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Classical Literacy

Subject : literacy
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The male head of a Roman family






2. Market place/business center






3. Female monsters who had snakes for hair and whose horrifying gaze could turn a man to stone if he looked at them (Medusa was one of the Gorgons)






4. Kingdom in Asia Minor which fought against Greece in Homer's Iliad






5. 'in the whole &' 'as a whole &' 'totally'; ex: The suggestions were adopted in toto.






6. King punished in Tartarus by having to roll a stone up a hill continuously for eternity; when he reached the top & the stone rolled to the bottom again






7. 5






8. 'The one who says farewell' -- the student with the highest grade point average & Who is chosen to give a speech at the end of graduation






9. The oracle of Apollo; people visited the oracle for guidance and predictions of the future






10. Eurydice died on their wedding day. Orpheus went down to the Underworld to bring her back. Hades agreed & on the condition that Eurydice would follow behind Orpheus on their way up to the mortal world and he couldn't check to make sure She was behind






11. 100






12. God of the sun & light & reason & and the lyre






13. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






14. 'Thus always & to tyrants.' Allegedly said by Brutus during the assassination of Caesar. John Wilkes Booth also shouted it after shooting President Lincoln. It is now the motto of Virginia.






15. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned






16. The food of the gods; some believe it kept them immortal






17. Greek god of nature; had the torso and head of a man & but the legs and horns of a goat






18. Titan best known for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans; He was punished by being chained to a rock and having his liver eaten by a bird everyday






19. Victorious athletes & generals & and emperors wore crowns of made of the branches of the laurel tree to symbolize their victory; now & 'laurels' refer to someone's achievements






20. 'Thus always & to tyrants.' Allegedly said by Brutus during the assassination of Caesar. John Wilkes Booth also shouted it after shooting President Lincoln. It is now the motto of Virginia.






21. Victorious athletes & generals & and emperors wore crowns of made of the branches of the laurel tree to symbolize their victory; now & 'laurels' refer to someone's achievements






22. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






23. Prince of Troy Who was killed by Achilles in the Iliad; Achilles tied Hector's dead body to the back of his chariot and dragged it around the city walls three times






24. 'The state in which'






25. Out of her curiosity & she opened a box containing all the bad things in the world; she put the lid on just in time & so that hope did not escape from the box & too






26. Spirits who carry out curses and torture for wrongdoing toward one's family member (s)






27. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery






28. A polis (city-state) in Greece & center of art and philosophy & named after Athena (its patron goddess); the Acropolis was the hill in Athens where many temples (including the Parthenon & the temple to Athena) were located






29. A king Who was tortured in the Underworld by having water and grapes within his reach & but the water and grapes pulled away whenever he went to take drink or a bite






30. The Underworld; in early mythology & everyone went to Tartarus after they died; in later mythology & only bad people went to Tartarus after they died






31. 1






32. 'The things that must be done' - a to-do list






33. 'The end'






34. 'An unwelcome person' - used in diplomacy to indicate a person Who is barred from entering a certain country






35. A long poem that narrates the deeds of a hero or the history of a nation & e.g. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey






36. River that runs through the city of Rome






37. 'in the year of the Lord &' designating the time period after Christ's birth






38. Site of the Apollo's oracle at Delphi; home of the Muses






39. 'Always prepared'






40. Good-humored & jolly (ancient astrologers thought that the planet Jupiter fostered cheerfulness)






41. 'This for that &' a fair trade






42. The highest political office in the Roman Republic; 2 were elected every year






43. The wife of Odysseus; a model of faithfulness to one's husband






44. Goddess of wisdom






45. A serpent-like monster with many heads and poisonous breath; when one head got cut off & it grew two more; killed by Hercules as his second labor






46. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)






47. 'Thus passes the glory of the world.' i.e. 'Worldly things are fleeting.'






48. Prince of Troy Who was killed by Achilles in the Iliad; Achilles tied Hector's dead body to the back of his chariot and dragged it around the city walls three times






49. Home of the Greek gods






50. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite