NEW QUESTION CONNECTION LANGUAGE ARTS
ANCIENT AND LINEAGE-BASED LITERATURE
In the last decade of his reign, this ancient Babylonian king conquered the last of his rivals to create a unified Mesopotamian state. His most enduring historical legacy, however, was one of the earliest written code of laws. Who was this sixth king of Babylon's Amorite [AM-uh-ryt] Dynasty?
Hammurabi [hah-moo-RAH-bee]
Picking up where Genesis left off, this Biblical book describes the escape of the Israelites from Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses. Which book of the Bible is it?
(Book of) Exodus
This question requires a two-part answer. As told of in chapter 19 of the Book of Genesis, God rained down "brimstone and fire" to destroy what two "cities of the Plain" as punishment for their evil ways?
Sodom AND Gomorrah
Around 400 B.C. the Indian grammarian Panini [pah-NEE-nee] published his Eight Books in which he systemized the rules of what ancient language?
Sanskrit
On his seventh voyage, he was attacked by corsairs. On his sixth voyage, he visited the land of Serendip. On his third voyage, he encountered the Cyclops. Name this seaman whose tale is told in the Thousand and One Nights.
Sinbad (the Sailor) (Accept: Sindbad)
The death of Moses is recounted in which final book of the Biblical Pentateuch [PEN-tuh-took]?
Deuteronomy [doot-ur-AHN-uh-mee]
In 1901, an ancient stone slab was unearthed in Iran. On this slab was inscribed what collection of Babylonian law which prescribed "an eye for an eye" and "a tooth for a tooth"?
Code of Hammurabi (Accept:Hammurabi's Code)
Around 1225 A.D, the historian Snorri [SNOR-ee] Sturluson [STUR-loo-sohn] wrote the Heimskringla [HAYMS-kring-lah], a prose history about the kings of which Scandinavian country?
Norway
The Song of Hildebrand is one of the earliest complete poems from the writings of which European country?
Germany
The Indian sage Valmiki is said to be the author of what great Sanskrit epic in which the prince Rama tries to regain his throne and rescue his wife Sita.
(The) Ramayana [rah-MAH-yuh-nuh]
The ancient tale of Gilgamesh describes a hero who goes on a perilous quest in search of a magical herb that will give anyone who eats it what magical power?
Immortality
Written on seven clay tablets, the Enuma Elish [en-OO-muh EL-ish] is a sacred creation epic from which ancient civilization?
Babylonia
What ridge located east of Jerusalem across the Valley of Kidron is mentioned in the New Testament as the site of Jesus' Ascension?
Mount of Olives
This question requires a multiple answer. These three young princes of Judah were carried into captivity with Daniel. When they refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar's [neb-uh-kuhd-NEZ-urz] golden image, they were cast into the fiery furnace but their faith in the Lord saved them. Name these three Biblical figures.
Shadrach, Meshach, AND Abednego
In an ancient epic, what "wild man of the woods" is created by the gods as a foil for the wicked king Gilgamesh?
Enkidu [en-KEE-doo]
The medieval literature of Iceland is broken down into three categories. These consist of Eddic poetry, saga literature, and what third category of literature made up of sophisticated poems composed by the court poets?
Skaldic [SKAWL-dik] (Poetry or Literature)
Used in ancient times, give the name for the type of carved, upright stone slab that was often inscribed with funerary prayers for the deceased or with the accomplishments of great rulers.
Stele [STEE-lee]
This question requires a multiple answer. What two Indian epics make up the principle sources of Hindu social and religious doctrine?
(The) Mahabharata [muh-hah-BAH-ruh-tuh] AND (The) Ramayana
In Babylonian mythology, she was regarded as the mother of all life and as the goddess of love and war. Name this principle goddess of the ancient Mesopotamians.
Ishtar
It recounts the history of Persia from the dawn of man to the fall of a great empire in the 7th century A.D. Give the title of this national Iranian epic completed in 1010 after its author Firdawsi [fur-DOW-see] worked on it for more than 35 years.
