Test your basic knowledge |

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. One of the 12 Titans & father of Zeus/Jupiter & who swallowed his children in an attempt to keep from being overthrown






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






3. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome






4. Goddess of the hearth






5. 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






6. God of the sea






7. Goddess of victory






8. 100






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






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






11. 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)






12. The norms or values of a society






13. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






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






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






16. One-eyed children of Ouranos/Uranus and Gaea (Mother Earth); sided with Zeus during the war with the Titans; were helpers of the smith-god Hephaestus






17. 'The state in which'






18. 'And others'






19. The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld






20. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)






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






22. 'per year'






23. Goddess of love






24. 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)






25. 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






26. Homer's epic poem about Odysseus & kind of Ithaca & trying to find his way home from the Trojan War






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






28. Goddess of victory






29. 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






30. First emperor of the Roman Empire; adopted son of Julius Caesar; member of the 2nd Triumvirate; also known as Octavian






31. A state of disorganized matter from which the gods and the world were created






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






33. 'seize the day'






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






35. 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.






36. 'Always prepared'






37. 'Time flies/flees'






38. 'Word for word'






39. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)






40. 'from the office &' 'by right of office' - used to refer to someone Who is a member of a group (a board & committee & council & etc.) because they hold another office/position






41. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






42. 'note well' i.e. take note






43. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon






44. 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






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






46. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (i); commonly used in the phrase 'not one iota &' meaning 'not one bit'






47. 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






48. Writing after the body of a letter






49. A material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant & used in sheets throughout the ancient Mediterranean world for writing or painting on






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