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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. Greek island in the Ionian Sea; the home of Odysseus






2. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines






3. 'Time flies/flees'






4. The golden wool of a ram sought by Jason and the Argonauts






5. Son of Zeus; had to complete 12 labors to regain favor with the gods after killing his family; when he died & he became a god






6. Gladiator who led an uprising of slaves against the Romans in the 1st c. BC






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






8. City-state in ancient Greece known for its powerful army; fought against Athens in the Peloponnesian Wars






9. A modern day race of 26.2 miles; from Marathon in Greece & the scene of a victory over the Persians in 490 BC; the modern race is based on the tradition that a messenger ran from Marathon to Athens (26 miles) with the news.






10. 'The other way around'






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






12. The city in Northern Africa that the Romans fought and destroyed during the Punic Wars (264-146 BC.)






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






14. 'A rare bird' - something unique/rare






15. Doctor of medicine






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






17. 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






18. '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.






19. 100






20. Refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the responsibilities of a parent






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






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






23. Greek island in the Ionian Sea; the home of Odysseus






24. 'per head' 'per person'






25. 'All-knowing'






26. 'for the time being' - temporary






27. A town on the western coast of Italy destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuius in AD 79






28. Goddess of wisdom






29. 'Higher!' -- the state motto of New York






30. 'And the rest' usually seen at the end of a list of things & instead of listing everything






31. 'great-souled & high-minded'






32. Figuratively 'secretly.' Aphrodite gave her son Eros a rose. Eros gave it to Harpocrates & the god of silence & to ensure that his mother's love affairs remained a secret.






33. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






34. 'The state in which'






35. Goddess of the hearth






36. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.






37. 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






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






39. 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)






40. 'per year'






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






42. 500






43. 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






44. The king of the gods; god of thunder and lightning






45. 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






46. 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






47. 'I'






48. The 200 year period of peace which began under the rule of Augustus






49. One of the seven hills of Rome & south of the forum; the site of the imperial palace






50. God of wine and revelry; son of Zeus and Semele