Humanities: Ancient Literature & Epics

Question 1

Beowulf question:

The name of the evil monster that attacks the mead hall.

Answer 1

Grendel

Question 2

Beowulf question:

Plot summary:

Answer 2

Beowulf is an ancient epic written by an unknown author (likely a bard) between **700 - 1000 AD. **

The story details the adventures of Beowulf, a member of the Geats tribe, as he avenges the attack on his mead hall by Grendel, an evil monster, and later Grendel’s mother and a firebreathing dragon.

Question 3

Beowulf question:

Grendel loses this body part in a fight against Beowulf.

Answer 3

His arm

Question 4

Beowulf question:

Grendel is said to be descended from this Biblical figure.

Answer 4

Cain

Question 5

Beowulf question:

This is the noisy, joyous mead hall attacked by Grendel that is home to the Danish King Hrothgar.

Answer 5

Herot Hall

Question 6

Beowulf question:

This is the King of the Danes that built the mead hall.

Answer 6

Hrothgar

Question 7

Beowulf question:

Name the three creatures that Beowulf battles in his life.

Answer 7

• Grendel
• Grendel’s Mother
• An unnamed dragon

Question 8

Beowulf question:

Around which century was Beowulf written?

(Used in a “chronological order” question)

Answer 8

Between the 8th and early 11th centuries (700 - 1000 AD)

Question 9

Beowulf question:

To which Scandanavian tribe does Beowulf belong?

Answer 9

The Geats

Question 10

Beowulf question:

In which country does Beowulf take place?

Answer 10

Denmark

(at later “Geatland”, believed to be in southern Sweden)

Question 11

Beowulf question:

This is the only warrior who came to Beowulf’s aid during his fight with the dragon.

Answer 11

Wiglaf

Question 12

The Aenid question

Summary

Answer 12

• The Aenid is considered an ancient epic poem written by the Roman poet Virgil around 29 - 19 BC.
• The Aenid tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan (from Troy), who becomes the ancestor of all Romans.

Question 13

This is the Mesopotamian literary work known as the earliest epic.

Answer 13

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Question 14

Epic of Gilgamesh

Plot Summary

Answer 14

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a series of Mesopotamian tales that recount the exploits of Gilgamesh, Warrior-King of Uruk. We learn of his overwhelming power, his friendship with Enkidu, and his quest for eternal life. We also read of a great flood that devastated the region.

Question 15

Epic of Gilgamesh question:

This is the name of Gilgamesh’s adversary.

Answer 15

Humbaba

Humbaba is a demon / forest guardian (we love an environmentalist king)

Question 16

Epic of Gilgamesh question:

This is the name of Gilgamesh’s friend

Answer 16

Enkidu

The gods send Enkidu as a friend and lover to distract him.

(He dies from sickness after they kill the gods’ divine bull.)

Question 17

Epic of Gilgamesh question:

The Epic of Gilgamesh gives us insight into the religion and culture of this ancient civilization.

Answer 17

Sumerian (in Mesopotamia - present-day Iraq)

Question 18

Epic of Gilgamesh question:

Gilgamesh travels to meet Utnapishtim, an old man that survived this weather phenomenon that caused the destruction of the world.

Answer 18

A flood

(Utnapishtim survived by building a boat.)

Question 19

Epic of Gilgamesh question:

This is the genre of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Answer 19

Epic

(obvi)

Question 20

These are the two epics that feature Odysseus, the Greek Trojan-War hero and King of Ithaca.

Answer 20

The Odyssey and The Iliad

Question 21

This ancient epic begins with the line: “Sing, goddess, the wrath of Peleus’ son.”

Also translated, “Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilles”

(It’s one of the most famous opening lines in literature.)

Answer 21

The Iliad

Homer invokes a goddess of poetry to tell the story about Achilles’ rage

Question 22

This is Greek warrior and the main character of The Iliad

Answer 22

Achilles

Question 23

The Iliad question:

This Trojan warrior joins Achilles as a companion during his journey.

Answer 23

Hector

Question 24

The Iliad question:

Plot Summary

Answer 24

• The Iliad is a prequel to The Odyssey.
• It details the events of the final year of the ten-year Trojan War and the deeds of warriors Achilles, Hector, and King Odysseus.

(The Iliad was probably written between 850 - 750 BC.)

Question 25

# *The Odyssey* question: Plot Summary

Answer 25

* The Odyssey is a **sequel** to The Iliad. A survivor of the Trojan War, King Odysseus of Ithaca, tries to return home and must battle many mythical creatures along the way. | (The Odyssey was probably written between 850 - 750 BC.)

