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Question 1The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

In the political structure of classical Athens, which body prepared the agenda for the Ekklesia (Assembly) and consisted of 500 citizens chosen by lot each year?

  1. The Boule Correct answer.
  2. The College of Ephors
  3. The Areopagus
  4. The Gerousia

Explanation

The Boule of 500 was selected annually by lot, fifty from each of the ten tribes, and functioned as a probouleutic council that set the agenda for the sovereign Assembly. The Areopagus was a more aristocratic body of former archons, while the Gerousia and ephorate were Spartan institutions.

Question 2The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which Athenian reformer is credited with the division of Attica into ten tribes and the creation of the Council of 500 at the end of the sixth century BC?

  1. Cleisthenes Correct answer.
  2. Pericles
  3. Ephialtes
  4. Solon

Explanation

Cleisthenes' reforms around 508 BC reorganised the citizen body into ten tribes and established the Council of 500, breaking the dominance of traditional kinship groups. Solon had earlier cancelled debts and reorganised property classes but did not create the ten tribes.

Question 3The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

In the Spartan constitution, which two hereditary kingship and which body of twenty-eight elders plus the two kings formed the core institutions alongside the ephors and the assembly?

  1. The Prytaneis and the Heliaia
  2. The Agiad and Eurypontid kings and the Gerousia Correct answer.
  3. The Archons and the Boule
  4. The Basileus and the Ecclesia

Explanation

Sparta was famously governed by two royal houses, the Agiads and the Eurypontids, who sat with twenty-eight elected elders in the Gerousia. This mixed constitution was admired by later writers as a balance of monarchy, oligarchy and democracy.

Question 4The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which event traditionally marks the end of the Roman monarchy and the beginning of the Republic?

  1. The Gallic sack of Rome in 390 BC
  2. The Battle of Actium in 31 BC
  3. The expulsion of the Tarquins in 509 BC Correct answer.
  4. The assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC

Explanation

Roman tradition dates the overthrow of the last king, Tarquinius Superbus, to 509 BC, the founding moment of the Republic. Later writers used this date to frame the Republic's origins, even though the historical record for the period is thin.

Question 5The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

In the Roman Republic, which pair of annually elected magistrates held imperium and commanded the legions, with each able to veto the other's actions?

  1. The consuls Correct answer.
  2. The tribunes of the plebs
  3. The quaestors
  4. The censors

Explanation

Two consuls were elected each year and shared imperium, the power to command troops and exercise authority; the mutual veto (intercessio) was designed to prevent one from dominating. Tribunes could veto but lacked military command, while censors and quaestors held narrower functions.

Question 6The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which Athenian festival, held annually in honour of Dionysus, provided the setting for the dramatic competitions in which tragedies and comedies were performed?

  1. The Thesmophoria
  2. The City Dionysia Correct answer.
  3. The Eleusinian Mysteries
  4. The Panathenaia

Explanation

The City Dionysia was the great Athenian dramatic festival at which playwrights competed for prizes with trilogies of tragedies and satyr plays, and later comedies. The Panathenaia honoured Athena, while the Eleusinian Mysteries and Thesmophoria were religious rites rather than dramatic competitions.

Question 7The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which social group in Sparta, bound to the land and labouring for Spartan citizens, was also subject to periodic state violence through the krypteia?

  1. The perioikoi
  2. The freedmen
  3. The metics
  4. The helots Correct answer.

Explanation

The helots were a servile population tied to the land who supported the Spartan citizen body economically, and the krypteia was a secret institution through which young Spartans exercised terror over them. Perioikoi were free but non-citizen communities, and metics and freedmen are Roman or Athenian categories.

Question 8The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which Roman institution, composed of former magistrates and holding mainly advisory authority, became the dominant policy-making body of the middle Republic?

  1. The Comitia Centuriata
  2. The Praetorian Guard
  3. The Concilium Plebis
  4. The Senate Correct answer.

Explanation

The Senate, made up largely of former magistrates, controlled finance, foreign policy and the appointment of commanders, giving it enormous practical authority even though its formal powers were advisory. The other bodies were assemblies or military units, not deliberative councils of ex-magistrates.

Question 9The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

The Peloponnesian War, which pitted Athens and its allies against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League, is conventionally dated to which span?

  1. 264-241 BC
  2. 431-404 BC Correct answer.
  3. 490-479 BC
  4. 336-323 BC

Explanation

The Peloponnesian War ran from 431 to 404 BC, ending with Athens' defeat and the loss of its empire. The other dates belong to the Persian Wars, the reign of Alexander, and the First Punic War respectively.

Question 10The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

In the Athenian democracy of the fifth century, which procedure allowed citizens to vote to exile a prominent individual for ten years without a specific charge?

  1. Graphe paranomon
  2. Ostracism Correct answer.
  3. Eisangelia
  4. Dokimasia

Explanation

Ostracism, conducted once a year if the Assembly agreed, allowed the citizenry to exile a named individual for ten years, ostensibly to protect the state from tyranny. The other terms refer to legal actions and vetting procedures, not to temporary banishment by popular vote.

Question 11The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which Roman conflict, fought between 218 and 201 BC, brought Hannibal across the Alps and nearly destroyed the Republic?

  1. The Social War
  2. The Jugurthine War
  3. The Second Punic War Correct answer.
  4. The First Punic War

Explanation

The Second Punic War (218-201 BC) saw Hannibal's invasion of Italy and was eventually decided by Scipio's victory at Zama. The First Punic War concerned Sicily, the Social War concerned Italian allies, and the Jugurthine War concerned Numidia.

Question 12The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which reform of Tiberius Gracchus as tribune in 133 BC provoked fierce opposition from the Senate?

  1. The extension of citizenship to all Italian allies
  2. The abolition of debt slavery
  3. The redistribution of public land to the poor Correct answer.
  4. The creation of a standing professional army

Explanation

Tiberius Gracchus proposed to enforce limits on the occupation of public land and redistribute surplus land to poorer citizens, a measure that threatened the interests of wealthy senators. Citizenship for allies came later, debt relief was associated with Solon, and the professional army is linked to Marius.

Question 13The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which political office, created in the early Republic, gave plebeians a magistrate who could veto acts of other magistrates and protect citizens from abuse?

  1. Dictator
  2. Interrex
  3. Praetor
  4. Tribune of the plebs Correct answer.

Explanation

The tribunate of the plebs was created as a result of the plebeian secessions and gave plebeians sacrosanct officials with the power of veto and the duty to protect citizens. The dictatorship, praetorship and interregnum were all patrician or state offices, not plebeian protective magistracies.

Question 14The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which Athenian general and statesman led the city during its imperial expansion and commissioned the building programme on the Acropolis in the mid-fifth century BC?

  1. Nicias
  2. Pericles Correct answer.
  3. Alcibiades
  4. Themistocles

Explanation

Pericles dominated Athenian politics for decades and used imperial funds to finance the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis. Themistocles was associated with the Persian Wars and the navy, Alcibiades with the Sicilian Expedition, and Nicias with the peace that bears his name.

Question 15The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which Roman magistrate was responsible for holding the census and reviewing the roll of senators, an office typically held by former consuls?

  1. The aedile
  2. The quaestor
  3. The censor Correct answer.
  4. The tribune

Explanation

The censorship was a prestigious office, usually held by former consuls, responsible for the census and for regulating the membership of the Senate. Aediles managed public works and games, tribunes represented the plebs, and quaestors dealt with finance.

Question 16The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

How did the Athenian practice of sortition (selection by lot) for most public offices shape the character of its democracy?

  1. It ensured that only trained experts could hold office
  2. It concentrated power in the hands of a hereditary nobility
  3. It restricted office to the wealthiest citizens
  4. It made office-holding broadly accessible to ordinary male citizens Correct answer.

Explanation

Sortition, together with pay for jury service and office, opened most positions to any eligible male citizen regardless of wealth, which is why Athenian democracy is described as radically participatory. It did not select for expertise or restrict office to the rich or to a hereditary class.

Question 17The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Why did the Roman practice of holding two consulships annually and limiting terms serve as a check on individual power?

  1. It ensured that power was shared and temporary rather than concentrated in one person Correct answer.
  2. It encouraged competition that destabilised the state
  3. It gave the army control over the appointment of commanders
  4. It allowed one consul to overrule the other permanently

Explanation

Collegiality and annual tenure were central to the Republican idea of libertas, preventing any single magistrate from holding lasting power. The mutual veto and short terms were designed to balance authority, not to encourage permanent dominance or military control of appointments.

Question 18The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

What was the principal function of the Athenian liturgies (leitourgiai) in the classical city?

  1. They were taxes paid by metics to the state
  2. They were religious sacrifices performed by priests
  3. They were military levies raised from the allies
  4. They were compulsory public services funded by wealthy citizens Correct answer.

Explanation

Liturgies were obligatory public services, such as equipping a warship or funding a chorus, imposed on wealthy citizens as a way of redistributing their resources to the city. They were not priestly sacrifices, metic taxes or allied military levies.

Question 19The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which event in 146 BC saw the destruction of Carthage and the creation of a Roman province in North Africa?

  1. The end of the Second Macedonian War
  2. The Battle of Cannae
  3. The sack of Corinth
  4. The end of the Third Punic War Correct answer.

Explanation

The Third Punic War ended in 146 BC with the destruction of Carthage and the establishment of the province of Africa. Corinth was sacked in the same year but in a different conflict, and Cannae was a battle in the Second Punic War.

Question 20The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which group of non-citizen residents in Athens, often involved in trade and finance, paid a special tax and required a citizen sponsor?

  1. The patricians
  2. The perioikoi
  3. The helots
  4. The metics Correct answer.

Explanation

Metics were free resident foreigners in Athens who paid the metoikion, needed a citizen patron and could not own land, yet played a major role in commerce and crafts. Helots and perioikoi were Spartan categories, and patricians were Roman.

Question 21The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

The reforms of Augustus after 27 BC are best described as which kind of political settlement?

  1. A monarchy disguised as the restoration of the Republic Correct answer.
  2. A democratic revolution giving power to the assemblies
  3. The restoration of the old Republican constitution in full
  4. A temporary dictatorship limited to ten years

Explanation

Augustus claimed to have restored the Republic while in fact concentrating military and political power in his own hands through the principate. The old assemblies continued to meet but real authority lay with the emperor and his household.

Question 22The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

How did the reforms of Cleisthenes weaken the influence of traditional aristocratic kinship groups in Athenian politics?

  1. By abolishing the Assembly entirely
  2. By restricting citizenship to the old noble families
  3. By reorganising citizens into new tribes based on locality rather than family Correct answer.
  4. By transferring power to the Areopagus

Explanation

Cleisthenes created ten new tribes drawing on demes scattered across Attica, mixing citizens from different regions and breaking the local power bases of aristocratic families. He did not abolish the Assembly, narrow citizenship or strengthen the Areopagus.

Question 23The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which factor best explains why the Roman Republic's system of annual magistracies came under strain during the late Republic?

  1. The growth of empire and armies that could be loyal to individual commanders Correct answer.
  2. The absence of any military command
  3. The abolition of the Senate
  4. The refusal of the allies to fight for Rome

Explanation

As Rome acquired provinces and long-running campaigns, generals such as Marius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar built armies dependent on them personally, undermining the collegial and temporary structure of Republican command. The Senate still existed, and the allies fought for Rome until the Social War over citizenship.

Question 24The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

In what way did the Spartan agoge function as a state institution rather than a purely private upbringing?

  1. It was open only to perioikoi and helots
  2. It focused primarily on literacy and philosophy
  3. It was run by individual families without public oversight
  4. It was funded and supervised by the polis and trained boys for citizenship and warfare Correct answer.

Explanation

The agoge was a public system of education and discipline that took boys from their families and trained them in endurance, obedience and military skills for the sake of the citizen body. It was not a private family matter, was reserved for citizens, and emphasised martial rather than literary training.

