Deck 1: The Nature of Myth

Full screen (f)
exit full mode
Question
What did the Greek word mythos originally mean?

A) "digression"
B) "authoritative speech" or "story"
C) "family tree"
D) "interpretation"
Use Space or
up arrow
down arrow
to flip the card.
Question
The word "character" comes from a Greek word meaning _______.

A) "a certain mental imprint"
B) "genealogy"
C) "interpretation"
D) "system of belief"
Question
Like all other stories, myths have which three elements?

A) plot
B) a fixed theme
C) characters
D) setting
Question
The Greeks eventually came to contrast mythos with ______, or "account."

A) ethos
B) syntaxis
C) synthesis
D) logos
Question
_______ are stories of the great deeds of human heroes or heroines.

A) Divine myths
B) Legends
C) Folktales
D) Fairy tales
Question
What are some of the features of supernatural beings in divine myths?

A) They can take on human or animal shapes at will
B) They control awesome forces of nature
C) Conflicts among them take place on an immense scale
D) They are all little more than personified abstractions
Question
Zeus, the Greek sky-god, is depicted in which of the following ways in Greek myths?

A) The creator of all human moral commandments
B) The upholder of justice in human communities
C) A powerful father
D) An often unfaithful husband
Question
Divine myth is easily confused with _______.

A) fairy tales
B) modern forms of storytelling such as novels and films
C) religion
D) folktales
Question
Both _______ and _______ offer explanations of why the world is the way it is, though in different ways.

A) divine myth
B) archaeology
C) legend
D) science
Question
Which of the following are among the qualities of the heroes and heroines in legends?

A) Members of important families regarded themselves as descended from them
B) They are drawn from all levels of society
C) They have extraordinary physical and personal qualities
D) They are understood to belong to the very distant past
Question
Greek myth tells us more about the _______ than it does about life in the distant past.

A) Minoans
B) preconceptions of modern scholars
C) the circumstances and concerns of its transmitters
D) Greeks' relationship with other cultures
Question
Stories like "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "Sinbad the Sailor" could be considered _______.

A) etiological tales
B) divine myths
C) sagas
D) folktales
Question
Which of the following qualities are often found in the main characters of folktales?

A) They are always animals
B) They are of low social status, at least in the beginning
C) They are persecuted or victimized in some way
D) They are understood to have lived in the not-too-distant past
Question
Scholars recognize more than ______ folktale types, even in stories from cultures far apart in space and time.

A) seven
B) seventy
C) one hundred and seventy
D) seven hundred
Question
What defines a folktale type?

A) There is no agreed-upon definition of a folktale type
B) The presence of a single, defined folktale motif
C) The presence of a quest
D) A recurring constellation of folktale motifs
Question
Which of the following is not an example of a folktale motif?

A) "a magic carpet"
B) "a brother"
C) "a magic object that protects against attack"
D) "a dragon that guards a spring"
Question
Which of the following are characteristics of a folktale quest?

A) The hero must overcome a powerful antagonist
B) The hero is punished by the gods for his hubris
C) The hero needs special assistance along the way
D) The antagonist initially gets the better of the hero, but he escapes
Question
The word "mythology" should mean what?

A) "oral narratives"
B) "the study of myth"
C) "[only] Greek and Roman traditional narratives"
D) "the collective evidence for all myths, in all versions"
Question
Which of the following is not one of the four categories into which modern scholars group the study of myth?

A) The recording and compilation of a given culture's myths
B) The analysis of the role that specific myths play or played within a culture
C) The cataloguing of myths that are confirmed by archaeology
D) The assessment of the lasting human significance of specific myths or groups of myths
Question
The principal source for the study of ancient myths is _______.

A) works of literature
B) archaeology
C) ancient art
D) inscriptions from the Late Bronze Age
Question
<strong>  The figure on the left represents Nikê (victory) and, in Greek myth, she is best described as _______.</strong> A) little more than an abstract conception B) the spiritual representative of any given Greek community C) the preeminent and most characteristic Greek goddess D) a goddess with a distinct personality, like Zeus or Hera <div style=padding-top: 35px> The figure on the left represents Nikê ("victory") and, in Greek myth, she is best described as _______.

A) little more than an abstract conception
B) the spiritual representative of any given Greek community
C) the preeminent and most characteristic Greek goddess
D) a goddess with a distinct personality, like Zeus or Hera
Unlock Deck
Sign up to unlock the cards in this deck!
Unlock Deck
Unlock Deck
1/21
auto play flashcards
Play
simple tutorial
Full screen (f)
exit full mode
Deck 1: The Nature of Myth
1
What did the Greek word mythos originally mean?

