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Exam Questions for Plutarch

Exam Questions have been taken from Anne White's Study Guides. Exams for students in Years 4-6 include one Plutarch question; exams for older students should have two questions.

Crassus

Years 4-6:Tell about the final meeting between Crassus and the Parthian general Surena. Or, "People were wont to say that the many virtues of Crassus were darkened by the one vice of avarice." What is avarice, and how did it lead to the downfall of Crassus? Or, Tell what you know of the war against Spartacus.

Years 7-11:
        1: "People were wont to say that the many virtues of Crassus were darkened by the one vice of avarice." What is avarice, and how did it lead to the downfall of Crassus? Or, Tell what you know of the war against Spartacus.
        2: Open Book Exam: Go back through this Life, and choose two or three quotes that describe the most important points about Crassus. Be prepared to explain why you chose the ones you did.

Timoleon

Years 4-6: Why did Timoleon first save his brother's life and then consent to his death? Tell the whole story. Or, Give a short account of Timoleon's expedition against the Carthagenians

Years 7-11:
        1: Describe the conquest of Syracuse. How did Timoleon treat the city?

Aemilius Paulus

Years 4-6: How did Aemilius conduct the war against the Ligurians at the time of an eclipse of the moon?
        Or, Describe (a), how Perseus was betrayed by Oroandes, yielded himself to the Romans, and was brought before Aemilius; or, (b), the triumph which the Romans gave.

Years 7-11:
        1: a) Describe the speech of Aemilius on the death of his two sons.
        1: b) Describe the triumph of Aemilius after his victory over Perseus.
        2: Contrast, in the manner of Plutarch, the characters of Aemilius and Perseus. Give incidents as illustration.

Marcus Cato the Censor

Years 4-6: Tell two stories showing Cato's wisdom. Were there things in which he was not as wise?

Years 7-11:
        1: The Romans erected a statue of Cato bearing the words, "He reformed the discipline of the Commonwealth of Rome by his wise precepts, good manners and holy institutions." Write a short account of Cato illustrating this inscription.

Philopoemen

Years 4-6: Tell how Philopoemen made the Achaeans care about supporting their army. Or, You are the historian Polybius. Explain to the Romans why Philopoemen's memorials should remain.

Years 7-11:
        1: You are the historian Polybius. Explain to the Romans why Philopoemen's memorials should remain.
        2: If you have read Plutarch's Life of Phocion, you may remember that Phocion borrowed a life motto from the goddess Athena: "Skillful to rule in war and peace." Philopoemen, on the other hand, is said to have been "a better captain for wars than a wise governor for peace." Explain why Plutarch said this; do you agree?

Titus Flamininus

Years 4-6: "Crows that were accidentally flying over the course fell down dead into it." How does this show the power of human voices? Tell the whole story. Or, Give an instance to show how the gentle courtesy of Titus won him many friends.

Years 7-11:
        1: Describe the campaign of Titus in Epirus, showing how he made the Greeks willing to submit to him.
        2: Open Book Exam: Go back through this Life, and choose two or three quotes that describe the best of Titus Quintius Flamininus. Be prepared to explain why you chose the ones you did.

Pyrrhus

Years 4-6: Describe a) how Pyrrhus talked with Cineas, or b) how he reformed the Tarentines. Or, How did Pyrrhus try to treat with Fabricius?

Years 7-11:
        1: a) What counsel did Appius Claudius give the Senate after the first battle with Pyrrhus? b) Describe the Battle of Asculum, and its legendary outcome.
        2: Show that Pyrrhus used peace and war not according to peace and justice, but for his private profit.

Nicias

Years 4-6: Tell about (a) how Nicias organized the religious pageant at Delos or, (b), the Peace of Nicias. Or, Give two stories to show that Nicias favoured the people of Athens "with a natural fatherly love," or, (b), Show what part Nicias took in the campaign against Syracuse.

Years 7-11:
        1: Give two stories to show that Nicias favoured the people of Athens "with a natural fatherly love," or, (b), Show what part Nicias took in the campaign against Syracuse.
        2: Gather up your impressions of Nicias, giving in detail two instances to show his character.