Shah Namah [shah nah-MAH] (Accept: The Book of Kings)
Identify the 11th century Persian mystic, poet, and theologian whose most famous work is the Munajat, a collection of mystical prayers in rhymed prose.
Ansari [ahn-SAHR-ee]
Born of the air and water, he controls the elements through magical words and songs. Who is this greatest Finnish wizard and the hero of the Kalevala [KAH-le-vah-lah]?
Vainamoinen [VIE-nuh-moy-nun]
Dating from the 13th-century, what saga tells the story of Iceland's greatest poet and his lifelong feud with the Norwegian crown?
Egil's Saga
According to the book of Colossians, he was a Gentile and a physician. Later, he became the patron saint of doctors and artists. Name this author of the third Gospel of the New Testament as well as the Acts of the Apostles.
(Saint) Luke
It was regularly used during the time of the Roman Empire, but in the Middle Ages it began to be replaced by parchment, which would didn't cost as much. Identify this ancient writing material used by the people of Palestine, Syria, and Egypt.
Papyrus [puh-PY-ruhs]
After many daring adventures and escapes, he manages to gain great wealth, power, and the hand of the sultan's daughter. Name this character from the Arabian Nights who finds a magic lamp with a genie inside.
Aladdin
Arabic for "readings," the Koran is said to contain the sacred scriptures of which second largest world religion?
Islam
Today, this bird has become a symbol of death and resurrection. Name this eaglelike bird from ancient Arabia which would burn itself to death at the end of its 500-year lifecycle only to arise young again from the ashes.
Phoenix
In the book of Exodus, God sent ten plagues to punish the Egyptians for holding the Israelite people captive. The first plague caused the waters of the Nile River to turn to blood, while the last plague resulted in the death of all the firstborn Egyptian children. This final plague is remembered each year in which Jewish festival celebrated in late March or early April?
Passover
What 11th and 12th century astronomer and mathematician from ancient Persia is best known for his sensual poem The Rubaiyat [ROO-by-yaht]?
(Omar) Khayyam [ky-AHM]
Dating from about 3,200 years ago, oracle bones are the earliest evidence of writing from what country?
China
An ancient epic composed about 2000 B.C. has the brave king Gilgamesh ruling the city of Uruk [OO-ruk]. In what modern-day Middle Eastern country is the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk [OO-ruk] located?
Iraq
In the Bible, this substance was described as "white, powdery, and as fine as hoarfrost." Every day except on the Sabbath, God sent this miracle food falling from the sky to feed the Israelites as they fled to the Promised Land. What was this substance?
Manna
In Babylonian mythology, she was regarded as the mother of all life and as the goddess of love and war. Name this principle goddess of the ancient Mesopotamians.
Ishtar
In the Bible, Goliath was a great warrior who was defeated by King David. Goliath was a member of what group of ancient Sea Peoples who settled on the southern coastal plain of Canaan?
Philistines [FIL-uh-steenz]
ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN LITERATURE
An example of Old Attic Comedy from ancient Greece, what satire of the Athenian judicial system by Aristophanes [air-uh-STAHF-uh-neez] includes the name of stinging insects in its title?
(The) Wasps
Plato's Phaedo describes a scene in which what influential Greek philosopher meets his end by drinking hemlock?
Socrates
Vergil's Aeneid [i-NEE-id] describes the arrival of Aeneas [i-NEE-uhs] and the Trojan refugees at her court. Identify this queen of Carthage who eventually killed herself after Aeneas left Carthage for Italy.
Dido [DY-doh]
Aristotle credited this dramatist with several theatrical innovations, including the introduction of a third actor into the plot. Who was this Greek playwright from the 5th century B.C. who authored the plays Ajax, Antigone, and Oedipus Rex?
