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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. 50






2. 'doctor/teacher of philosophy' - an advanced academic degree






3. The god of the sky; created the Titans with Gaia & Mother Earth






4. Goddess of grain & the harvest & and the seasons; mother of Persephone/Proserpina






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






6. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






7. 500






8. King of Troy during the Trojan War; father of Hector and Paris; begged Achilles to give his son Hector's body back to be properly buried (Achilles had been dragging it around the city)






9. Mother Earth; the wife of Uranus & the sky; she gave birth to the Titans & the Cyclopes & and the Hundred-Handed Ones






10. 100






11. 'one out of many' - found on most US minted coins and the back of the dollar bill






12. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it






13. Was chosen by Zeus to settle the argument of Who was the fairest of the goddesses; he chose Aphrodite because she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world if he chose her






14. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey






15. 'I refuse &' used by the president of the US to stop any bill he sees unfit from passing






16. Temple devoted to Athena; located on the Acropolis of Athens






17. In early mythology & the resting place of heroes; the later mythology & where good people went in the afterlife






18. 'With highest honors' graduating from college in the highest grade scale






19. Literally & the apple that Eris (goddess of strife) threw in front of Hera & Aphrodite & and Athena to cause a dispute over Who was the fairest; figuratively & anything which causes a dispute






20. 'per day'






21. 'firm ground/solid earth'






22. 'After death'






23. Queen of Sparta Who was promised to Paris by Aphrodite for choosing her (Aphrodite) as the fairest goddess; Helen was already married to Menelaus and her kidnapping began the Trojan War






24. 'for the time being' - temporary






25. The 15th of March & the day in 44 BC Julius Caesar was assassinated






26. A hollow wooden horse built by the Greeks so that they could get into the walls of Troy. The Greeks pretended to pack up and leave from the war & but some hid in the horse which was later led into the walls of Troy by the Trojans (thinking it was a






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






28. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance






29. The male head of a Roman family






30. 'With highest honors' graduating from college in the highest grade scale






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






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






33. 'And others'






34. The daughter of king Minos of Crete & who helped Theseus escape from the labyrinth after he killed the minotaur






35. Lived in the Labyrinth; fed off of Athenian youths; killed by Theseus






36. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')






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






38. 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)






39. The people in control of the Italian peninsula before Rome began to spread






40. Large island off the southeast coast of Italy; home of Mt. Etna & a huge volcano; where the Cyclopes lived in the Odyssey






41. 5






42. 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






43. The three goddesses who determine a person's life: when he will be born & how long he will live & and when he will die; one sister spins the thread of life & the second measures out a certain length & and the third cuts it at the end of the person's






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






45. 'in memory of'






46. Goddess of love






47. 'in memory of'






48. 'seize the day'






49. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






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