Question 25The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Why is the term 'Delian League' misleading as a description of Athenian policy after the mid-fifth century?

  1. Because the League was dissolved immediately after its foundation
  2. Because it excluded all Ionian cities
  3. Because Sparta was always its leading member
  4. Because Athens turned a voluntary alliance into an empire controlled by its own assemblies and treasuries Correct answer.

Explanation

The League began as a voluntary alliance with its treasury on Delos, but Athens moved the treasury to the Acropolis, used allied funds for its own building programme and coerced members who tried to leave. It was never dissolved immediately, was not led by Sparta, and included many Ionian cities.

Question 26The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

In the Roman Republic, which assembly elected the consuls and other senior magistrates and passed laws, functioning as the sovereign body of the Roman people?

  1. The Tribal Assembly (comitia tributa)
  2. The Centuriate Assembly (comitia centuriata) Correct answer.
  3. The Senate (senatus)
  4. The Plebeian Council (concilium plebis)

Explanation

The Centuriate Assembly, organized by centuries and weighted toward the wealthiest classes, elected consuls, praetors, and censors and voted on declarations of war and major laws. It was the chief elective and legislative assembly of the Republic, though the Tribal Assembly and Plebeian Council also had legislative functions.

Question 27The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Which body in the Athenian democracy prepared the agenda for the Assembly and consisted of 500 citizens chosen by lot, 50 from each of the ten tribes?

  1. The Assembly of the People (Ekklesia)
  2. The Council of 500 (Boule) Correct answer.
  3. The Board of Ten Generals (strategoi)
  4. The Areopagus

Explanation

The Council of 500, or Boule, was selected annually by lot from the ten Cleisthenic tribes and set the agenda for meetings of the Assembly. It also oversaw many administrative tasks and prepared motions for the citizen body to debate and vote on.

Question 28The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

How did the Roman system of clientela (patron-client relationships) affect Republican politics?

  1. It created a formal legal obligation that bound clients to vote as their patron instructed in the Centuriate Assembly.
  2. It was a purely economic arrangement that had no impact on elections or legislation.
  3. It provided a network through which patrons could mobilize political support, but it did not constitute a legally enforceable voting bloc. Correct answer.
  4. It applied only to freed slaves and therefore had little influence on the highest magistracies.

Explanation

Clientela was a reciprocal social relationship in which clients owed deference and services to patrons, who in turn offered protection and aid. While it could deliver reliable political support and votes, it was based on custom and mutual obligation rather than legal enforcement, and clients were not formally bound to obey voting instructions.

Question 29The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

What was the principal role of the Athenian ephēbeia in the classical city?

  1. It was a compulsory two-year military and civic training for young male citizens after they reached adulthood. Correct answer.
  2. It was the scrutiny (dokimasia) of newly appointed magistrates before they took office.
  3. It was the procedure by which metics were registered as resident foreigners and assigned a patron.
  4. It was a religious festival in which adolescent girls served the goddess Artemis at Brauron.

Explanation

The ephēbeia was a state-organized program of military training and civic education for young Athenian men, typically beginning at age 18. Ephebes served as garrison troops and received instruction in weapons, drill, and the laws of the city before attaining full citizen rights.

Question 30The Greek and Roman World: historical, social and political context

Why did the Roman Senate's practice of issuing a senatus consultum ultimum (final decree) in the late Republic provoke controversy?

  1. It authorized the consuls to take any measures necessary to protect the state, potentially including the killing of citizens without trial, which raised questions about the limits of magisterial power. Correct answer.
  2. It required the censors to expel senators who had violated the decree, thereby turning the Senate against itself.
  3. It permanently transferred command of the army to the Senate, bypassing the popular assemblies' role in declaring war.
  4. It dissolved the office of tribune for the duration of the emergency, removing the plebeians' veto.