Sophocles [SAHF-uh-kleez]
In 58 B.C. he was exiled for his role in the murders of several conspirators, but after Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 B.C., he returned to politics, attacking Mark Antony and allying himself with Octavian. Identify this ancient Roman political leader who is also famous for his many eloquent orations.
(Marcus Tullius) Cicero [SIS-ur-oh]
A patron and censor, Cato the Elder advocated the complete destruction of what North African city, the opponent of Rome during the Punic Wars?
Carthage
She so loved Odysseus that she offered to grant him immortality if he would only consent to stay with her. Identify this nymph from Homer's Odyssey, on whose island the hero Odysseus spent seven years on his way home from Troy.
Calypso
In what satiric drama by Aristophanes [air-uh-STAHF-uh-neez] do 30,000 geese and cranes build the fantastic city of Cloudcuckooland?
(The) Birds
His works were influenced by his military experience in the Battles of Marathon and Salamis during the Persian Wars. The author of the earliest surviving tragedies, what Greek dramatist is known for Prometheus Bound and the Oresteia [or-es-TEE-uh] trilogy?
Aeschylus [ES-kuh-luhs]
Born in Cordoba, Spain, he went to Rome as a young boy to study rhetoric and philosophy. In 59 AD, he was made tutor to the emperor Nero, but he soon fell out of favor and went into retirement. Name this author known for his Moral Letters and Moral Essays.
Seneca
This Athenian author of the 5th century B.C. is considered the greatest historian of ancient Greece. Identify this ancient aristocrat remembered for his unfinished History of the Peloponnesian War.
Thucydides [thoo-SID-uh-deez]
Although he influenced the creation of more realistic dramas, the ancient tragic author Euripides [yur-IP-uh-deez] introduced what highly improbably dramatic device in which a god would be lowered onto the stage to resolve any crisis in the plot?
Deus Ex Machina [DAY-uhs eks MAH-kin-uh]
Aristotle introduced what term that refers to the purging of the emotions of pity and fear experienced by the audience viewing a classical tragedy?
Catharsis [kuh-THAR-sis]
Taken from the name of an ancient king and military figure, what two-word term has come to refer to a victory won at such a heavy cost to the victor that it is equivalent to a defeat?
Pyrrhic [PEER-ik] Victory
It was the site of Early Bronze Age settlements and became a part of the Delian [DEL-ee-uhn] League in 479 B.C. Give the name of this Greek island in the Aegean Sea that was the home of such poets as Alcaeus [al-SEE-uhs] and Sappho [SAF-oh].
Lesbos
The only complete surviving example of this type of drama from ancient Greece is Cyclops by Euripides [yur-IP-uh-deez]. Give the name for this type of brief, burlesque comedy dedicated to Dionysus and presented by actors who dressed in animal skins and tails.
Satyr (Play)
It is a genealogical account of the Greek gods from the beginning of time and is the earliest surviving Greek religious work. In what 8th century B.C. work does the poet Hesiod [HES-ee-uhd] describe Chaos, the Titans, and finally the creation of the Olympian gods?
Theogony [thee-AHG-uh-nee]
From what first and second century Greek author did Shakespeare borrow the information needed to write his last tragedy, Coriolanus?
Plutarch [PLOO-tahrk]
Give the name of the 1st century A.D. poet from ancient Rome who arranged over 1,500 of his short poems into the 14 book collection Epigrams.
Martial
His works inspired the medieval tradition of courtly love. Name the ancient Roman poet who is chiefly known for the lyric poems he wrote and dedicated to his beloved mistress Lesbia.
Catullus [kuh-TUHL-uhs]
As a youth, he was seduced by Aphrodite who later bore his son Aeneas [I-NEE-uhs]. Give the name of Aeneas's father who is carried to safety in Vergil's Aeneid [i-NEE-id] after the fall of Troy.
Anchises [an-KY-seez]
A common sight at theatres of ancient Greece was an architectural background through which the actors entered onto the stage. Give the name for this type of covered building that also functioned as a dressing room and storage area.
