Chryses, King Agamemnon has sent me here (p. 200) To return your child and offer to Phoebus Formal sacrifice on behalf of the Greeks. So my we appease Lord _____, and may he Lift the afflictions he has sent upon us. Who lifts the plague from the Greeks?

Apollo

5.

With this said, they vaulted from their chariots, (p. 207-8) Clasped hands, and pledged their friendship. But Zeus took away Glaucus’ good sense, For he exchanged his golden armor for bronze, The worth of one hundred oxen for nine. When ____ reached the oak tree by the Western Gate, Trojan wives and daughters ran up to him, Asking about their children, their brothers, Their kinsmen, their husbands. He told them all, Each woman in turn, to pray to the gods. Sorrow clung to their heads like mist. The above citation is quoted from Book VI of the Iliad. The soothsayer instructs _____, the Trojan prince, to pray with his mother for mercy.

Hector

6.

So the bonfires between the Greek ships (p. 215) And the banks of the Xanthus, burning On the plain before Ilion. And fifty men Warmed their hands by flames of each fire. And the horses champed white barely, Standing by their chariots, waiting for Dawn To take her seat on brocaded cushions. The above citation is quoted from Book VIII of the Iliad entitling “the Tide of Battle Turns.” What are the Trojans waiting for outside of the Greek fortifications?

morning

7.

I’m going to oppose you if you talk foolishness--(p. 216-7) As is my right in assembly, ord. Keep your temper. …He gave you a scepter And honor with it, but he didn’t give you Strength to stand in battle, which is real power …But many a long-haired Achaean Will stay, too, until we conquer Troy. And if they won’t— Well, let them all said back to their own native land. The two of us, Sthenelus and I, will fight on Until we take Ilion. We came here with Zeus The above citation is quoted from Book IX of the Iliad. It is _____ who convinces Agamemnon not to abandon the war.

Diomedes

8.

Brag while you can, Hector. Zeus and Apollo (p. 242) Have given you an easy victory this time. If they hadn’t knocked off my armor, I could have made mincemeat of twenty like you. It was Fate, and Leto’s son (Apollo), who killed me. Of men, Euphorbus. You came in third at best. And one more thing for you to think over. You’re not going to live long. I see Death Standing at your shoulder, and you going town Under the hands of Peleus’ perfect son (Achilles). This citation is quoted from Book XVI of the Iliad. After being defeated by Hector and Achilles, Patroclus predicts _____’s death.

Hector

9.

Mother, Zeus may have done all this for me, (p. 244) But how can I rejoice? My friend is dead, _____, my dearest friend of all. I loved him, And I killed him. And the armor—Hector cut him down and took off his body. The heavy, splendid armor, beautiful to see, That the gods gave to Peleus as a gift On the day they put you to bed with a mortal. But now—it was all so you would suffer pain For your ravaged son. It is the death of his “dearest friend of all” that rallies Achilles’ return to the war. Identify the name of “his friend.”

Patroclus

10.

I won’t have you with me for long, my child, (p. 245) If you say such things. Hector’s death means yours. Identify the name of this mother in grief.

Thetis

11.

Yes, child. It’s not wrong to save your friends (p. 246) When they are beaten to the brink of death. But your beautiful armor is in the hands of the Trojans, The mirrored bronze… Tomorrow I will come with the rising sun Bearing beautiful armor from Lord _____. Identify the name of this divine blacksmith who could make beautiful shield and armor.

Hephaestus

12.

Then _____ called back to Achilles: (p. 258) “Son of Peleus, you’re fast on your feet, But you’ll never catch me, man chasing god. Or are you too raging mad to notice I’m a god? Don’t you care about fighting The Trojans anymore? You’ve chased them back Into their town, but how you’ve veered off here. You’ll never killed me. You don’t hold my doom.” It is _____ who frequently throughout the Iliad preventing the Greeks from winning the war outright.

Apollo

13.

But it was shame and defilement Achilles (p. 268) Had in mind for _____. He pieced the tendons Above the heels and cinched them leather thongs To his chariot, letting ____’s head drag. In order to celebrate his victory over _____, Achilles drags his opponent’s body around the city behind a chariot. Both Trojan and Greek warrior culture placed great importance on the preservation and care of dead comrades’ corpses

Hector

14.

Remember your father, godlike Achilles. (p. 283) He and I both are on the doorstep Of old age. He may well be now’ Surrounded by enemies wearing him down And have no one to protect him from harm. But then he hears that you are still alive And his heart rejoices, and he hopes all his days To see his dear son come back from Troy. But what is left for me? Identify the name of this grieving father.

