The Biblical portrayal of (i)_________ times preceding the great deluge stands in stark contrast to the ancient Greek representation of the (ii)_________ past as a Golden Age from which humanity has slowly descended into godless chaos. Such observations can easily give rise to the notion that stories about the past are less faithful attempts at reconstruction than (iii) _________ , expressing both our cultural fears and hopes.
A contrast between the Greek representation of the Golden Age and the Biblical portrayal of the times preceding the flood is established in the paragraph. This means that the times portrayed in the Bible should be un-Golden, and the word is
flagitious, which means criminal or villainous. It is definitely not
dubious or
rustic and these can be eliminated easily to choose flagitious.
The second blank:
Now, we need a word which describes the past. Since both the Bible and the Greeks are talking about the times preceding the great deluge, the word is clearly
antediluvian.
The third blank:
We need word that is of the same category as stories, so
allegories is correct choice. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.Also
equivocations refer to ambiguous language which conceals the truth and
platitudes refer to remarks or statements, especially ones with a moral content, which have been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful. So these two can be eliminated.
_________________