Skené
The French musician Maurice Ravel [rah-VEL] based one of his ballets on what ancient pastoral romance about two simple goatherds written by the third century Greek author Longus [LAWNG-guhs]?
Daphnis and Chloe
"Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts." In what epic masterpiece by Virgil can the preceding quote be found?
(The) Aeneid
By what name did the Romans call the brave title hero written about by Homer in his Odyssey?
Ulysses
A prolific poet from Rome's Golden Age, what 1st-century B.C. author wrote about many mythological changes in his masterpiece the Metamorphoses [met-uh-MOHR-fuh-seez].
Ovid [AHV-id]
In Homer's Odyssey, Polyphemus [pah-luh-FEE-muhs] traps Odysseus and his crew in a cave and refuses to let them leave. Polyphemus was a member of a race of one-eyed giants in Greek mythology who were given what name?
Cyclops (Accept: Cyclopes)
What 4th century B.C. Greek philosopher included the famous allegory of the cave in Book 7 of his political dialogue The Republic?
Plato
First produced in 429 B.C., the title character of this drama learns that he has murdered his father and married his mother. Name this Sophocles drama, the first in his famous trilogy.
Oedipus Rex (Accept: Oedipus Tyrannus)
She was born around 630 B.C. on the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea. Who was this Greek poet whose many love lyrics were addressed to women?
Sappho [SAF-oh]
The Greek poet Theocritus [thee-AHK-ri-tuhs] is known for his 30 short poems called the Idylls. These poems greatly contributed to the development of what type of literature which extols a rustic life in the countryside?
Pastoral (Literature)
His plays attacked the social and political abuses of his time and jeered at the tragedies of other playwrights of the period. Name the ancient Greek author of such comedies as The Clouds, The Wasps, and The Birds.
Aristophanes [ar-uh-STAHF-uh-neez]
Deserted by her husband Jason, the title character of what play by Euripides [yur-IP-uh-deez] murders her own children to get even?
Medea [meh-DEE-uh]
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
In the Old English epic Beowulf, the hero vanquishes the monster Grendel and his nightmarish mother. By what creature is the warrior Beowulf finally killed?
(Fire) Dragon
The Lay of the Cid [SID] is a medieval epic concerning a brave warrior and his deeds. In what country was this famous poem written?
Spain
In 1859, Edward Fitzgerald translated what Persian poet's The Rubaiyat into English?
(Omar) Khayyam [ky-AHM]
In The Castle of Perseverance, the soul of Humanum Genus resides in a castle that is encircled by the forces of good and evil. This play is representative of what type of allegorical drama from the Middle Ages which presented the fall of man and his eventual redemption?
Morality Play(s)
This epic poem begins on Good Friday in the year 1300 when the narrator finds himself lost in the wood of Error. Soon, he is met by the spirit of Vergil and led through the Inferno, Purgatory, and into Paradise. Give the title of this epic poem by Dante.
(The) Divine Comedy (Accept: La Divina Commedia)
Northumbrian, Mercian, Kentish, and West Saxon were four dialects of what language used in Britain from the 5th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066?
Old English (Accept: Anglo-Saxon)
A favorite of England's Richard the Lionhearted, Blondel [BLAWN-del] was a French minstrel who composed about 20 song-poems. Give the name for these wandering French minstrels of the Middle Ages who mostly sang long ballads of courtly love.
Troubadour(s)
She has been married five times and tells a tale about one of King Arthur's knights who is given one year to save his life by finding out "what women most desire." Name this character who appears in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
(The) Wife of Bath
Through the treason of Ganelon, he is killed in a pass in the Pyrenees while returning from an invasion of Spain in 778. Who was this legendary nephew of Charlemagne and the hero of a French song cycle from the Middle Ages?
Roland
The works of Chaucer and the enduring stories of Piers Plowman and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" were originally written in what form of the English language that was spoken from the time of the Norman invasion in 1066 until the introduction of printing in England in 1476?