In large part as a consequence of the feminist movement, historians ha

3. ​​​​Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the myths recorded by the ancient Greeks?

I.​They sometimes included portrayals of women holding positions of power.
Bachofen argued that women were dominant in many ancient societies. And his work was supported by Greek historian Herodotus's work. hence this statement can be inferred from the passage.

II.​They sometimes contained elaborate explanations of inheritance customs.
It only talks about - matrilineal customs. But no explanations as such.

III.​They comprise almost all of the material available to historians about ancient Greece.
In the last paragraph it says there are other material - "Studies of such documents have already begun to show how mistaken we are when we try to derive our picture of the ancient world exclusively from literary sources, especially myths."

4. ​​​​​​​​​Which of the following is presented in the passage as evidence supporting the author’s view of the ancient Greeks’ descriptions of the Amazons?

(A) The requirement that Sauromatae women kill in battle before marrying
This supports Bachofen's view.

(B) The failure of historians to verify that women were ever governors of ancient societies
Definitely not. Do not know what to say here.

(C) The classing of Amazons with giants and centaurs
"The Amazons were often characterized, for example, as the equivalents of giants and centaurs, enemies to be slain by Greek heroes." This says that the author thinks that the Greek mythology's portrayal of Amazons was wrong.

(D) The well-established unreliability of Herodotus as a source of information about ancient societies
To be honest I chose this option first. I think the author does think Greek myths (like Herodotus's work) is unreliable. Is it well-established though? I am not sure. Need experts comments on this one.

(E) The recent discovery of ancient societies with matrilineal customs
No, author is against a specific portrayal of Amazons.

5. ​​​​​It can be inferred from the passage that the probable reactions of many males in ancient Greece to the idea of a society ruled by women could best characterized as

(A) confused and dismayed
not confused.

(B) wary and hostile
This is the easiest of the lot. Definitely hostile.

(C) cynical and disinterested
not disinterested and not cynical

(D) curious but fearful
not fearful

(E) excited but anxious
neither

This question boils down to two choices, so i am not even going to bother with the others -

6. ​​​​​​​​The author suggests that the main reason for the persisting influence of Bachofen’s work is that

(C) reliable information about the ancient world is difficult to acquire
The explanation is given in (E)'s answer.

(E) historians have been primarily interested in the modern period
This is completely true. However, it also does not mean that historians have been completely disinterested in the pre-mordern period. Whatever little work the modern scholars have done, might be sufficient to disregard Bachofen's work. They cannot disregard his work because - "reliable info is difficult to acquire" Option C

7. ​​​​​​The author’s attitude toward Bachofen’s treatise is best described as one of

(A) qualified approval
Definitely not approval.

(B) profound ambivalence
ambivalence = mixed feelings/ contradictory thoughts / whether to give the gmat again or not? Anyways back to the topic - our author is pretty sure that he does not agree with Bachofen

(C) studied neutrality
Not neutral. he does not agree with Bachofen.

(D) pointed disagreement
Yes he disagrees.

(E) unmitigated hostility
this is too strong.

I'll take a stab at this one. Feedback is appreciated!

Summary: passage is about the Feminist movement over time. Because of lack of information, ideas of historical views have gone largely unchallenged (ex Bachofen's- Amazon). In his writing, women were portrayed as dominant. However, these aren't facts; they are myths- moral lessons for the community. That misled Bachofen's to make false conclusions. Other sources are more likely to give a good picture.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Prethinking: show that historical feminist movement was portrayed incorrectly

(A) compare competing new approaches to understanding the role of women in ancient societies
There aren't competing theories mentioned. Only one example shown.
(B) investigate the ramifications of Bachofen's theory about the dominance of women in ancient societies
Passage does explain the consequences of B's theory, but only to prove that myths shouldn't be used in determining female status
(C) explain the burgeoning interest among historians in determining the actual status of women in various societies
Goal for neither historians nor author is to determine the actual status of women
(D) analyze the nature of Amazonian society and uncover similarities between it and the Greek world
A's society was only brought into the passage to explain how wrong B's interpretation was- not to show similarities
(E) criticize the value of ancient myths in determining the status of women in ancient societies
Correct answer: Author is criticizing the value of myths. He advocates using other sources to analyze "Starting from the premise that mythology and legend preserve at least a nucleus of historical fact,..."

2. All of the following are stated by the author as problems connected with the sources for knowledge of premodern cultures EXCEPT

1st paragraph

(A) partial completeness
(B) restricted accessibility
correct answer. notice passage says "restricted in numbers" which is choice D
(C) difficulty of interpretation
(D) limited quantity
(E) tendency toward contradiction


3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the myths recorded by the ancient Greeks?

I. They sometimes included portrayals of women holding positions of power. definitely- "Bachofen argued that women were dominant in many ancient societies."
II. They sometimes contained elaborate explanations of inheritance customs. I thought this may be true, but no answer choice with I and II. The passage mentions "His work was based on a comprehensive survey of references in the ancient sources to Amazonian and other societies with matrilineal customs-societies in which descent and property rights are traced through the female line. " So, perhaps the myths don't contain explanations of inheritance customs.
III. They comprise almost all of the material available to historians about ancient Greece. False, author mentions gravestones, wills, marriage contracts in the last paragraph

(A) I only correct
(B) III only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III

4. Which of the following is presented in the passage as evidence supporting the author's view of the ancient Greeks' descriptions of the Amazons?

