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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. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived






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






3. 'by mouth' - used on prescription medicines that have to be taken orally






4. The technical biological term for the human species

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






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






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






8. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died






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






10. 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)






11. 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






12. 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






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






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






15. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'






16. Goddess of the hearth






17. 'for the sake of an example' - abbreviation used when providing an example






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






19. Icarus was the son of Daedalus who flew too close to the sun with the wings his father made him from wax and feathers & and fell to his death






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






21. 'unknown land'






22. Goddess of the hunt






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






24. 5






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






26. Goddess of childbirth; married to Zeus; queen of the gods






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






28. 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






29. 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






30. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'






31. 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.






32. Blind poet Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey






33. 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






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






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






36. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon






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






38. 'note well' i.e. take note






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






40. 'my fault' ; tua culpa -'your fault'






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






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






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






44. Goddess of victory






45. Sea to the west of Greece; named after King Aegeus after he drowned himself in the sea thinking his son Theseus was dead






46. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts






47. God of war






48. 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






49. 50






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