Quiz Guide: Classical Mythology Chapter 12 (Note: make sure you answer all parts of the question)
- When does archeology suggest the Trojan war occurred? Explain.
- Summarize the Judgment of Paris.
- Explain the origin of the most beautiful woman in the world.
- Why, according to the book, might Menelaus have fought so hard for his wife?
- The "multiform and open-ended" nature of the various episodes of the Trojan war are related by many sources besides Homer. Name one.
- Give one example of the anachronistic or timeless quality of myth in general, and the Trojan war story in particular.
- The book suggests the war reveals the tension between the emerging idea of Greeks as members of a single nation of Hellenes, Danaans, or Achaeans (as opposed to separate city states) and an older "system." Explain.
- Who is Thetis's son? How, according to some versions of the tale, does Thetis attempt to "erase his paternal inheritance"?
- Paris's decision characterizes "a universe of infinite but ambiguous options." Explain what that means with reference to the Troy story.
- Which two princes "fail to appear" at the gathering at Aulis? Why?
- What happens at Aulis to delay the Greeks' departure for Troy? How do they overcome that delay?
- At what point in the war does Homer begin the Iliad? Why?
- When, how, and by whom might the Iliad and Odyssey have been composed?
- The book says the epic, unlike myth, is rooted in time. Give an example from either the Iliad or the Odyssey.
- What is one purpose of the epic similes?
- Why does the Iliad focus only on the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles?
- What does the book mean by "the heroe's two fates"?
- What are some ways that the gods intervene in the war?
- What are three motifs for human destiny in the Iliad?
- What does the "climactic," "quasi-surreal" encounter between the Greek and Trojan champions tell us about the nature of war?
- Give an example of a "real victim in the masculine world of epics," and explain.
- Give an example of an epic "temptress."
- What, according to Demodocus, is the artist's role?
- How does Achillles experience the epic "rite of passage"?
- Who tries to warn Troy about the "Trojan horse"? Why are they unsuccessful?