Classics in Translation Brief Question
Part – A
1. Who is Aristophanes?
Ans: Aristophanes was an ancient Greek playwright (c. 446-386 BCE) known for his comedic and satirical plays, such as “Lysistrata” and “The Clouds,” which mocked society and politics while entertaining audiences.
2. Who is Homer?
Ans: Homer was an ancient Greek poet traditionally attributed to the epic poems “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” which are foundational works of Western literature, portraying heroic tales of the Trojan War and Odysseus’ journey home.
3. Who is Aeschylus?
Ans: Aeschylus was an ancient Greek playwright, considered the father of tragedy, known for works like “The Oresteia” and “Prometheus Bound.”
4. Who is Seneca?
Ans: Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and playwright known for his philosophical writings on virtue, ethics, and practical wisdom.
5. Where is Medea’s House?
Ans: In Corinth, Greece.
6. Who guarded the “Golden Fleece?”
Ans: A never-sleeping dragon.
7. What was Hector’s last request to Achilles?
Ans: to hand over his body to his kinsmen for a proper burial.
8. How does Cassandra accept her own fate?
Ans: Cassandra accepts her own fate with dignity.
9. Whom did Charon ferry?
Ans: Charon, in Greek mythology, the son of Erebus and Nyx (Night), whose duty it was to ferry over the Rivers Styx and Acheron those souls of the deceased who had received the rites of burial.
10. When did Phaedra confess her sin?
Ans: when she saw the death of Hippolytus.
আরো পড়ুনঃClassics in Translation Suggestion Exam 2022
11. Who was Xanthias?
Ans: the slave of Dionysus.
12. Who is Euripides?
Ans: Euripides was an ancient Greek playwright known for his tragic dramas and innovative storytelling, born around 480 BCE.
13. How does Clytemnestra behave after killing her husband?
Ans: Clytemnestra exults openly after killing her husband and shows no remorse or shame.
14. Who is the paramour of Clytemnestra?
Ans: Aegisthus.
15. How did Clytemnestra react to her husband’s return?
Ans: Clytemnestra expressed her gratification at the safe return of her husband.
16. How did Apollo play havoc in the Greek camp?
Ans: Apollo sent a Plague upon the Greek camp, which spelled havoc.
17. What last request does the ghost of Patroclus make to Achilles?
Ans: The ghost begs Patroclus that their bones may lie in the golden Urn that Thetis gave her son.
18. Whose mouthpiece is Medea?
Ans: Medea is the mouthpiece of women loved and deserted by men.
19. Who were the founders of the city of Troy?
Ans: Dardanus and Laomedon.
20. Who is Neptune?
Ans: Neptune is Poseidon, the god of the sea.
21. Who is Chryseis?
Ans: The daughter of Chryses, the priest of Apollo.
22. Who is Calchas?
Ans: Calchas, in Greek mythology, the son of Thestor (a priest of Apollo) and the most famous soothsayer among the Greeks at the time of the Trojan War.
আরো পড়ুনঃ The Subject of the Iliad is the Wrath of Achilles- elaborate (বাংলায়)
23. Name the plays of the Argives Trilogy.
Ans: The Oresteia, Proteus, and Seven against Thebes.
24. What happened to Iphaigenia?
Ans: She was killed by her father, Agamemnon.
25. What is Lethe?
Ans: Lethe, in Classical Mythology, is the river in Hades whose water caused forgetfulness of the past in those who drank the lyre.
26. Who is Apollo?
Ans: Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis.
27. Name the two travelers in “The Frogs”.
Ans: Dionysus and his servant Xanthias are the two travelers in “The Frogs,” a comedic play by Aristophanes.
28. Who is Dionysus?
Ans: God of Fertility and wine.
29. What does “Deux EX Machina” mean?
Ans: It is a Latin Phrase meaning a god from the machine.
30. What was the name of King Priam’s Wife?
Ans: Hecuba.
31. In what respect is Hector better than Achilles?
Ans: Hector fights against gods and the mightiest of heroes, yet he presents himself in a nobler light than Achilles, especially in his dutifulness to the family.
32. How did Aphrodite assist Paris?
Ans: Aphrodite created a mist to cover Paris and took him away to the bed chamber of Helen.
33. Who is Calchas?
Ans: Calchas, in Greek mythology, the son of Thestor (a priest of Apollo) and the most famous soothsayer among the Greeks.
34. What was the supreme message of the Greek Tragedies?
Ans: The supreme message of the Greek Tragedies is the struggle of man against fate.
