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Humanities 115 - World Mythology » Summer 2022 » Final Exam

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Question #1

The goddess Ishtar proposes that Gilgamesh marry her, but he refuses because she abuses her lovers. To get revenge, Ishtar asks her father Anu to give her something to destroy Gilgamesh. What is it?

A. Enkidu, the wild man

B. the Scorpion Man

C. a hundred-handed giant

D. the Bull of Heaven

Question #2

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, for Gilgamesh to travel enter the dark land he must first pass a gate guarded by:

A. the Scorpion Man and his mate

B. Shamash, the Judge and Law-Giver

C. Siduri the Alewife

D. a ring of fire

Question #3

Tiamat was the Mother Goddess of Babylonian mythology. Marduk overthrows her, and makes her body into:

A. the many forms of love

B. human beings

C. the earth

D. the morning star

Question #4

The hero of The Ramayana is Rama, who is the god Vishnu on earth in human form. The appearance of a god in physical form is called:

A. avatar

B. valmiki

C. rakshasa

D. upinshad

Question #5

Archetypes are common in the mythologies of many cultures, like The Hero or The Mother Goddess. One archetype is often cunning and mischievous, like Set in Egyptian mythology or Loki in Norse mythology. This archetype is called:

A. avenger

B. mentor

C. magician

D. trickster

Question #6

In The Iliad, Paris meets King Menelaus in battle. Menelaus gets the better of him, and drags Paris around by the helmet. What happens next?

A. Menelaus wears his armor

B. Aphrodite breaks the helmet strap

C. Paris wounds Menelaus

D. Hector rescues him

Question #7

The Greek kings take an oath to rescue Helen if she is ever abducted. After Paris takes her to Troy, the kings assemble but Achilles does not come. They find him:

A. sowing his field with salt

B. sulking in his tent

C. disguised as a woman

D. inside a wooden horse

Question #8

A single prophet, Muhammad, founded the religion of Islam. The things he said were written down by his followers, and later complied into a book called The Qur’an. Other stories of Islam, created in oral tradition, have been written in a collection called:

A. The Ka'bah

B. The Hadith

C. Ramadan

D. The Pillars of Islam

Question #9

Rome’s legendary founders were the twins Romulus and Remus. Abandoned in the wilderness as babies, they survived:

A. the goddess Minerva rescues them

B. eating nuts and berries

C. taken in by shepherds

D. suckled by a she-wolf

Question #10

In Greek mythology, Zeus became god of the sky, Poseidon god of the sea, and Hades god of the underworld. Because no goddess wanted to live in the underworld, Hades was given Demeter’s daughter:

A. Artemis

B. Persephone

C. Penelope

D. Hestia

Question #11

In the final battle of The Aeneid, Aeneas fights King Turnus. Aeneas gets the upper hand, and is about to let Turnus live when he sees Turnus wearing something. What is he wearing?

A. the belt of Prince Pallas

B. the face of Gorgon Medusa

C. the armor of Achilles

D. Lavinia's garter

Question #12

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story ever written, found on hundreds of pieces of clay tablets. One of the oldest tablets includes a battle with Humbaba, a monster in the:

A. battle chasm

B. oblivion

C. cedar forest

D. charybdis

Question #13

In The Aeneid, Aeneas stays in Carthage making love to Dido until a messenger appears to tell him that he must set sail for Italy. The messenger is:

A. Hermes

B. Apollo

C. Iris

D. Mercury

Question #14

The story of the Trojan War begins with the birth of Helen of Troy. She was the daughter of Leda, whom Zeus raped while he was in the form of a:

A. ray of light

B. shepherd

C. swan

D. white bull

Question #15

A poem that has great length, a central hero, and includes the history and mythology of a culture is called:

A. dramatic

B. epic

C. animistic

D. lyric

Question #16

In Mayan mythology, a god saves two humans from a flood. He also orders them to eat only an ear of corn, but they disobey by eating fish. These similarities to the Abrahamic myths may be because:

A. the Garden of Eden was in the Americas

B. a Catholic priest and Mayan Christian translated them

C. the Abrahamic myths are true

D. all cultures have flood myths

Question #17

Shi Huangti, the first emperor of China, standardized public services and built the Long Wall, an early version of the Great Wall. In an attempt to establish his own legal authority and to reform the writing system he also:

