World Literature Test

30 Questions | Attempts: 145
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World Literature Test - Quiz

If you fancy yourself a literature fanatic and are up to answering specifically designed questions that gauge your knowledge try out this quiz. It is a simple set of questions therefore it will be easy to answer.


Questions and Answers
  • 1. 

    ·         Food Surplus: o   Eventually, as farming populations increased in the rich alluvial plains along major rivers, like the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in Pakistan, and the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, people began to produce a surplus of food. Small trading centers gradually grew into _____.

  • 2. 

    ·         Job Specialization: o   As labor became more specialized and efficient, more workers were drawn away from cyclical, seasonal, _______ communities, where women were important, to these newer, more ______ centers; power became more centralized and the organization of larger public projects gained in importance. The creation of a military marked the increasing importance of men in urban society.

  • 3. 

    ·         Mathematics and bookkeeping: ·         The new urban dwellers developed systems of mathematics and bookkeeping. Political organizations and bureaucracies evolved that coordinated the building of palaces, temples, pyramids, and statues. Priests created yearly calendars to mark the passage of season and to regulate annual ceremonies. The invention of ______ was the glue that held these urban complexities together. Writing was first used to keep _______ accounts and tax records. It was later used to record and thus preserve an extensive _______ literature that had previously been transmitted orally: myths about the origins of the world, hymns to the deities, and stories about the creation of human culture. With the written word, ____ were composed to honor famous warriors and their exploits; histories of kings, and an extensive history of warfare was set down. New, increased attention was paid to this world and to individuals’ needs, which led to a new consciousness of the self. Mesopotamian mathematicians and astronomers discovered the movement of planets through constellations of fixed stars, which led to what was probably the earliest systematic cosmogony. A hierarchy of deities reflecting heavenly patterns became the model for an earthly hierarchal system of kings and priests. 

  • 4. 

    ·         Written language: pictographic, cuneiform, hieroglyphic: o   The _______ stage tends to be an early stage in all writing systems. A _______ is a picture used to represent an idea. o   ________ is a series of wedge-shaped marks that stood for syllables or sounds and not letters. They were capable of expressing a full range of meaning. (Mesopotamia) _______ writing= (symbols that mean something). o   _________ writing: A writing system using picture symbols to represent sounds, words, or images instead of alphabetical letters. It was used by the ancient Egyptians. _________ writing = (pictures but it’s not literal like pictographs are).

  • 5. 

    ·         Temple (_______)-The high place: o   A temple tower of the ancient Akkadians and Babylonians in the form of a terraced pyramid with each story smaller than the one below it. o   The earthly residence of the god or gods, took its place in the center of the city-state.

  • 6. 

    ·         Cosmogony: o   A picture or model of the cosmos that demonstrates how life on _____ with its rulers and systems of government is ________ with the powers and patterns of the ______. o   An explanation for the origins of the universe and how the functioning of the heavens is related to the religious, political, and social organization of life on earth. The primary function of creation myths, such as the Hebrew Book of Genesis and the Mesopotamian Epic of Creation, is to depict a cosmogonic model of the universe.

  • 7. 

    O   An ancient Egyptian word for the idea of “right order” or justice, the baiss of both cosmic order and a civil society. Was associated wit heither the sun-god Re or the creator Ptah.

  • 8. 

    O   The principle of justice in ancient Greece was named this; it eventually evolved into Logos. o   In Greek mythology, the deity who assigns to every person his or her lot.

  • 9. 

    O   In ancient Greece, philosophers such as Aristotle used this word to mean reason or thought as opposed to pathos or feeling and emotion. This word was thought of as the controlling principle of the universe made manifest in speech or rhetoric.

  • 10. 

    ·         Yahweh as a source of justice: o   In Israel, a just universe was _______ by the Jewish god Yahweh, who, the Jews believed, personally intervened in history to uphold righteousness. 

  • 11. 