Priam

15.

The people gathered around _____’s pyre, (p. 290) And when all of Troy was assembled there They drowned the last flames with glinting wine… When the tomb was built, they all returned To the city and assembled for a glorious feast In the house of Priam, Zeus’ cherished king. _____’s funeral pyre concludes the Iliad

Hector

16.

Speak, Memory— (p. 291) Of the cunning hero, The wandered, blown off course time and again After he plundered Troy’s sacred heights. Speak Of all the cities he saw, the minds he grasped, The suffering deep in his heart at sea As he struggle to survive and ring his men home. This citation is quoted from the opening lines of the Odyssey. Identify the name this wandering hero at sea.

Odysseus

17.

…(p. 291) Still longed to return to his home and his wife. The nymph _____, a powerful goddess— And beautiful—was clinging to him In her caverns and yearned to possess him. In Book IV of the Odyssey, Telemachus learns that his father was taken by the nymph for seven years.

Calypso

18.

And then he came, the ghost of Theban prophet, (p. 412) Bearing a golden staff… You seek a sweet as honey… For I do not think you will elude the Earth-shaker, Who has laid up wrath in his heart against you, Furious because you blinded his son. Still You just might get home, though not without pain, You and your men, if you curb your own spirit, And theirs, too , when you beach our ship Identify the name of this Theban prophet.

Tiresias

19.

Don’t try to sell me on death, son of Laertes. (p. 422) I’d rather be a hired hand back up on dearth, Slaving away for some poor dirt farmer, Than lord it over all these withered dead. Identify the name of this soul that the wandering hero encounters in the House of the Dead.

Achilles

20.

And I saw _____ there in his agony Pushing a monstrous stone with his hands. Digging in hard, he would manage to shove it To the crest of a hill, but just as he was about To heave it over the top, the shameless stone Would teeter back and bound down to the plain. Then he would strain every muscle to push it back up, Sweat pouring from his limbs and dusty head. In Hades, _____ was punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever.

Sisyphus

21.

But from the moment that godless Diomedes, (p. 1007) Flanked by Ulysses, the mastermind of crime,  Attacked and tore the fateful image of Pallas   Out of her own hallowed shrine, and cut down The sentries ringing your city heights and seized That holy image and even dared touch the sacred bands On the virgin goddess head with hands reeking blood-- From that hour on, the high hopes of the Greeks Had trickle away like a slow, ebbing tide… In Book II of the Aeneid, the narrator retrieves the final hours of Troy. Ulysses is the Roman (Latin) name for _____, a character in ancient Greek literature.

Odysseus

22.

Here the words “Pallas” and “virgin goddess” mean _____, the patron goddess of Athens.

Athena

23.

From now on, Dido cares no more (p. 1029) For appearances, nor for her reputation, either. She no longer thinks to keep the affair a secret, No, she calls it a marriage, Using the word to cloak her sense of guilt. In a cave, _____ and Dido get “married”—at least as far as Dido is concerned.

Aeneas

24.

All at once, in the midst of her last words, (p. 1043) Her women see her doubled over the sword, the blood Foaming over the blade, her hands splattered red. A scream goes stabbing up to the high roofs, Rumor goes like a Maenad through the shocked city— The queen of Carthage commits suicide after _____ decides to leave her and continue on his quest. She stabs herself.

Aeneas

25.

All the while Neptune (p. 984-985) Sensed the furor above him, the roaring seas first and The storm breaking next—his standing waters boiling up From the sea-bed, churning back… He sees Aeneas’ squadrons scattered across the ocean, Trojans overwhelmed by the surf and the wild crashing skies. Nor did he miss his sister _____’s (the goddess) cunning wrath at work. _____ (the goddess) convinces Aeolus to stir the winds and seas in order to wreck Aeneas and his ships. She saves Aeneas from the storm in Book I of the Aeneid. However, Neptune intervenes to calm the seas.

Juno

IV.Term explanation: 5% x 4 = 20%

1.    Homeric epithet

2.    epic poetry

3.    Achilles' heel

4.    invocation

V.Essay: 10% x 2 = 20%

1.What role does fate play in the emotional and psychological effect of The Iliad? Why does Homer make his characters aware of their impending dooms?

2.How does Homer portray the relationship between gods and men in the Odyssey? What roles do the gods play in human life? How does this portrayal differ from that found in the Iliad?

3.To what extent is the Aeneid a political poem? Is it propaganda?