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






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






3. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






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






5. Sorceress & wife of Jason; killed their children to get revenge on Jason for leaving her






6. A bundle of wooden sticks and an axe blade that the attendants of Roman magistrates carried; symbolized the magistrates' power to inflict capital punishment






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






8. Site of the Apollo's oracle at Delphi; home of the Muses






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






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






11. 500






12. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived






13. 'Time flies/flees'






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






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






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






17. After midday/noon






18. 'I'






19. The oracle of Apollo; people visited the oracle for guidance and predictions of the future






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






21. Epic poem written by Home chronicling the Trojan War






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






23. A king Who was tortured in the Underworld by having water and grapes within his reach & but the water and grapes pulled away whenever he went to take drink or a bite






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






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






26. Challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was turned into a spider for her excessive pride






27. 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






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






29. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived






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






31. Refers to an action or condition necessary for something to happen






32. Speaker's platform in the forum & which was decorated with the prows of ships the Romans captured in war (rostrum means 'beak & prow of a ship')






33. 'The other way around'






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






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






36. 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






37. 'All-knowing'






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






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






40. 1






41. 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






42. 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






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






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. 'The other way around'






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






47. A teacher Who is like a parent; comes from the Mentor & Odysseus' old friend & whom he left in charge of his son Telemachus when he went off to the Trojan War






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






49. Goddess of the hearth






50. The technical biological term for the human species

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183