Question 26

# *The Odyssey* question: Odysseus' journey is about returning **home to this place** and reclaiming his throne as King.

Answer 26

Ithaca

Question 27

# *The Odyssey* question: This is the **most likely author of *The Odyssey***

Answer 27

Homer

Question 28

# *The Odyssey* question: These are two of Odysseus' adversaries | (A father and son)

Answer 28

* **Poseidon**, the god of the sea * **Polyphemus** (the Cyclops, Poseidon's son) | Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, angering Poseidon

Question 29

# *The Odyssey* question: Odysseus is the Greek hero of The Odyssey. What is his **name in Roman** translations?

Answer 29

Ulysses

Question 30

# *The Odyssey* question: This is Odysseus' wife

Answer 30

Penelope

Question 31

# *The Odyssey* question: This animal recognized Odysseus when he finally returned home in disguise.

Answer 31

Argos, his **dog**

Question 32

# *The Odyssey* question: This is **Odysseus' dog**'s name

Answer 32

Argos

Question 33

# *The Odyssey* question: This **sorceress** changed Odysseus' companions into swine.

Answer 33

Circe | Daughter of the Sun god Helios.

Question 34

# *The Odyssey* question: The entrancing songs of these **carnivorous bird-women** lured mariners to their deaths on a dangerous rocky coast.

Answer 34

Sirens

Question 35

# *The Odyssey* question: This is the **cyclops** and **son of Poseidon** that Odysseus blinds.

Answer 35

Polyphemus

Question 36

# *The Odyssey* question: Nymph that keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years, nursing him back to health. She offers him immortality if he stays with her.

Answer 36

Calypso | (Odysseus chooses to return home.)

Question 37

# *The Odyssey* question: This is the name of the **mythological whirlpool** that Osysseus escapes.

Answer 37

Charybdis

Question 38

# *The Odyssey* question: This **monster with six heads** lived in a cave on the cliff above Charybdis, mythological whirlpool that Odysseus escapes.

Answer 38

Scylla

Question 39

# *The Odyssey* question: This is the name of Odysseus' son

Answer 39

Telemachus

Question 40

# *The Odyssey* question: The** archetypal story pattern**, also known as the Monomyth, was described by Joseph Campbell. It begins with** "The Call to Adventure,**" and can be found in both The Odyssey and Star Wars.

Answer 40

The Hero's Journey

Question 41

# *The Odyssey* question: Odysseus finds his missing crewman Elpenor, the prophet Tiresias, and Achilles in this **location**.

Answer 41

**Hades**, the **Underworld**

Question 42

# *The Odyssey* question: Odysseus goes to Hades to speak to the ghost of this Trojan War hero.

Answer 42

Achilles | (You know, his buddy from *The Iliad*.)

Question 43

# *The Odyssey* question: This **gorgon**, according to Homer, could turn people into stone with her gaze.

Answer 43

Medusa

Question 44

This is the mortal Zeus turned into a woman and then back into a man to settle an argument and who appears in the Theban Plays by Sophocles

Answer 44

The Blind Prophet, **Tiresias**

Question 45

This **ancient Greek author** is known for his many fables, including "*The Tortoise and the Hare*," "*the Goose who Laid the Golden Egg*", and "*The Fox and the Hedgehog*."

Answer 45

Aesop

Question 46

This **ancient Greek author**, known for his fables, is also known for introducing the terms "fair weather friend", "sour grapes", and "look before you leap."

Answer 46

Aesop

Question 47

This is the **ancient Athenian playwright** who wrote more than 120 plays.

Answer 47

Sophocles

Question 48

# *Oedipus Rex:* Plot Summary

Answer 48

* In *Oedipus Rex* by **Sophocles**, Oedipus unwittingly kills his father** King Laius** and marries his mother, **Jocasta**. Oedipus is horrified by his fate and gouges his eyes out with Jocasta's hair pins. Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus leaves his country as a blind beggar. * **Apollo, the Oracle of Delphi** prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, but Oedipus tries to use his free will to escape this fate. | (He unknowingly kills his father with a sword after road rage incident) ## Footnote (Literally, it was a dispute over the right-of-way. Look it up)

Question 49

# *Oedipus Rex* question: This is Oedipus' father.

Answer 49

King Laius

Question 50

# *Oedipus Rex* question: This is the **monster and Oedipus' adversary ** sent by Hera to torment the Greek city of Thebes.

Answer 50

Sphinx

Question 51

This is the figure that causes the Sphinx to fall into the sea.

Answer 51

**Oedipus** - he solves her riddle and she kills herself. | Oedipus was then awarded title of King and marries the widow Jocasta. ## Footnote (Who turns out to be his mother.)

Question 52

# *Oedipus Rex* question: The **Riddle of the Sphinx**, “What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?” was solved by **Oedipus** with this answer.

Answer 52

Man

Question 53

This is the **blind Thebean prophet **who appears in several Greek myths and plays

Answer 53

Tiresias

Question 54

This is the son of **Laius, King of Thebes.**

Answer 54

Oedipus

Question 55

This is **Oedipus' mother**.

Answer 55

Jocasta

Question 56

This is **Oedipus' brother-in-law**

Answer 56

**Creon**: Jocasta's brother and a trusted advisor who does not want to be king himself.

Question 57

This is **Oedipus' son **who is denied burial by Creon.

Answer 57

Polyneices | Oedipus has three other children with Jocasta - one is Antigone.