Question

this commission sadly perplexed hercules, for he did not know in what portion of the world he would find these apples, which had been given to juno as a wedding present, and which she had intrusted to the care of the hesperides, daughters of hesperus, god of the west. after numerous journeys and many inquiries, hercules discovered that these maidens had carried these apples off to africa, hung them on a tree in their garden, and placed the dragon ladon at its foot to guard their treasures night and day. unfortunately, no one could tell hercules in what part of africa the garden of the hesperides might be situated; so he set out at a venture, determined to travel about until he gained some information. on his way he met with many adventures, and saw many strange sights. for instance, he first met the nymphs of the eridanus river, and, questioning them
8
\in obedience to this advice, hercules went to the caucasian mountains, where, on the brink of a mighty precipice, he found prometheus, still bound with adamantine chains, and still a prey to the ravenous vulture.\ (paragraph 4)
in latin, the word \adamas\ was used to name the hardest substance on earth. based on this information, what does the word adamantine mean as it is used in this sentence?
a heated
b horrible
c unusual
d unyielding

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of "adamantine", we use the Latin origin "adamas" (hardest substance on earth). Analyze options: "heated" (temperature - no), "horrible" (quality - no), "unusual" (rarity - no), "unyielding" (matches hardness/inflexibility of the hardest substance, fitting chains binding Prometheus).

Answer:

D. unyielding