Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _____________________________

Mythology Unit Assessment

Modified


Directions:
Please read "The Story of Pandora's Box" and answer the following questions. The questions may
be about the story, or may be about Greek mythology in general.


The Story of Pandoras Box

In ancient Greece there were two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus. They upset the
gods and annoyed the most powerful of all Gods, Zeus, in particular. This was not the first time
humans had upset Zeus, and once before, as punishment, he had taken from humans the ability to
make fire. This meant they could no longer cook their meat and could not keep themselves warm.

However, Prometheus was clever and he knew that, on the Isle of Lemnos, lived Hephaestos, the
blacksmith. He had a fire burning to keep his forge hot. Prometheus travelled to Lemnos and stole
fire from the blacksmith. Zeus was furious and decided that humans had to be punished once and
for all for their lack of respect.

Zeus came up with a very cunning plan to punish the two brothers. With the help of Hephaestos,
he created a woman from clay. The goddess Athene then breathed life into the clay, Aphrodite
made her very beautiful and Hermes taught her how to be both charming and deceitful. Zeus called
her Pandora and sent her as a gift to Epimetheus.

His brother Prometheus had warned him not to accept any gifts from the gods but Epimetheus
was completely charmed by the woman and thought Pandora was so beautiful that she could never
cause any harm, so he agreed to marry her.

Zeus, pleased that his trap was working, gave Pandora a wedding gift of a beautiful box. There
was one very, very important condition however, that she must never opened the box.
Pandora was very curious about the contents of the box but she had promised that she would never
open it.

All she could think about was; what could be in the box? She could not understand why
someone would send her a box if she could not see what was in it. It seemed to make no sense at
all to her and she could think of nothing else but of opening the box and unlocking its secrets.
This was just what Zeus had planned.

Finally, Pandora could stand it no longer. When she knew Epimetheus was out of sight, she
crept up to the box, took the huge key off the high shelf, fitted it carefully into the lock and turned it.
But, at the last moment, she felt a pang of guilt, imagined how angry her husband would be and
quickly locked the box again without opening the lid and put the key back where she had found it.
Three more times she did this until, at last, she knew she had to look inside or she would go

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Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _____________________________
completely mad!

She took the key, slid it into the lock and turned it. She took
a deep breath, closed her eyes and slowly lifted the lid of the
box. She opened her eyes and looked into the box, expecting to
see fine silks, gowns or gold bracelets and necklaces or even
piles of gold coins.

But there was no gleam of gold or treasure. There were no
shining bracelets and not one beautiful dress! The look of
excitement on her face quickly turned to one of disappointment
and then horror. For Zeus had packed the box full of all the terrible evils he could think of. Out of
the box poured disease and poverty. Out came misery, out came death, out came sadness - all
shaped like tiny buzzing moths.

The creatures stung Pandora over and over again and she slammed the lid shut. Epimetheus ran
into the room to see why she was crying in pain. Pandora could still hear a voice calling to her from
the box, pleading with her to be let out. Epimetheus agreed that nothing inside the box could be
worse than the horrors that had already been released, so they opened the lid once more.

All that remained in the box was Hope. It fluttered from the box like a beautiful dragonfly,
touching the wounds created by the evil creatures, and healing them. Even though Pandora had
released pain and suffering upon the world, she had also allowed Hope to follow them.





1. The universal theme of "The Story of Pandora's Box" can be described as:
A. Women should never listen to their husbands.
B. Even with all the dark aspects of human nature, there is always hope.
C. People can unleash evil from a box.



2. In a complete sentence, please identify only the Olympians in "The Story of Pandora's Box". (2
points)








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Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _____________________________

3. Why is "The Story of Pandora's Box" relevant in today's world? Please explain your reason in
detail and in complete sentences. (2 points)









4. Please complete the Cause and Effect sequence. (1 point)













5. Please complete the Cause and Effect sequence. (1 point)














6. What is the main conflict in "The Story of Pandora's Box"?
A. Pandora wants to open the box, but she doesn't want to disobey her husband.
B. Aphrodite creates Pandora to teach Prometheus a lesson.
C. Zeus wants to punish Pandora.


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Pandora opened the box
and unleashed all the evils
of the world.
Cause

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What is the Effect?
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Zeus punished the
brothers, Prometheus and
Epimetheus.

Effect
What is the Cause?

Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _____________________________

7. What element suggests that "The Story of Pandora's Box" is a myth?
A. The story includes Greek gods and goddesses that affect the story.
B. The characters have Greek names.
C. The story does not teach a universal theme to the readers.
D. The story is completely factual.


8. How can the underlined portion of this sentence from "The Story of Pandora's Box" be re-
written to reflect correct grammar?

There was one, very, very important condition, however, that she must never opened the box.

A. There was one, very, very important condition, however, that she must never open the
box.
B. There was one, very, very important condition, however, that she must not never
opened the box.
C. The sentence is correct as is.


9. How can the following sentence from "The Story of Pandora's Box" be improved?

It seemed to make no sense at all to her and she could think of nothing else but of opening the
box and unlocking its secrets.

A. It seemed to make no sense at all to her, and she could think of nothing else but of
opening the box and unlocking its secrets. (addition of a comma between "her" and
"and")
B. It seemed to make no sense at all to her, and, she could think of nothing else but of
opening the box and unlocking its secrets. (addition of a comma before and after
"and")
C. The sentence is correct as is.


10. A purpose of myths is to:
A. persuade.
B. teach lessons.
C. question.



11. Myths are:
A. stories that are retold from print rather than orally.
B. meant to accurately represent historical events.
C. ancient tales that describe the actions of gods, goddesses, and the heroes that interact
with them.

Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _____________________________


12. Every Greek myth includes:
A. a hero
B. a universal theme
C. Gods with Roman names



13. A hero, in Greek mythology, is:
A. an immortal.
B. a larger than life figure whose virtues and deeds are celebrated.
C. a person whose job is to save lives.



14. Stories like Greek myths have been passed down from generation-to-generation. This process is
known as:
A. storytelling
B. sharing
C. oral tradition



15. What is the main function of the following short myth?

Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, is a strong fighter. He used his super-strength to help his armies
defeat the Trojans in the Trojan War.

A. to explain a natural occurrence
B. to show gods with human traits
C. to show humans with super-human traits



16. What is the main function of the following short myth?

Prometheus, one of the Titans, created man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into the clay
figure.

A. to explain natural occurrences of how something was created
B. to show gods or goddesses with human traits
C. to show humans with super-human traits




Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _____________________________
17. Archetypes, such as Greek heroes, villains, wise-men, or tricksters often make a comeback in
the modern world.

Please name a current hero, villain, wise-man, or trickster and explain how he/she is an
archetype of a Greek hero, villain, wise-man, or trickster. (4 points)

Example: ____________________________ is a(n) _______________________________ archetype like __________________________
current hero, villain, etc type of archetype Greek model

because ________________________________.
. explanation


____________________________________________ is a ______________________________________________ archetype
like ____________________________________________ because ___________________________________________________
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18. Why do Greek gods and goddesses have Roman names? Please explain your answer in complete
sentences. (2 points)
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