Julius Caesar

Years 4-6: It is said that Caesar travelled continually and with great speed, and made little account of his diet. Tell two stories that illustrate this. Or, a) "I had rather be the chiefest man here, than the second person in Rome." b) "Fear not, for thou hast Caesar and his fortune with thee." On what occasions were these words used? Describe one of them.

Years 7-11:
        1: Write about two of the following, in connection with Julius Caesar: a), "He was not kept as a prisoner, but rather as a prince." (b) On his reading the history of Alexander. (c) "He fell into many thoughts with himself" when he came to the Rubicon. e) "[The soldiers at Brundisium] straight changed their complaints and minds."
        2: "Now Caesar [him]self did breed the noble courage and life in them" (meaning his soldiers). Give a sketch of the character of Caesar as shown a) in this connection, b) in his dealings with Pompey.

Agis and Cleomenes

Years 4-6: How did Cleomenes inspire the Spartans to re-embrace their old laws and lifestyle? Give two instances. Or, What are some characteristics of heroes? Would you call either Agis or Cleomenes a hero?
        Alternative creative examination: Design a book cover for the life of Agis or Cleomenes.

Years 7-11:
        1: What are some characteristics of heroes? Would you call either Agis or Cleomenes a hero?
        2: How and why did Agis set about the reformation of the City of Sparta?
        Alternative creative examination: Design a book cover for the life of Agis or Cleomenes.

Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus

Years 4-6: Tell about Tiberius's meeting with the Numantines (there was something he wanted from them). Or, "Cicero the orator also sayeth that Gaius was bent altogether to flee from office in the commonwealth, and to live quietly as a private man." What changed his mind?

Years 7-11:
        1: Like his brother before him, Gaius Gracchus sometimes did the right things in wrong ways, or at least in ways that created jealousy or suspicion. Give examples.
        2: "So in a short time he did excel all the young men of his time, as well in obedience as in the valiantness of his person." Who is being described? Did he live up to this early evaluation?

Demosthenes

Years 4-6: Give some account of how Demosthenes went to hear an orator who "bore the bell of eloquence," and how he then trained himself to become an orator.

Years 7-11:
        1. "He won him marvellous fame for his great eloquence and plain manner of speech." How did Demosthenes attain this distinction?
        2. Comment upon, with illustrations from his life, the celebrated inscription on the pedestal of Demosthenes' statue,--
                 "Had you for Greece been strong, as wise you were,
                 The Macedonian had not conquered her." (Dryden)
                 or
                 "Hadst thou, Demosthenes, had strength according to thy heart.
                 The Macedons should not have wrought the Greeks such woe and smart." (North)

Cicero

Years 4-6: Tell the story of how Cicero saved the government (and the city) of Rome from those who wanted to destroy it. Or, "It is reported that the people never passed a thing with so great goodwill, nor so wholly together, as the return of Cicero." Tell the story of his homecoming from banishment.

Years 7-11:
        1. When Cicero was a boy, he hoped "to make the name of the Ciceros noble and famous." Tell one of the ways that he did so.
        2. "For Cicero only of all men in Rome made the Romans know, how much eloquence doth grace and beautify that which is honest, and how invincible right and justice are, being eloquently set forth. . ." Explain and give examples.

Demetrius

Years 4-6: How was Demetrius inspired by the example of his father Antigonus? Or, Describe a) the early life and career of Demetrius, b) his final days.

Years 7-11:        1: Describe a) the early life and career of Demetrius, b) his final days.
        2: Plutarch wrote: "So, in the same manner, it seems to me likely enough that we shall be all the more zealous and more emulous to read, observe, and imitate the better lives, if we are not left in ignorance of the blameworthy and the bad." Do you agree? How might this apply to the Life of Demetrius?

Alexander, Part 1

Years 4-6: Write an account of Alexander the Great and Bucephalus. Or, How did Alexander behave towards his physician when he was ill?

