Quiz created: 111023

Herodotus Quiz 2

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1. Herodotus tells us that Egyptians of his day were very concerned with
cleanliness 
separation of men and women 
praying at the exact moment of sunrise 
horsemanship 
precise measurement of practically everything 
keeping secrets from visitors 
avoiding taxes 
No Answer
2. He tells us (§37) that “male kine were reckoned to belong to Epaphus.” What are kine?
pigs  dogs  goats  deer  cattle  sheep  No Answer
3. He tells us that the Egyptians of his day did not eat heads of the animals they slaughtered because they believed that
eating brains made a person stupid 
dangerous forces were diverted from humans onto the heads of sacrificial animals 
they feared the dead animal could recognize who they were and its spirit would take retribution in the afterlife 
the head had an overly high cholesterol level and would be dangerous to their health 
the head was especially valuable, since Greek tourists regarded it as a delicacy and would pay handsomely for it 
No Answer
4. Herodotus describes a religious festival to a god he identifies with Mars which involved a violent battle with clubs. The explanation that Egyptian informants gave him was that
it was the only time of the year when the Pharaoh’s agents would let them fight, so they had to even scores with enemies all at once 
it was a reenactment of a myth in which Mars, visiting his mother, was refused admission by her attendants 
it was a joyous festival at which people became very drunk, but unfortunately they were “mean” drunks, not “happy” drunks 
the clubs represented the sins of men, which returned sooner or later to harm the sinners 
No Answer
5. Herodotus tells us that when a death occurred in the house of “a man of consequence,” women in the family
smeared mud on themselves and beat themselves as then wailed through the town 
immediately washed the corpse, sometimes even before the man was quite dead 
moved the corpse outside to avoid polluting the house with the evil force of death 
mercilessly beat the dead man for deserting them 
No Answer
6. In his description of embalming, Herodotus explain that the first step was to
cut out the heart 
draw out the brain through the nose and discard it 
remove the head and discard the brain, then replace the head 
open the belly and remove the stomach so that its acids would not begin to damage adjacent tissues 
remove the eyes and stop up the ears so that the deceased could not witness the process 
No Answer
7. When the organs had been removed from the body, embalmers than placed it for seventy days in natrum (also known as natron). What’s that?
dried leaves designed to absorb moisture 
a kind of salt 
a kind of perfume 
a blend of tar and beeswax designed to keep oxygen away from the tissues to prevent rot 
a strong insecticide 
colored soil, similar to the “red ochre” used in Upper Paleolithic burials 
No Answer
8. When high class or beautiful women died, their embalming was delayed a few days, we are told,
because their families could not bear to part with them 
in the hope that the goddess of beauty would recognize her own and revive them 
to avoid unmentionable acts being performed with the bodies 
to lengthen the time during which prayers could be said over their bodies directing their steps in the other world, since such women were believed likely to go astray, whether in life or in death 
No Answer

      Points out of 8:

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This consummately cool, pedagogically compelling, self-correcting,
multiple-choice quiz was produced automatically from
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Think Again Quiz Maker
of April 25, 2010.