    ·         Death/resurrection pattern in mythology: o   A religious interpretation of the sky and the cosmos in early stories is usually balanced by a concern with the earth, the cycle of ______ that becomes the basis of religious ritual. The transformation of a seed into a plant is compared to the phases in the life of a spiritual being, a god or a goddess. Out of this natural process came the complex rituals or ceremonies in which the birth, growth, and death of the god of nature were dramatized and acted out. Often these dramas contain the secrets of immortality and life after death. In ancient Sumer, the story of the descent of the goddess Inanna into the underworld reflects the vegetation cycle; in Egypt the same cycle is dramatized in the story of ____ and the death and resurrection of ______. In ______, the yearly agricultural cycles are invoked by the story of ______  and _______; and in Syria in the story of Attis. The Christian Easter services and rituals seem a successor to these ceremonies.  o   Seasonal change: Greeks have story of Demeter (Godess of nature) and Persephone, her daughter, who ate 6 pomegranate seeds, which forced her to return to the underworld for a period of time each year, which explains the seasonal changes. (Winter/fall= sad. Summer/spring=happy) o   Egyptian story of seasons: Isis and Osiris (One of the greatest cults of Egypt was formed around the god Osiris, whose worship is considered a prototype of the dying and rising “vegetation” gods that appeared in many cultures throughout the ancient world.  In other words, his death and resurrection were celebrated annually as part of the recognition of the changing of the seasons.  In the spring floods, the Nile would bring water to the plains and vegetation for food would be luxuriant; at the end of the growing season, the people annually mourned the death of the god)

  • 12. 

    ·         Heroic ages: o   ______ Heroic Age: occurred near the end of the second millennium B.C.E. (2000 B.C.E)? o   Heroic age of ______ followed a few centuries later (550 BCE-100 CE) o   Heroic age of ______ ______ is dated from the 4th to 6th centuries C.E. (300-600 CE) o   Heroic Age of ________ flourished some 1500 years before Greece—the Sumerian Heroic Age of Mesopotamia. (3500 B.C.E) o   Hebrews – all I know is that it was BCE.

  • 13. 

    ·         Zoroastrianism o   A dualistic religion founded in ancient ______ by Zoroaster. It teaches that two powerful forces—light and darkness, ____ and ____—are engaged in a struggle that will eventually erupt into a cataclysmic ___ in which ____ will prevail, leading to the DESTRUCTION of  the earth!!!!! :o

  • 14. 

    O   The earliest Indian sacred texts, written in Sanskrit; they contain hymns and ritual lore considered to be revelation, or sruti.

  • 15. 

    O   In the Upanishads—sacred Hindu tests—_______ is the ultimate reality, the single unifying essence of the universe that transcends all names and descriptions. A _______, or ______, is also a _____ priest and this of the highest caste in the traditional _____ caste system. o   Brahmanic period: The period in ancient India in which Vedic society was dominated by the Brahmins and every aspect of _____ life was under the control of _______ rituals. Both heroic epics of Indian culture, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, were originally formulated and told in this period. o   _______—the priestly caste, the highest in the tradition _____ caste system; a _____ priest.

  • 16. 

    ·         Buddhism o   A religion founded in India in the 6th century BCA by _______ Gautama, the Buddha. While Buddhism has taken different forms in the many areas of the world to which it has spread, its central tenet is that life is suffering caused by desire. In order to obtain salvation, or _______ , one must transcend desire through following an eightfold ____ that includes the practice of right action and right mindfulness.

  • 17. 

    ·         Concept of sin; karma o   The concept of sin was developed to explain the existence of ____ in the world. o   The doctrine of karma articulated the relationship between _____ and ______ , extending even into previous lifetimes.(Hindu)

  • 18. 

    ·         Greek Philosophers o   ______- a professional teacher (a ______), who was seen as further weakening the appeal of civic responsibility through his teachings on personal knowledge and the inner voice, ,even though he himself had served in the army and had been elected to the Council, a body that prepared the political agenda for the genral Assembl to which all citizens were welcome. He was sentenced to death. o   ____  was _______'s most famous pupil. He founded a school, the ______. o   ______'s star pupil was _______, the philosopher who conceived of _____ and then used it to codify human knowledge.

  • 19. 

    ·         BCE and CE: o   CE = common era (formerly known as AD) o   B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (anno Domini, “in the year of the Lord) were developed by a Scythian monk, Dionysius Exiguus.

  • 20. 

    ·         The Bow of ______ o   The bow of ______ was crafted by the skilled armourers of the mighty sun god _______ and gifted to the hero Gilgamesh before he and Enkidu ventured off to kill the demon and guardian of the cedar forest, _______ . A personal gift to Gilgamesh, the bow is of tremendous strength and can shoot arrows that cover vast distances. It is a formidable weapon in the hands of the hunter and warrior and few can match its strength.