A) "digression"
B) "authoritative speech" or "story"
C) "family tree"
D) "interpretation"
B
2
The word "character" comes from a Greek word meaning _______.

A) "a certain mental imprint"
B) "genealogy"
C) "interpretation"
D) "system of belief"
A
3
Like all other stories, myths have which three elements?

A) plot
B) a fixed theme
C) characters
D) setting
A,C,D
4
The Greeks eventually came to contrast mythos with ______, or "account."

A) ethos
B) syntaxis
C) synthesis
D) logos
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
5
_______ are stories of the great deeds of human heroes or heroines.

A) Divine myths
B) Legends
C) Folktales
D) Fairy tales
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
6
What are some of the features of supernatural beings in divine myths?

A) They can take on human or animal shapes at will
B) They control awesome forces of nature
C) Conflicts among them take place on an immense scale
D) They are all little more than personified abstractions
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
7
Zeus, the Greek sky-god, is depicted in which of the following ways in Greek myths?

A) The creator of all human moral commandments
B) The upholder of justice in human communities
C) A powerful father
D) An often unfaithful husband
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
8
Divine myth is easily confused with _______.

A) fairy tales
B) modern forms of storytelling such as novels and films
C) religion
D) folktales
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
9
Both _______ and _______ offer explanations of why the world is the way it is, though in different ways.

A) divine myth
B) archaeology
C) legend
D) science
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
10
Which of the following are among the qualities of the heroes and heroines in legends?

A) Members of important families regarded themselves as descended from them
B) They are drawn from all levels of society
C) They have extraordinary physical and personal qualities
D) They are understood to belong to the very distant past
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
11
Greek myth tells us more about the _______ than it does about life in the distant past.

A) Minoans
B) preconceptions of modern scholars
C) the circumstances and concerns of its transmitters
D) Greeks' relationship with other cultures
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
12
Stories like "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "Sinbad the Sailor" could be considered _______.

A) etiological tales
B) divine myths
C) sagas
D) folktales
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
13
Which of the following qualities are often found in the main characters of folktales?

A) They are always animals
B) They are of low social status, at least in the beginning
C) They are persecuted or victimized in some way
D) They are understood to have lived in the not-too-distant past
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
14
Scholars recognize more than ______ folktale types, even in stories from cultures far apart in space and time.

A) seven
B) seventy
C) one hundred and seventy
D) seven hundred
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
15
What defines a folktale type?

A) There is no agreed-upon definition of a folktale type
B) The presence of a single, defined folktale motif
C) The presence of a quest
D) A recurring constellation of folktale motifs
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
16
Which of the following is not an example of a folktale motif?

A) "a magic carpet"
B) "a brother"
C) "a magic object that protects against attack"
D) "a dragon that guards a spring"
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
17
Which of the following are characteristics of a folktale quest?

A) The hero must overcome a powerful antagonist
B) The hero is punished by the gods for his hubris
C) The hero needs special assistance along the way
D) The antagonist initially gets the better of the hero, but he escapes
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
18
The word "mythology" should mean what?

A) "oral narratives"
B) "the study of myth"
C) "[only] Greek and Roman traditional narratives"
D) "the collective evidence for all myths, in all versions"
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
19
Which of the following is not one of the four categories into which modern scholars group the study of myth?

A) The recording and compilation of a given culture's myths
B) The analysis of the role that specific myths play or played within a culture
C) The cataloguing of myths that are confirmed by archaeology
D) The assessment of the lasting human significance of specific myths or groups of myths
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
20
The principal source for the study of ancient myths is _______.

A) works of literature
B) archaeology
C) ancient art
D) inscriptions from the Late Bronze Age
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
21
<strong>  The figure on the left represents Nikê (victory) and, in Greek myth, she is best described as _______.</strong> A) little more than an abstract conception B) the spiritual representative of any given Greek community C) the preeminent and most characteristic Greek goddess D) a goddess with a distinct personality, like Zeus or Hera The figure on the left represents Nikê ("victory") and, in Greek myth, she is best described as _______.

A) little more than an abstract conception
B) the spiritual representative of any given Greek community
C) the preeminent and most characteristic Greek goddess
D) a goddess with a distinct personality, like Zeus or Hera
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.
Unlock Deck
k this deck
locked card icon
Unlock Deck
Unlock for access to all 21 flashcards in this deck.