Explanation

The senatus consultum ultimum was an emergency decree urging the consuls to see that the state suffered no harm. Because it could be used to justify lethal force against citizens, such as Gaius Gracchus in 121 BC and the Catilinarian conspirators in 63 BC, it raised enduring questions about whether magistrates could execute citizens without trial and whether the Senate could override citizen rights.

Question 31Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In Homer's Iliad, which mortal warrior kills Hector outside the walls of Troy?

  1. Achilles Correct answer.
  2. Patroclus
  3. Diomedes
  4. Ajax the Great

Explanation

Achilles returns to battle after Hector kills Patroclus and slays Hector in single combat, dragging the body behind his chariot. This act of vengeance is the climax of the Iliad's wrath theme.

Question 32Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which Olympian goddess is born fully grown from the head of Zeus, according to Hesiod's Theogony?

  1. Athena Correct answer.
  2. Hera
  3. Artemis
  4. Aphrodite

Explanation

Hesiod describes Zeus swallowing Metis and later giving birth to Athena from his own head, where she emerges armed. The myth establishes her as a goddess of wisdom and war closely tied to Zeus's authority.

Question 33Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In Virgil's Aeneid, which city must Aeneas found in Italy, as revealed by prophecy?

  1. Pallanteum
  2. Lavinium Correct answer.
  3. Carthage
  4. Alba Longa

Explanation

Prophecies in the Aeneid direct Aeneas to Latium, where he founds Lavinium, named after his Latin bride Lavinia. Alba Longa is founded later by his son Ascanius, and Rome by Romulus far afterward.

Question 34Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which Greek hero completes the Twelve Labours imposed by Eurystheus?

  1. Perseus
  2. Heracles Correct answer.
  3. Theseus
  4. Bellerophon

Explanation

Heracles performs the Twelve Labours for Eurystheus as penance, including slaying the Nemean Lion and capturing Cerberus. The labours are his defining mythic cycle and a common subject in Greek art.

Question 35Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which Roman god is identified with the Greek god Ares?

  1. Mars Correct answer.
  2. Mercury
  3. Saturn
  4. Vulcan

Explanation

Roman Mars corresponds to Greek Ares as a god of war, though Mars held far greater civic importance at Rome as ancestor of the Romans. The pairing is standard in interpretatio romana.

Question 36Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, what food does Persephone eat in the underworld, binding her to it?

  1. An apple
  2. A fig
  3. A pomegranate seed Correct answer.
  4. A barley cake

Explanation

Persephone swallows pomegranate seeds in Hades, and this act of consumption obliges her to return to the underworld for part of each year. The compromise explains the seasonal cycle of vegetation.

Question 37Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which Trojan prince judges the beauty contest that leads to the Trojan War?

  1. Aeneas
  2. Deiphobus
  3. Paris Correct answer.
  4. Hector

Explanation

Paris awards the golden apple to Aphrodite in exchange for Helen, triggering the war. His judgement of the three goddesses is a standard mythological cause of the conflict.

Question 38Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

What is the primary function of the Roman Vestal Virgins?

  1. Leading the Lupercalia procession
  2. Guarding the sacred fire of Vesta Correct answer.
  3. Reading auguries from birds
  4. Maintaining the Sibylline Books

Explanation

The Vestals tended the hearth fire of Vesta in the Forum, a duty believed to safeguard Rome's survival. Their chastity and ritual purity were central to the state religion.

Question 39Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In Ovid's Metamorphoses, which character is transformed into a laurel tree while fleeing Apollo?

  1. Daphne Correct answer.
  2. Syrinx
  3. Callisto
  4. Io

Explanation

Daphne escapes Apollo's pursuit when her father Peneus turns her into a laurel, which Apollo then claims as his sacred tree. The tale explains the laurel's association with Apollo and triumph.

Question 40Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which Greek deity is the patron of Delphi, where the Pythia delivered oracles?

  1. Dionysus
  2. Athena
  3. Apollo Correct answer.
  4. Zeus

Explanation

Apollo slays the serpent Python and establishes his sanctuary at Delphi, where the Pythia prophesies in his name. Dionysus also had a presence at Delphi, but Apollo is the primary oracular god.