"The Amazons were often characterized, for example, as the equivalents of giants and centaurs, enemies to be slain by Greek heroes. "
(A) The requirement that Sauromatae women kill in battle before marrying
(B) The failure of historians to verify that women were ever governors of ancient societies
(C) The classing of Amazons with giants and centaurs correct
(D) The well-established unreliability of Herodotus as a source of information about ancient societies
(E) The recent discovery of ancient societies with matrilineal customs

. It can be inferred from the passage that the probable reactions of many males in ancient Greece to the idea of a society ruled by women could best be characterized as

(A) confused and dismayed
(B) wary and hostile "to teach both male and female Greeks that all-female groups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society, are destructive and dangerous."
(C) cynical and disinterested
(D) curious but fearful
(E) excited but anxious

6. The author suggests that the main reason for the persisting influence of Bachofen's work is that

Work went unchallenged. Why? because of "sources are restricted in number, fragmentary, difficult to interpret, and often contradictory."
(A) feminists have shown little interest in ancient societies
(B) Bachofen's knowledge of Amazonian culture is unparalleled
(C) reliable information about the ancient world is difficult to acquire correct
(D) ancient societies show the best evidence of women in positions of power
(E) historians have been primarily interested in the modern period

7. The author's attitude toward Bachofen's treatise is best described as one of

author doesn't agree with B's treatise, but wouldn't go to an extreme negative side
(A) qualified approval
(B) profound ambivalence
(C) studied neutrality
(D) pointed disagreement correct
(E) unmitigated hostility

sushmitha2 - Great and detailed explaination.

I also got confused for Q3 while answering and marked A as the answer. Of course, similar to you, I would have also marked I and II, if it was there.

But upon reviewing I found one thing with Statement II which helped me understand why it was not the correct option.

Statement II mentions 'They sometimes contained elaborate explanations of inheritance customs'.

Here eleborate could no-where be deduced. We have only references as per Mr. B. These references were made into a comprehensive survey. Hence no proof of elaborate explanations. Hence may be that is why it is a incorrect inference.

Hope this helps

Hi, pradeepgontla,
Let me know if this helps.

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the probable reactions of many males in ancient Greece to the idea of a society ruled by women could best be characterized as

(A) confused and dismayed
(B) wary and hostile
(C) cynical and disinterested
(D) curious but fearful
(E) excited but anxious

Correct Answer : B,
Explanation: as mentioned in the passage: "The Amazons were often characterized, for example, as the equivalents of giants and centaurs, enemies to be slain by Greek heroes. Their customs were presented not as those of a respectable society, but as the very antitheses of ordinary Greek practices....... the purpose of accounts of the Amazons for their male Greek recorders was didactic, to teach both male and female Greeks that all-female groups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society, are destructive and dangerous", implying that Greeks had a hostile and a violent reaction towards the Amazonian societies ruled by women. Greeks considered such Amazonian societies exactly opposite of their own and that they were the enemies who were supposed to be killed.



Thanks.

Do you have the difficulty level on this one?

Please share the difficulty level. I almost took 15 min to solve.

The difficulty level of the questions of this passage should be as such in my opinion:

Question #1: 600
Question #2: 650
Question #3: 650
Question #4: 650
Question #5: 650
Question #6: 600
Question #7: 550

Overall: 650 (Medium to Hard)

Good Luck

Can someone please explain the reasons why A can be eliminated confidently in Q5?

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the probable reactions of many males in ancient Greece to the idea of a society ruled by women could best be characterized as

(A) confused and dismayed
(B) wary and hostile
(C) cynical and disinterested
(D) curious but fearful
(E) excited but anxious

Hi mindsf,

Refer the lines:
"The Amazons were often characterized, for example, as the equivalents of giants and centaurs, enemies to be slain by Greek heroes. Their customs were presented not as those of a respectable society, but as the very antitheses of ordinary Greek practices....... the purpose of accounts of the Amazons for their male Greek recorders was didactic, to teach both male and female Greeks that all-female groups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society, are destructive and dangerous"

The highlighted part doesn't imply that the reactions of many males in ancient Greece was confused and dismayed. The words used very strongly and clearly indicate an aggressive reaction. Thus B is a better answer.


Hope This Helps.
Thanks.

how is answer to 5 is B.
isn't it extreme??

Posted from my mobile device

how is answer to 5 is B.
isn't it extreme??

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Gknight5603,

Through the lines: "The Amazons were often characterized, for example, as the equivalents of giants and centaurs, enemies to be slain by Greek heroes..........to teach both male and female Greeks that all-female groups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society, are destructive and dangerous", we can actually infer the reactions of many males in ancient Greece to the idea of a society ruled by women to be extreme. So in the context of the information mentioned in the passage, option B is not too extreme.


Hope This Helps.T
Thanks.

Given that all-female groups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society, are destructive and dangerous, isn't it going to scare to the males?

Maybe I misunderstood the meaning of "dismayed." May someone help me understand what does "dismayed" mean? Is it the same as scary? - I looked up but not clear to me