1. Why is the Epic of Gilgamesh a first in known literary works?

a. It is the first to confront the idea of death

b. It is the first to show humans challenging gods

c. It is the first to celebrate human friendship

d. It is the first to present gods as anthropomorphic

2. Which statement best describes an epic as a literary form?

a. It is always entirely fiction and a very long prose narrative.

b. It is a long narrative poem following exalted characters through adventures.

c. It is rich in symbols and images of nature.

d. It involves a protagonist and an antagonist involved in a series of dramatic chase scenes.

3. What was the Mesopotamian ruler's role in religion?

a. To act as intermediary between the gods and humans

b. To preside at sacrifices that took place atop the ziggurats

c. To mate with a priestess in a yearly ceremony

d. To select a particular divinity to be chief in his city-state

4. What does Hammurabi's code tell about the position of Mesopotamian women?

a. They were given the same legal rights as men

b. They were considered sacred daughters of the goddess Ishtar

c. They were inferior to men, on the same level as slaves in some ways

d. They were immune from punishments imposed on men

5. As noted in the chapter's "Continuity and Change' section, what most distinguishes Mesopotamia from Egypt?

a. The Mesopotamians were more dependent on their river systems

b. The Egyptians had a more limited form of writing

c. The Mesopotamians did not build massive architectural structures

d. The Egyptians were united by a more stable succession of rulers

6. Why would Akhenaten's change in the religion create change in the visual arts?

a. Akhenaten declared artists to be dissidents, so they sought revenge through art

b. Artists strove to produce works of Aten only so as to please Akhenaten

c. The gods were no longer seen as perfect, so art's subjects also could be imperfect

d. Akhenaten declared art to be created only by priests

7. Why were Egyptians buried with Books of Going Forth by Day (Books of the Dead)?

a. To enable their ka to recognize their ba

b. To help them survive the ritual of judgment

c. To provide instructions for resurrection

d. To show Osiris proof of their goodness

8. Why was Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb so "wonderful?"

a. This was the first time anyone had been able to thwart a tomb's curse

b. This was the first tomb discovered that contained an intact mummy

c. This still contained gold and other artifacts because it was the only royal tomb in Egypt not to have been looted

d. This was the first time a tomb's resident was known by name

9. Why during the 8th century BCE were the Kushites able to control Egypt?

a. The Egyptians needed stronger leadership to thwart an Assyrian invasion

b. The Egyptian pharaohs had become weakened due to inbreeding

c. The Kushites invaded Egypt, killed the pharaoh, and seized control

d. The Kushites controlled most of Egypt's debt from building programs

10. Why did the Egyptians go to such lengths to preserve the dead?

a. They believed that the deceased eventually would be resurrected

b. They believed that only intact bodies could enter the underworld

c. They believed the deceased should imitate Osiris, the prototype mummy

d. The believed the deceased's ka and ba would not recognize a decomposed body