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1. A young man causes a tragic chariot accident on an intersection on the road from Corinth to Thebes, which results in the death of an old man. Years later, now the king of Thebes, he is haunted by the consequences of his rash actions. Which tragedy is this?
2. Odysseus and the Atreidai maroon a famed Trojan War archer on the desert island of Lemnos, where he subsists on roots, berries, and whatever wildlife he can shoot with his bow. This tragedy revolves around his yearning for such delicacies as spanakopita and baklava.
3. Some famous Romans seem to have had severe allergy problems. In an age before antihistamines, decongestants, and allergy shots, their affliction seems to have become their nickname. Who would these famous Romans be?
4. Cleopatra is reputed to have committed suicide with the bite from a snake. What you probably didn't know was that she was also an amateur herpetologist, and had a large collection of snakes. What did she name her favorite python?
5. This famous Greek epic narrates the adventures and wanderings of one Trojan War hero trying to find his way home. When he tells his people all the monsters and magic he's encountered, they don't believe him, and actually think he's something of a weirdo. Which epic would this be?
6. Even though the Romans had a well-trained army, they preferred non-violent ways to resolve their conflicts with other nations. In fact, the Romans and the Carthaginians settled their differences in a series of joke-telling competitions. What were these known as?
7. In the 5th century BC, the face of Greek philosophy was forever changed by the introduction of a new sport: Soccer. Formerly given over to chatting about life, the universe, and everything in the shade of the local Stoa, philosophers became increasingly distracted by the sport. In fact, this event was so disruptive that the group of all the philosophers who had lived before this event were given a special name. What was it?
8. Euripides became increasingly harried and politically unpopular during his lifetime. Like many politicians nowadays, he didn't want to think about how his own actions might have caused this. Instead, he blamed the whole problem on one of his plays. Which one? (As in: "Blame the liberal _________")
9. Speaking of Greek tragedies, the Muppets once did a production of one of Aeschylus' plays. The chorus in particular was particularly interesting, with all of the Muppets dressed up as the fearful, dreadful, disgusting, terrifying, gore-dripping, blood-spewing, horrifically ugly Daughters of Night, hounding our hero Orestes (played by Kermit the Frog, naturally.) However, they decided to change the play's name to something more appropriate to the nature of the actors. What did they decide to call this play?
10. Consider, if you will, what piece of literature would have resulted if our hero Achilles, really wanted to be a comic playwright? What would the poem likely have been called?
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