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






2. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship






3. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar






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






5. 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






6. 'peace be with you'






7. 'boyish &' 'childlike' (from puer- boy)






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






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






10. 'The state in which'






11. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them






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






13. 'A slip of the tongue'






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






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






16. 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






17. The plebs were the free but non-aristocratic citizens of Rome; today & plebeian means 'of a low class'






18. Goddess of love






19. Blind poet Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey






20. 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






21. The male head of a Roman family






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






23. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)






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






25. Through & by way of (from via- road & way)






26. Doctor of medicine






27. Religion in Which many gods are worshipped (from Greek poly 'many' and theoi 'gods')






28. 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






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






30. Literally 'the greatest bridge' -- the chief priest of Roman religion (later & the emperor took on this role); now used to refer to the Pope & the head of the Catholic Church






31. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite






32. Home of the Greek gods






33. God of the sea






34. 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.






35. 5






36. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)






37. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'






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






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






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






41. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






42. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship






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






44. 'After death'






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






46. 'in memory of'






47. Writing after the body of a letter






48. 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.






49. '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






50. 'After death'