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Oedipus at Colonus - Quiz
Contributed by: Bassett
  • 1. How does the amount of action in Oedipus at Colonus compare to Oedipus Rex?
A) There is more action and less philosophical discussion.
B) There is no action in either play.
C) Both plays contain an equal amount of action.
D) There is less action and more philosophical discussion.
  • 2. What is Oedipus's argument regarding his crimes of murder and incest?
A) He claims he was forced by his children to commit them.
B) He claims he is not fully guilty because he committed them in ignorance.
C) He claims the gods are solely responsible and he is entirely innocent.
D) He argues that the crimes never actually took place.
  • 3. Who eventually accepts and absolves Oedipus?
A) Creon
B) Tiresias
C) The citizens of Thebes
D) Zeus
  • 4. Which city does Athenian drama often use to explore themes like incest and hubris in a safe setting?
A) Colonus
B) Athens
C) Sparta
D) Thebes
  • 5. What does the term 'fate' literally mean in ancient Greek, according to the text?
A) Judgment
B) Punishment
C) Necessity
D) Choice
  • 6. What is the key line uttered by Oedipus regarding destiny?
A) God has no power over my actions.
B) Fate is a creation of man.
C) I shall change my own destiny.
D) Let us not fight necessity.
  • 7. How does Antigone justify the inability to escape destiny?
A) She states that the gods are indifferent to human lives.
B) She claims no man in the world has ever escaped his destiny.
C) She argues that humans choose their own fate.
D) She says destiny is only for the poor.
  • 8. What does the text suggest about a ruler's lack of awareness regarding divine law?
A) Lack of awareness does not change the objective fact of guilt.
B) Lack of awareness is a sign of divine favor.
C) Lack of awareness makes the ruler completely innocent.
D) Lack of awareness allows the ruler to escape punishment.
  • 9. What two specific crimes rendered Oedipus a monster and an outcast?
A) Theft and murder
B) Incest and patricide
C) Lying and vanity
D) Treason and arson
  • 10. What is considered to be Oedipus's 'punishment' in the play?
A) His self-inflicted blindness and lonely wandering.
B) His service to the king of Colonus.
C) The loss of his family's throne.
D) His exile to the city of Thebes.
  • 11. What political group ruled Athens during the period that influenced the play's reception?
A) The Athenian Democracy
B) The Thirty Tyrants
C) The Spartan Senate
D) The Theban Oligarchy
  • 12. How does the play characterize Oedipus's guilt regarding his sins?
A) He is guilty but only if he refuses to suffer.
B) He is fully guilty with no hope of redemption.
C) He is not guilty because he was acting under orders.
D) He is 'rationally innocent' because he sinned unknowingly.
  • 13. What will happen to the place where Oedipus dies?
A) It will be blessed.
B) It will be cursed forever.
C) It will become the new capital of Thebes.
D) It will be abandoned by the gods.
  • 14. Who is the author of Oedipus at Colonus?
A) Euripides
B) Homer
C) Aeschylus
D) Sophocles
  • 15. In what year was Oedipus at Colonus produced at the Festival of Dionysus?
A) 450 BC
B) 490 BC
C) 401 BC
D) 406 BC
  • 16. Where does the play Oedipus at Colonus take place?
A) Argos
B) Corinth
C) Colonus
D) Thebes
  • 17. Which deity is the sacred ground at Colonus dedicated to?
A) Zeus
B) Poseidon
C) The Furies (Erinyes)
D) Apollo
  • 18. Who is the king of Athens in the play?
A) Oedipus
B) Creon
C) Laius
D) Theseus
  • 19. Who arrives on horseback to bring news of the conflict in Thebes?
A) Polynices
B) Creon
C) Antigone
D) Ismene
  • 20. Who tries to seize Antigone and Ismene by force?
A) Creon
B) Polynices
C) Eteocles
D) The chorus
  • 21. Who comes to the temple of Poseidon to speak with Oedipus?
A) Eteocles
B) Creon
C) The messenger
D) Polynices
  • 22. What natural event signals to Oedipus that his death is imminent?
A) A solar eclipse
B) A sudden snowfall
C) A fierce thunderstorm
D) An earthquake
  • 23. According to Darice Birge, what type of narrative is Oedipus at Colonus?
A) A strictly comedic narrative
B) A purely historical account
C) A heroic narrative
D) A satirical political critique
  • 24. What is the primary transition experienced by Oedipus in the play?
A) From a king to a common beggar
B) From a pollution to a blessing
C) From blind to sighted
D) From youth to old age
  • 25. Who leads Oedipus through the grove at the beginning of the play?
A) Creon
B) The Elders
C) Ismene
D) Antigone
  • 26. What does Oedipus claim his body will become?
A) A warning to future kings
B) A cursed relic
C) A divine gift
D) An object of fear for all
  • 27. Which translator produced a verse version in 1984?
A) George Adams
B) Robert Fagles
C) Thomas Francklin
D) Paul Roche
  • 28. Who translated the work into verse in 2016?
A) Robert Fitzgerald
B) Frank Nisetich
C) Gilbert Murray
D) E. F. Watling
  • 29. Which translation from 1729 is noted as prose?
A) Edward Plumptre
B) Lewis Campbell
C) Francis Storr
D) George Adams
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