Humanities 115 - World Mythology » Winter 2024 » Test 1

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Question #1
Taoism is the believe system of ancient China, which was different from many others in the world because it was:
A.   polytheistic
B.   amoral
C.   atheistic
D.   monotheistic
Question #2
After becoming friends with the king, Enkidu feels useless. Gilgamesh proposes they undertake a journey to kill Humbaba, a monster who lives in the:
A.   Ziggurat
B.   Cedar forest
C.   Underworld
D.   Tigris river
Question #3
There was a historical King Gilgamesh, who ruled Uruk between 2,700 and 2,500 BCE. This is verified by two sources: his name stamped on bricks, and carved on the:
A.   Rosetta Stone
B.   Behistun Inscription
C.   Sumerian King's List
D.   Code of Hammurabi
Question #4
In Babylonian mythology, Marduk was the grandson of Tiamat and rallied the gods to rebel against her. When they had defeated Tiamat, Marduk tore her body in half and used it to create:
A.   sweet water and salt water
B.   dry land and sky
C.   night and day
D.   sun and moon
Question #5
Gilgamesh finds a plant that gives eternal youth, which is stolen by a snake. He knows the snake will be young forever because: the snake:
A.   sheds its skin
B.   can suddenly talk
C.   lives in water
D.   avoids his attempt to kill it
Question #6
Humans created written language as symbols that represented ideas. Some of the earliest writing was rules that everyone agreed to live by, known as:
A.   Cuneiform
B.   Moral law
C.   Hammurabi's Code
D.   Civil law
Question #7
In Egyptian mythology Nut, goddess of the sky, is the Mother Goddess. Her husband Re, and her lovers Geb and Thoth, all impregnate her. She gives birth to the gods:
A.   under a new moon
B.   during a solar eclipse
C.   during the yearly flood
D.   all at once, over five days
Question #8
At its greatest, the Babylonian Empire ruled all of the region fed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the surrounding areas with enough groundwater to sustain herds of animals. That region of the Middle East is called:
A.   Persia
B.   the Assyrian Empire
C.   the Fertile Crescent
D.   the Nile Valley
Question #9
After he defeats Tiamat, Marduk and the other gods create the magnificent palace of Babylon before creating human beings. In Babylonian mythology, the purpose of humans is to:
A.   sing the praises of heroes
B.   serve the gods at ease
C.   create temples and homes
D.   cultivate food for the gods
Question #10
One of the first people Gilgamesh meets after passing under Mount Mashu advises him to seek Urshanbi the boatman. That person is:
A.   Siduri, the winemaker
B.   the goddess Ishtar
C.   Marduk, hero of Babylonia
D.   the god Adad
Question #11
The first cities were built near rivers which provided water for agriculture. The earliest was Mesopotamia, on the Tigris and Euphrates. The name “Mesopotamia” is Greek, meaning:
A.   Between rivers
B.   Mother goddess
C.   First civilization
D.   Mother water
Question #12
Gilgamesh undertakes a quest to find immortality. He travels to Mount Mashu, where he finds the entrance to another world guarded by:
A.   Scorpion men
B.   A dragon
C.   The goddess Ishtar
D.   Siduri, the alewife
Question #13
The Pharaohs of Egypt were considered gods on earth. In order to make themselves visually distinct from other people, the Pharaohs:
A.   had multiple wives
B.   wore long, tube-like beards
C.   tattooed their skin
D.   shaved the hair from their bodies
Question #14
While the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia worshipped many gods, the Abrahamic faiths worshipped only one god. The belief in a single god is called:
A.   Monolithic
B.   Humanistic
C.   Monotheism
D.   Deism
Question #15
Ancient religions recognized many gods, and made stories about them to explain natural phenomenon. A list of gods in an ancient culture is called a:
A.   Polytheism
B.   Theology
C.   Pantheon
D.   Mythology
Question #16
Before the arrival of Enkidu into the city, Gilgamesh has two dreams. In one, a star falls at his feet and in the other he discovers a strangely shaped axe. These dreams are interpreted as omens of Enkidu by:
A.   Lugalbanda, his father
B.   Ninsun, his mother
C.   Enkidu himself
D.   Tiresias, the prophet
Question #17
At the beginning of his epic, Gilgamesh is not a wise ruler. He separates sons from their mothers and sleeps with other men's wives. He also does as he pleases with the:
A.   tocsin, an alarm bell
B.   annual tax
C.   scared altar
D.   Sumerian king's list
Question #18
Egypt is a civilization based on the Nile River, which flooded each year at the same time, with the same amount of water. This regularity led to the belief that death was not an end, but another phase of life. This idea was supported by the fact that the desert:
A.   had heavenly oases
B.   naturally mummified bodies
C.   included deadly creatures
D.   seemed endless
Question #19
The Egyptians created documents on papyrus, which is paper made from river reeds. One of the most important documents included hymns, prayers and instructions for the afterlife. It is called:
A.   Rosetta Stone
B.   Cuneiform
C.   Hieroglyphics
D.   Book of the Dead
Question #20
Angry with Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar asks her father Anu for permission to use a terrible creature against him. He agrees after she tells him that the people of Uruk have enough grain stored for seven years. That terrible creature was: 
A.   the Cyclops
B.   the Bull of Heaven
C.   the Scorpion Man
D.   a falling star
Question #21
A visual art is a work intended primarily for the sense of sight. Other artworks are created before an audience and have duration. These are called
A.   theatre
B.   ritual
C.   oral tradition
D.   performing arts
Question #22
One of the visual arts is painting, in which the artist creates form using pigment and surface. Frequently there must be a third substance, like the oil in oil paint. That third substance is called:
A.   gesso
B.   turpentine
C.   bindery
D.   support
Question #23
Philosophy is the search for truth through the process of reason. People also accept some things as true without reason, which is called:
A.   religion
B.   theology
C.   history
D.   faith or belief
Question #24
Sin-Leqi-Unimmi, a Babylonian priest, compiled disconnected stories of Gilgamesh into a single epic sometime between 1,600 and 1,000 BCE. This corresponds with documents written by another culture, which eventually became:
A.   The Koran
B.   Greek mythology
C.   The Old Testament
D.   The library of Nineveh
Question #25
Civilization is a state of human existence in which people live together for mutual benefit. One civilization began in ancient Greece, was copied and improved by ancient Rome, and is the foundation of our own civilization. It is called:
A.   Greek civilization
B.   Middle Eastern civilization
C.   Human civilization
D.   Western civilization

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