Years 7-11:
        1: Describe (a) the meeting of Alexander with Diogenes, and (b) how Alexander crossed the Granicus River.
        2: How did Alexander spend his days at a time of leisure? Or, Describe (a) the personal appearance, and (b) the early education of Alexander.

Alexander, Part 2

Years 4-6: Why and how did Alexander teach his men to "acquaint themselves with hardness?" Or, How did Alexander go to war with King Porus? Give the whole story.

Years 7-11:
        1: On what occasions were the following words used? Tell the whole story in two cases. (a) "If I drink alone, all these men will faint." (b) "Antipater," he said, "does not know that one tear of a mother effaces a thousand such letters as these."
        2: How did Alexander talk with the philosophers of India? Or, "To live at pleasure is a vile thing, and to travail is princely." Why did Alexander thus rebuke his friends? Tell the whole story.

Dion

Years 4-6: Describe a) the early life of Dionysius II, and b) how he was affected by his time with Plato. Or, Describe the early life of Dion, and how he came to be so important in Syracuse.

Years 7-11:
        1: Write a conversation between two Syracusans, one who thinks Dion is a valuable asset and a good person to have around, and another who wishes they could rid themselves of him.
        2: Plato named four key virtues: prudence, fortitude, temperance (moderation and self-control), and justice. How did Dion's life reflect these?

Marcus Brutus

Years 4-6: a) Why did Caesar honour and esteem Brutus? b) Give an account of the meeting of Brutus and Cassius at Sardis, or at Smyrna. Or, How did Lucilius save the life of Brutus?

Years 7-11:
        1: What was Brutus like as a young man? Give some examples that show his character. How did he end up being such a personal friend of Caesar? Or, "God, to prevent Brutus that it should not come to his government, kept this victory from his knowledge, though indeed it came but a little too late?" Explain this.
        2: What qualities about Brutus made people such as the soldiers of Caius Antonius want to submit to his leadership? Did he ever seem to abuse the power he had? Or, In Shakespeare's play, Antonius said of Brutus, "This was the noblest Roman of them all." Do you agree? Explain your answer.

Solon

Years 4-6: Why did Solon say that it was just as bad to speak evil of the living as of the dead? Or, What was Solon's retirement project? What kept him from completing it?

Years 7-11:
        1: Give an account of the way in which Brutus and Cassius prepared for the battle of the Philippian Fields. Or, "Brutus . . . tasted of the benefit of Caesar's favour . . ." Give instances. OR, How did Favonius end the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius at Sardis? What led to it? Tell the whole story.
        2: Compare and contrast the characters of Cassius and Brutus, giving illustrations. OR "He was right made and framed unto virtue." Give instances to show how Plutarch justifies this estimate of treatment of the pirates.

Poplicola/Publicola

Years 4-6:
        1: Why did Valerius/Publicola expect he would become one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic? What actually happened?
        2. Tell about one of these people: a) Publicola's daughter Valeria, b) Mucius Scaevola, or c) Vindicius.
        3. How did Publicola make life better for the Roman people?

Years 7-11:
        1: The Romans believed that "the gods" seemed to favour Publicola. To what do you attribute his success as a leader: supernatural help (from God or the gods), or his own character and ability? Give examples.
        2: How did life in Rome change during Publicola's lifetime?
        3. Tell the story of a) the young maidens sent as hostages or b) Mucius in the camp of Lars Porsena.

Pompey, Part 1

Years 4-6: "Pompey was for many occasions beloved." Describe two of the reasons he was beloved (or admired). Also, tell anything you know about his personal appearance.

Years 7-11:
        1: Describe the occasion when Pompey and Sulla each saluted the other as "Imperator." How did Pompey later make an enemy of Sulla?
        2: Why did the Romans make Pompey general by sea? Describe the scene that followed the decree, and Pompey's treatment of the pirates.

Pompey, Part 2

Years 4-6: Tell a story to show how Pompey "fell into such a pride and glorious conceit of himself." Or, Describe how Pompey ran away, "not looking back for all he was so bold."

