Humanities 115 - World Mythology » Spring 2020 » Quiz 1

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Question #1
Ancient religions recognized many gods, and made stories about them to explain natural phenomenon. A culture that worships many gods is called:
A.   atheistic
B.   humanist
C.   polytheistic
D.   pantheistic
Question #2
Tiamat was the Mother Goddess of Babylonian mythology.  She is defeated by her grandson Marduk, who then creates the earth and sky:
A.   with his wife, Inanna
B.   from clay
C.   from her body
D.   in six days
Question #3
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.   Classical Civilization
B.   Humanist Civilization
C.   Eastern Civilization
D.   Western Civilization
Question #4
In Egyptian mythology Nut, goddess of the sky, is the Mother Goddess. She is impregnated by her lovers Geb and Thoth, which enrages her husband:
A.   King Tut
B.   Re, god of the sun
C.   the Elder Horus
D.   Anubis, god of embalming
Question #5
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.   Siduri, the alewife
C.   A troll who asks three questions
D.   Fifty unsullied warriors
Question #6
At the beginning of his epic, Gilgamesh is not a wise ruler. The gods create Enkidu to challenge him. Enkidu is:
A.   the god of vengeance
B.   the monster of the cedar forest
C.   a wild man who lives with beasts
D.   a priest
Question #7
After becoming friends with the king, Enkidu feels useless. Gilgamesh proposes they undertake a journey to kill Humbaba, a monster who lives in:
A.   the underworld
B.   the sea
C.   the cedar forest
D.   Egypt
Question #8
An epic poem consists of three elements: great length, a central hero and:
A.   a combination of historical and mythological elements
B.   passages intended to be sung
C.   the interpretation of dreams
D.   the death of a major character
Question #9
Gilgamesh asks Utnapishtim for the secret to eternal live. Utnaphishtim agress to tell him, if he can do what:
A.   cut trees to make poles
B.   defeat the Bull of Heaven
C.   kill the monster of the cedar forest
D.   stay awake for five days
Question #10
In early cultures, the gods are born of primal elements like earth, water or sky. In Babylonian mythology they were Apsu the sweet water, Tiamat the salt water and:
A.   Mummu, the mist
B.   Anu, the heavens
C.   Shamash, the sun
D.   Apu, the wind
Question #11
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.   Enkidu himself
B.   his mother, Ninsun
C.   his father, Lugulbanda
D.   Utanpishtim the Faraway
Question #12
Osiris is the oldest child of Nut, born as a man. He becomes the god of fertility and ruler of the underworld after his brother Set tricks him into:
A.   lying in a wooden box
B.   a quest to the land beyond life
C.   swallowing a scorpion
D.   marrying his sister, Isis
Question #13
The first laws were written in cuneiform on black stone markers, and allowed the king to rule in absentia, that is, while he was not present in the city. This king was:
A.   Nebuchadnezzar
B.   Hammurabi
C.   Ashursirbanipal
D.   Nineveh
Question #14
While the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia worshipped many gods, the Abrahamic faiths worshipped only one god. The oldest of the Abrahamic faiths is:
A.   Christianity
B.   Hindusim
C.   Judaism
D.   Zoroastrianism
Question #15
The goddess Ishtar proposes that Gilgamesh marry her, but he refuses because:
A.   he is only two-thirds god
B.   Enkidu advises him to not do it
C.   she abuses her lovers
D.   he must travel beyond the mountain
Question #16
Gilgamesh finds a plant that gives eternal youth, which is stolen by a snake. He knows the snake will be young forever because:
A.   The snake sheds its skin
B.   The snake enters The Garden of Eden
C.   The god Shamash tells him
D.   Utnapishtim shows him seven loaves of bread

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