Question 41Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In the Aeneid, why does Dido curse Aeneas and his descendants as she dies?

  1. He reveals her secret parentage
  2. He refuses to trade with Carthage
  3. He abandons her after their union Correct answer.
  4. He destroys her fleet in battle

Explanation

Aeneas leaves Carthage on divine orders after Dido has fallen in love with him, and she kills herself, cursing the Trojans. Virgil frames her curse as a mythic cause of the later Punic Wars.

Question 42Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which ritual practice best illustrates the Roman concept of do ut des in sacrifice?

  1. Dancing in honour of Mars before battle
  2. Offering a gift in expectation of divine favour Correct answer.
  3. Reading the entrails of a sacrificed animal
  4. Fasting before a festival

Explanation

Do ut des, 'I give so that you may give', captures the contractual reciprocity of Roman sacrifice, where an offering obliges the god to respond. It differs from pure thanksgiving or communion.

Question 43Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which figure in Greek myth is punished in Tartarus by being forced to roll a boulder uphill forever?

  1. Sisyphus Correct answer.
  2. Tantalus
  3. Tityos
  4. Ixion

Explanation

Sisyphus, punished for his deceit, must push a stone up a hill only to see it roll back each time. The endless, futile labour is a standard example of eternal punishment in Tartarus.

Question 44Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, how does Oedipus learn the truth of his identity?

  1. From a messenger and the Theban shepherd Correct answer.
  2. From Jocasta's brother Creon alone
  3. By consulting the Pythia at Delphi in person
  4. Through a dream sent by Apollo

Explanation

A messenger from Corinth reveals Oedipus was a foundling, and the Theban shepherd confirms he was the exposed child of Laius. Together they complete the recognition that he killed his father and married his mother.

Question 45Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which Roman festival, held in December, involved role reversal and gift-giving and is linked to the god Saturn?

  1. Lupercalia
  2. Cerealia
  3. Floralia
  4. Saturnalia Correct answer.

Explanation

Saturnalia honoured Saturn with public feasting, temporary relaxation of social hierarchy, and gift exchange. Its December date and festive inversion are well attested in Roman sources.

Question 46Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In the myth of Orpheus, why does he lose Eurydice a second time?

  1. He eats food offered by Hades
  2. He looks back at her before reaching the upper world Correct answer.
  3. He sings too loudly in the underworld
  4. He refuses to pay Charon's fee

Explanation

Hades permits Eurydice to follow Orpheus on condition that he not look back until they reach the surface. He turns to check on her, and she vanishes back into the underworld.

Question 47Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which Greek goddess is associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries alongside Demeter?

  1. Hera
  2. Persephone Correct answer.
  3. Hestia
  4. Eileithyia

Explanation

The Eleusinian Mysteries centred on Demeter and her daughter Persephone, whose return from Hades promised initiates a better afterlife. The pair are the focal deities of the cult.

Question 48Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In Virgil's Aeneid, which deity is Aeneas's mother and repeatedly intervenes on his behalf?

  1. Venus Correct answer.
  2. Juno
  3. Minerva
  4. Diana

Explanation

Venus is Aeneas's mother and consistently protects him, even obtaining new armour from Vulcan. Juno opposes him throughout, making the divine conflict central to the epic's structure.

Question 49Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

Which feature distinguishes a hero cult from the worship of an Olympian god in Greek religion?

  1. It focused on a local tomb and chthonic offerings Correct answer.
  2. It required human sacrifice
  3. It was conducted only at Delphi
  4. It was restricted to aristocratic families

Explanation

Hero cults typically centred on a claimed tomb or relic and used chthonic offerings such as libations to the ground. This local, tomb-based focus separates them from the civic temples of the Olympians.

Question 50Greek and Roman Mythology and Religion

In Hesiod's Works and Days, which figure opens the jar that releases evils into the world?

  1. Medea
  2. Eve
  3. Helen
  4. Pandora Correct answer.

Explanation

Pandora, the first woman created by the gods, opens the jar and lets loose the world's evils, leaving only Hope inside. Hesiod uses the episode to explain human suffering and toil.