  • 21. 

    ·         _____ of _____ o    Gilgamesh has a magic ___, one that's identified with Enkidu himself in a dream. (The ___ is called '_____ of _____' 

  • 22. 

    ·         Ishtar o   The goddess of love and fertility, as well as the goddess of war. Ishtar is frequently called the Queen of Heaven. Capricious and mercurial, sometimes she is a nurturing mother figure, and other times she is spiteful and cruel. She is the patroness of Uruk, where she has a temple. o   Ishtar- Asks Gilgamesh to be her _____ (she is a goddess). She represents the Earth’s _____ and is proposing that Gilgamesh become the year-king. He would have to be _______ at the end of the year if he accepts the proposal so he denies it. o   Rejected and angry, Ishtar tries to punish Gilgamesh and Enkidu with the ____ of ______, which they kill. o   Enkidu throws the bull’s right thigh at Ishtar’s face (disrespect)

  • 23. 

    ·         ________ o   The fearsome giant demon who guards the Cedar Forest forbidden to mortals. Humbaba’s seven garments produce an aura that paralyzes with fear anyone who would withstand him. He is the personification of awesome natural power and menace. His mouth is fire, he roars like a flood, and he breathes death, much like an erupting volcano. In his very last moments he acquires personality and pathos, when he pleads cunningly for his life. o   ______ is a _____. (When Gilgamesh and his new best friend Enkidu defeat the giant, it symbolizes the extension of civilization) o   This gives the 2 men the confidence to return to Uruk as independent, self-relying warriors.

  • 24. 

    O   _______ the ferryman: Transports ____ into the realm of the ____. o   In order for Gilgamesh to reach Utnapishtim, they must cross the waters of _____ or chaos. o    The guardian of the mysterious “stone things.” _______  pilots a small ferryboat across the Waters of _____ to the Far Away place where _______ lives. He loses this privilege when he accepts Gilgamesh as a passenger, so he returns with him to Uruk.

  • 25. 

    ·         Bull of Heaven o   The bull of heaven was sent by _____ as revenge for Gilgamesh and Enkidu, because she felt rejected and angry. o   Gilgamesh and Enkidu _____ the Bull of Heaven.

  • 26. 

    ·         o    God of earth, wind, and air. A superior deity, _____ is not very fond of humankind. o   the God _____, who was annoyed by man’s _____ so he decided to destroy them all (Part of Utnapishtim's story)...

  • 27. 

    ·        ___: o   The god of fresh water, crafts, and wisdom, a patron of humankind. He lives in Apsu, the primal waters below the Earth. o   ___has an oath with ________, that’s why Utnapishtim lived through the great _____. o   _______ had an ____ with___, so ___ warned him in a ______ of what _____ wanted to do.  

  • 28. 

    _______: o    The mother of Gilgamesh, also called the Lady Wildcow ______. She is a minor goddess, noted for her wisdom. Her husband is Lugulbanda.

  • 29. 

    ·         Coming of Enkidu—why? o   Companion and friend of Gilgamesh. Hairy-bodied and brawny, Enkidu was raised by animals. Even after he joins the civilized world, he retains many of his undomesticated characteristics. Enkidu looks much like Gilgamesh and is almost his physical equal. He aspires to be Gilgamesh’s rival but instead becomes his soul mate. The gods punish Gilgamesh and Enkidu by giving Enkidu a slow, painful, inglorious death for killing the demon Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. o   He came becase  the people said “no ___ is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all. His lust leaves no _____ to her lover.” So the gods heard of this, and they cried to the Lord of Uruk, to ___, the god of Uruk heard this and called to _____, the goddess of creation, who essentially made Gilgamesh. He said “You made him, now create his _____; let it be like him, his second self. Let them compete together and leave ____ in quiet.” o    he was created to be Gilgamesh´s equal and Soul Brother, so that the young, selfish, brutish and proud king of Uruk could know the meaning of _______, trust, courage and loyalty to become a wholer being.

  • 30. 

    ·         ___ or _____: o   An acronym used to describe the three groupings in Hebrew Scriptures: the ______ (the first 5 books, teachings), the ____'__ (the _______,) and ______ (the writings.) o   _____:  the 5 books of moses o   ____'__: the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. It falls between the _____ (_______) and _______(______). o   ______: the third of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures

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  • Sep 07, 2018
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