Years 7-11:
        1: Describe the third triumph of Pompey. Why does Plutarch say, "O, happy would it have been for him if he had died when he had Alexander's fortune?"
        2: "So great an empire…could not contain the covetous desire of these two men." Give some account of Pompey and Caesar in this connection.

Themistocles

Years 4-6: What do you know of Themistocles as a boy? Or, Why did Themistocles desire to speak with the king of Persia? Describe the interview. Or, Tell a) how Themistocles saved Athens from the Persians, or b) how he was honoured by the Persians in his banishment.

Years 7-11:
        1: Why and by what steps did Themistocles persuade the Grecians to become "good mariners and passing seamen?" Describe briefly what happened at Salamis. Or, Why did Themistocles go to Persia? Give some account of him at the Persian court.
        2: Compare and contrast the character of Themistocles and of Aristides. Give examples to show how Themistocles "earnestly gave himself to state." Or, What do you know of the childhood of Themistocles? Give instances to show that in later life the child was "father of the man."

Pericles

Years 4-6: How did Pericles seek to win the favour of the people? Or, "In what ways did Pericles make Athens beautiful? How did he persuade the people to help him?"

Years 7-11:
        1: How did Pericles seek to win the favour of the people? Or, "In what ways did Pericles make Athens beautiful? How did he persuade the people to help him?"
        2: "How did Pericles manage the people in time of war lest they should force him to act against his own judgment?" Or, Pericles "gave himself to all matters he had learned of Anaxagoras." What were some of these matters, and how did Pericles make use of them?

Fabius

Years 4-6: a) Why did the Romans choose Fabius as dictator? b) Tell about a time when Fabius showed kindness to someone under his authority. Or, Why did Minucius call Fabius "Father?"

Years 7-11:
        1: Tell how Fabius handled the Romans during a time of crisis in the city. Or, Hannibal "dreaded Marcellus when he was in motion, and Fabius when he sat still." Explain.
        2: Compare and contrast the characters of Fabius and Marcellus OR Fabius and Scipio, giving illustrations. Or, "And so it was with the Romans; the counsels and actions of Fabius, which, before the battle, they had branded as cowardice and fear; now, in the other extreme, they accounted to have been more than human wisdom . . ." Explain these words of Plutarch.

Alcibiades

Years 4-6: Alcibiades "with all his great courage and quickness of understanding had many great faults and imperfections." Tell a story to illustrate a) his courage, b) his envy of Nicias.

Years 7-11:
        1: "He esteemed these endeavours of Socrates most truly a means which the gods made use of for the care and preservation of youth. . . " Tell two stories to show that Alcibiades valued his relationship with Socrates.
        2: "Even so, Alcibiades being puffed up with vanity. . . as often as Socrates took him in hand was made fast and firm by his good persuasions." Explain and illustrate.

Coriolanus

Years 4-6: How did Marcius come to be called Coriolanus? Tell the whole story. Or, Describe the visit of Volumnia and the other Roman ladies to Marcius.

Years 7-11:
        1: Marcius said that "by such gratifications, they did but cherish those ill seeds of boldness and petulance that had been sown among the people, which they should have done well to observe and stifle at their first appearance, and not have suffered the plebeians to grow so strong by granting them magistrates of such authority as the tribunes." Give some account of this rebellion of the people, and the behaviour of Marcius.
        2: Describe and discuss the character of Gaius Marcius, as shown when he stood for the consulship after he gained the name Coriolanus.

Cato the Younger

Years 4-6: Tell what you know of Cato's childhood, both what he was like and the world around him. Or, Plutarch said that Cato's attempt to make Caesar and Pompey be friends caused "the whole destruction of the empire of Rome." Can you explain why?

Years 7-11:
        1: "All the troops desired him to be their leader; Scipio, likewise; and Varus gave way to it, and offered him the command; but he said he would not break those laws which he sought to defend." Give some other examples of Cato's passion for law and justice.
        2: "Yet what most of all virtue and excellence fixed his affection was that steady and inflexible justice which is not to be wrought upon by favour or compassion." Explain and illustrate.

AmblesideOnline Plutarch Readings:

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