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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. '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.






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






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






4. 100






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






6. 'firm ground/solid earth'






7. Victorious athletes & generals & and emperors wore crowns of made of the branches of the laurel tree to symbolize their victory; now & 'laurels' refer to someone's achievements






8. Market place/business center






9. Goddess of victory






10. 'per day'






11. 100






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






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






14. A system created by the Romans which carried water over long distances






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






16. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)






17. 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






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






19. 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






20. 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






21. 'seize the day'






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






23. 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






24. 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






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






26. 'All-knowing'






27. 'Always prepared'






28. Literally refers to the heel of Achilles (a character from the Iliad who killed Hector)

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






30. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






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






32. 'peace be with you'






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






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






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






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






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






38. Victorious athletes & generals & and emperors wore crowns of made of the branches of the laurel tree to symbolize their victory; now & 'laurels' refer to someone's achievements






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






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






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






42. Goddess of the hearth






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






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






45. 'per day'






46. The people in control of the Italian peninsula before Rome began to spread






47. 'Time flies/flees'






48. 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






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






50. 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')