35. Why did Clytemnestra kill Agamemnon?
Ans: Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon to avenge the sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia and to seek retribution for his affair with Cassandra.
36. What were the advantages of Jason’s marriage to Glauce?
Ans: There were manifold advantages of Jason’s marriage for the second time. He would be politically rehabilitated and succeed to the throne on the death of his father-in-law.
আরো পড়ুনঃ Is Jason Fully Responsible for the Tragedy of Medea? (বাংলায়)
37. Why is Aeschylus called a stern moralist?
Ans: Aeschylus is called a stern moralist for his plays’ emphasis on justice, divine accountability, and the consequences of human actions, promoting ethical reflections through powerful tragedies.
38. Why did Medea not want to kill Jason?
Ans: As it would relieve Jason of his Suffering.
39. Who was Hercules?
Ans: Hercules was a legendary Greek hero known for his extraordinary strength and Twelve Labors, tasks he performed to atone for killing his family in a fit of madness.
40. What kind of tragedy of Senecan’s Phaedra?
Ans: It may be called the human tragedy of fatal love.
41. How does Phaedra express her firm determination of love?
Ans: Phaedra emphasized that she could not avoid what she desired and would follow Hippolytus through fire, water, mountains, and woods.
42. What is an epic?
Ans: An epic is a long narrative poem or story that portrays heroic deeds and significant events, often reflecting cultural values and mythological elements.
43. Why did Medea decide to kill her own children?
Ans: To Punish Her Ex-husband, Jason
44. What were Molossians?
Ans: The Molossians were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity.
45. What are the rules of the contest as announced by Dionysus?
Ans: Dionysus makes it clear that there will be no wastage of time or elegance of expression will be there.
46. Why did Thetis disguise her son Achilles?
Ans: she knew that Achilles could die young if he went to war.
47. Why was Phaedra angry with Theseus?
Ans: Her husband had not kept his vows by giving her regular company.
48. How did Calchas advise Agamemnon?
Ans: To send back Chryseis without ransom and delay.
49. How does Helen look?
Ans: Helen resembled Castor and Pollux. She was beautiful, ingenuous, and charming. Her legs were the best; her mouth the cutest.
50. Who was the next to Achilles in physical prowess?
Ans: Great Ajax
51. What is called Nereid Hosts?
Ans: Fifty amiable sea-monsters.
52. Who are the eminent Eleusinian deities?
Ans: Demeter and her daughter Persephone.
53. Why did Jason marry the daughter of Creon?
Ans: seeking to advance his political ambitions.
54. How did Phaedra die?
Ans: After her stepson’s rejection, she accuses him of trying to rape her, causing Theseus to pray to Poseidon to kill him and then kill herself.
55. What did Achilles ask his mother Thetis for?
Ans: Achilles prays to his divine mother, Thetis, and asks her to persuade Zeus to make the Achaeans lose the battle so they will see that they should not have dishonored him.
56. Why did the Greek force unable to move?
Ans: AS Artemis, the virgin goddess, was displeased at the killing of the hare, her sacred animal.
57. What did Hera offer Paris?
Ans: Hera, the queen of the Gods, offered Paris power. She filled his head with images of thrones and conquering, and promised him that he should have all of Asia at his feet.
58. What was Argo?
Ans: Argo was a ship built by Jason and his men.
59. What does Iliad mean?
Ans: The title comes from a phrase from ancient Greek, Iliad poiesis, which means ”poem of Ilion.”
60. How does the Iliad come to an end?
Ans: The Iliad ends with the death and funeral of Hector, a prince and great warrior of Troy.
আরো পড়ুনঃ Classics in Translation Brief Question
61. Who is Pluto?
Ans: Pluto was the ancient Roman god of the dead, wealth, and agriculture.
62. What type of comedy is The Frogs?
Ans: A satirical Comedy.
63. Who was Iphigenia?
Ans: Agamemnon’s daughter.
64. Why did Agamemnon refuse to walk on the red carpet?
Ans: He hesitated to step upon it because red in ancient Greece was considered a divine color.
65. Who was Artemis?
Ans: Artemis. Artemis, in Greek religion, the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation and of chastity and childbirth; she was identified by the Romans with Diana.
66. Whom did Pluto marry?
Ans: Persephone.
67. Who is the paramour of Clytemnestra?
Ans: Her paramour is Aegisthus.
68. What is the main theme of Medea?
Ans: Medea embodies the theme of revenge.
69. Who is the mother of Helen?
Ans: Leda.
70. What is Achilles’ heel?
Ans: An Achilles’ heel is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall.
