Heracles and the Cattle of Geryon

The setting lets Heracles display an important way in which he is not like the other people on the ship. Select two details from the play that support this statement.

• Heracles is on a ship owned by Helius, the Sun.

• Heracles moves boulders to clear a passage.

• Heracles leaves the boat to search for cattle.

• Heracles lifts the cattle onto the ship.

• Heracles asks for his bow and arrows.

Which sentence from Scene 2 shows that Heracles is being guided by the gods to perform his labors?

• "Heracles refuses the help of the crew and lifts all of the cattle onto the beached ship."

• "My destiny is in the hands of the gods, I must follow their wishes if I am to gain immortality."

• "With his club, Heracles slays the hound who has run ahead and leaps to attack him."

• "My Tenth Labor has been completed! Now we must sail back and bring the cattle to King Eurystheus."

Part A. Which of these compares the main purpose of each scene of "Heracles and the Cattle of Geryon?"

• The first scene establishes Heracles' great strength. The second scene shows his skill in battle.

• The first scene establishes the sailors' fearfulness. The second scene shows how they act on that fear.

• The first scene establishes the nature of Heracles' task. The second scene shows him completing that task.

• The first scene establishes that Eurystheus is under Hera's spell. The second scene shows Eurystheus sacrificing the cattle to Hera.

Part B. Select two pieces of evidence that support the main purpose of each scene of "Heracles and the Cattle of Geryon".

• "Eurystheus was under the spell of Hera, who whispered commands into his ear."

• "Heracles (addressing his crew): My Tenth Labor is to bring back the cattle of a creature called Geryon to my cousin, Eurystheus."

• "Sailor: How shall we accomplish this fearsome task?"

• "Narrator: Heracles lifts the huge boulders that block the passage onto his shoulders and heaves them to the sides, creating two large mountains."

• "Heracles (triumphantly): My Tenth Labor has been completed! Now we must sail back and bring the cattle to King Eurystheus."

How does the repetition of the word three add to a feeling of dread in these sentences from the play?

"The sailors all turn with a look of terror on their faces. A gigantic monster with three heads and swinging three huge clubs in three of his hands is charging toward them on three sets of feet!" (line 23)

• by illustrating how great a danger the sailors are facing

• by proving that no one could escape from the monster alive

• by making the monster seem scarier than it actually is

• by identifying the monster as a made-up creature

What is the effect of the author breaking "Heracles and the Cattle of Geryon" into two scenes?

• The first scene allows the narrator to develop the setting, while the second scene explains the origins of the characters.

• The reader sees a very different but equally important side of Heracles in each scene.

• The monsters' traits are established in the first scene, so their actions make sense in the second scene.

• The absence of Geryon in the first scene leads to a feeling of hope among the sailors that is supported in the second scene.

How is the idea of Geryon's fearsomeness developed throughout "Heracles and the Cattle of Geryon"?

• Heracles first moves the rocks, and later he moves the cattle by himself.

• The sailors become more and more afraid in each scene of the play.

• At first Geryon does not notice Heracles, but then he becomes angry.

• The king is said to be under the spell of Hera who whispers in his ear.