A. built the Terracotta Army

B. burned almost all books

C. wrote the Five Classics

D. outlawed prophecy

Question #18

God tests Abraham by ordering him to sacrifice his son. Abraham attempts the sacrifice, but there are two different versions of how God stops him. In Islam:

A. an angel stops him

B. a tribe of people convince him he has passed the test

C. Abraham chooses to deny the request

D. He hears the voice of God from a whirlwind

Question #19

In The Aeneid of Virgil, Aeneas is a hero of Troy who escapes the destruction of the city with his household gods, his son by the hand, and carrying:

A. his wealth in a basket

B. a copy of The Iliad

C. an offering to Jupiter

D. his father on his back

Question #20

Three gods of Egyptian mythology are Osiris, god of fertility and ruler of the underworld, Isis, his sister and wife, a goddess of the sky, and their son:

A. Tut

B. Horus

C. Anubus

D. Set

Question #21

The Mayan civilization declined because deforestation and a prolonged drought reduce their ability to grow enough food. Refugees from Mayan cities joined those from Teotihuacan and Tula to form a new culture called:

A. Aztec

B. Mexica

C. Inca

D. Aztlan

Question #22

Achilles, the hero of The Iliad, kills Hector, prince of Troy, with a spear thrust to the throat because he knows the weak point in his armor. Why does Achilles know this?

A. Hector is wearing Achilles' armor

B. the goddess Athena shows him

C. Helen has told him

D. all Trojan armor is exposed at the throat

Question #23

In Norse culture, a dead king was buried in an elaborate, grass-covered tomb with treasure and weapons. This kind of tomb is called a:

A. stonehenge

B. barrow

C. clan

D. weregild

Question #24

In The Ramayana, the Princess Sita is abducted by the demon King Ravanna. As he carries her off his flying chariot, she drops her veil and jewels, which are found by:

A. sages

B. harpies

C. three goddesses

D. monkeys

Question #25

Many Egyptian myths were written on papyrus scrolls and placed in the coffin with the mummy. The scrolls include hymns, prayers, and instructions for the deceased and is called:

A. Papyrus of Osiris

B. Ode to Aten

C. Book of the Dead

D. Rosetta Stone

Question #26

In the Hindu creation myth, the universe begins in water. From it rises a many-headed cobra. Brahma, the creator, emerges from the cobra’s navel on:

A. an egg

B. a wave

C. a magic carpet

D. a lotus blossom

Question #27

Gilgamesh finds a plant that will give him eternal life. Before he can eat the plant, a snake swallows it. Gilgamesh knows the snake will live forever because he sees it:

A. has a phallic shape

B. shed its skin

C. in the Garden of Eden

D. swim in water

Question #28

In Japanese Shintoism, there are many spiritual beings represented by physical objects like a rocks or trees. These spiritual beings are called:

A. kokun

B. Kami

C. meoto iwa

D. Torii

Question #29

Hebrew, the language of the Jews, is based in an ancient language that is also the root of Philistine and Arabic. That language is:

A. Nomadic

B. Semitic

C. Phoenician

D. Bedouin

Question #30

According to the Abrahamic myths, Abraham’s wife Sarah could not have children. She asks Abraham to sleep with her handmaid Hagar, who gives birth to:

A. Isaac

B. Ishmael

C. Abram

D. Yahweh

Question #31

Christianity, one of the Abrahamic faiths, is based in the teachings of Jesus. The books of Matthew,Mark, Luke and John are the four biographies of Jesus from which his teachings are known. There may have been a fifth biography, known to scholars as the:

A. Apocrypha

B. Q Source

C. Heresy

D. Behistun Inscription

Question #32

Christianity became the dominant faith in Europe during the Middle Ages. Eventually Martin Luther created a different form of Christianity called Protestantism. Among other things, Protestant Christians do not recognize the authority of:

A. The Bible

B. earthly government

C. The Ten Commandments

D. The Pope

Question #33

In Egyptian mythology, Set locks his brother Osiris in a chest and throws it into the Nile. Isis searches for it, and find it:

A. transformed into a sarcophagus

B. in the underworld

C. in a tree trunk

D. hidden in the desert sands

Question #34

In the Greek creation myth, the Earth Mother Gaia forms spontaneously out of chaos along with the Underworld and one of the five forms of love:

A. Philia, or affection

B. Agape, love for mankind

C. Eros, the sexual urge

D. Xenia, concern for strangers

Question #35

The center of African tribal culture was the storyteller, who also served as a holy man and source of knowledge. This important figure is called a:

A. Fetish

B. Shaman

C. Griot

D. Nganaba

Question #36

The oldest writing of the Hebrews is a collection of five scrolls that include their history, mythology and law called the Torah. This writing can also be found in the:

A. first five books of the Old Testament

B. the Qur'an

C. decalogue

D. first four books of the New Testament

Question #37

A. Classical Civilization

B. Western Civilization

C. Far Eastern Civilization

D. Humanist Civilization

Question #38

Like Katness Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Chi-Li volunteers to be the sacrifice for a giant serpent that devours a maiden once a year. Why does she do this:

A. to marry a prince

B. to save her younger sister

C. he father has died

D. to bring honor to her family

Question #39

In Chinese mythology, the Mother Goddess Nu Kua makes people out of clay by hand. They are the high-born. She drags an object through the clay, shakes it, and the drops that fall become common folks. What is that object?

A. a lotus blossom

B. a tortoise shell

C. river reeds

D. a rope

Question #40

Babylonian mythology begins with Apsu, Tiamat, and Mummu, three forms of a primal element. The element is present in the creation myth of most cultures. It is:

A. water

B. God

C. light

D. air

Question #41

The goddess Hera despised Heracles because he was the son of Zeus by another woman. To appease her, Zeus commands that when grown Heracles will perform 12 labors. One of those labors is to:

A. kill his wife and children

B. strangle two snakes

C. cut off Medusa's head

D. kill the many-headed Hydra

Question #42

In the Japanese creation myth, Inzanagi and Inzanami go behind the Pillar of Heaven, say “You are a fine man” and “You are a fine woman,” and then make love. Their first child is a leech baby because:

A. Inzanami spoke first

B. they forgot the jewel-tipped spear

C. the gods had fallen asleep

D. Inzanagi was crude in his speech

Question #43

The reason we have The Epic of Gilgamesh today is because it was written on hundreds of clay tablets found in a library at the ancient city of:

A. Alexandria

B. Nineveh

C. Jerusalem

D. Babylon

Question #44

After the Greeks win the Trojan War, it takes Odysseus ten years to find his way home. Along the way he is seduced by a witch, captured by a Cyclops, and is the only man to hear the song of the:

A. Sirens

B. Furies

C. Suitors

D. whales

Question #45

There are two possible after-lives in Norse mythology. Brave warriors who die in battle are carried to Valhalla by Valkyries. Everyone who does not die in battle dwell in Nifelhiem, which is ruled by:

A. Baldur

B. Loki

C. Frigg

D. Hel

Question #46

A. Council of Nicaea

B. Council of Trent

C. Protestant Reformation

D. Great Schism

Question #47

The epic poet of Greece wrote The Iliad, The Odyssey, and hymns to the gods, which established many of the Greek myths. That poet was:

A. Hesiod

B. Apollodorus

C. Ovid

D. Homer

Question #48

Early Chinese people believed in divination, or the ability to predict future events. They would throw a handful of sticks, stones, or coin-like tokens on the ground, and then find the corresponding pattern in the:

A. Dao De Jing

B. I Ching

C. Analects of Confucius

D. Lao Tzu

Question #49

In the Greek creation myth, the Mother Goddess Rhea first creates to races of beings, the Cyclopes and the:

A. Gorgons

B. Hundred-Handed Giants

C. Furies

D. Frost Giants

Question #50

In The Labors and Death of Hercules, the goddess Hera is angry that Zeus has had a child with another woman and attempts to kill baby Hercules by sending snakes to his crib. What happens to the snakes?

A. the slither out of their skins

B. they entwine around Hermes' staff

C. Hercules strangles them

D. the goddess Athena kills them

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