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Test your basic knowledge |
Classical Literacy
Start Test
Study First
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. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)
fresco
e.g./exempli gratia
finis
Penelope
2. 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
Arachne
Palatine Hill
pax vobiscum
Hydra
3. 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)
Priam
labor vincit omnia
Mt. Vesuvius
Paris
4. 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
Sparta
papyrus
consul
C (Roman numeral)
5. 'beware of the dog'
cave canem
Medea
Sisyphus
Hydra
6. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (i); commonly used in the phrase 'not one iota &' meaning 'not one bit'
X (Roman numeral)
Pompeii
iota
Cerberus
7. The Underworld; in early mythology & everyone went to Tartarus after they died; in later mythology & only bad people went to Tartarus after they died
Tartarus
Trojan Horse
labor vincit omnia
e.g./exempli gratia
8. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)
Atlas
Colosseum
errare humanum est
Mt. Vesuvius
9. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece
Styx
Jason
pax vobiscum
Pegasus
10. 'Thus passes the glory of the world.' i.e. 'Worldly things are fleeting.'
Punic Wars
agenda
sic transit gloria mundi
rostra
11. 'Against' & used to show Who is up against who in sports matches & legal battles & etc.
vs./versus
Cyclops
verbatim
Hector
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
polytheism
toga
Paris
magnanimous
13. 'great-souled & high-minded'
Uranus
labor vincit omnia
marathon
magnanimous
14. 'peace be with you'
pax vobiscum
mentor
polytheism
P.M./post meridiem
15. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome
Uranus
atrium
Pandora
Circus Maximus
16. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)
Mt. Vesuvius
Eros/Cupid
sedentary
in toto
17. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines
semper fidelis
post mortem
epic
Persephone/Proserpina
18. 10
M (Roman numeral)
veni & vidi & vici
X (Roman numeral)
magnum opus
19. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head
Carthage
Pegasus
X (Roman numeral)
puerile
20. The male head of a Roman family
paterfamilias
Tartarus
fasces
et al./ et alii
21. 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
mea culpa
omniscient
Hector
X (Roman numeral)
22. 'And you & Brutus?' famous last words of Julius Caesar as the Senate members assassinated him; Brutus was supposed to be a friend of his & but had a hand in the killing
Ithaca
et tu & Brute?
Atlas
etc./et cetera
23. 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
finis
pro tempore
Excelsior!
Helen
24. The male head of a Roman family
Penelope
Tiber
Athens/Acropolis
paterfamilias
25. One of the 12 Titans & father of Zeus/Jupiter & who swallowed his children in an attempt to keep from being overthrown
Demeter/Ceres
Pan
laurels
Cronus/Saturn
26. A system created by the Romans which carried water over long distances
Punic Wars
atrium
aqueduct
via
27. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts
muses
et al./ et alii
Pandora
Mt. Vesuvius
28. 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
the Fates
omniscient
quid pro quo
sic semper tyrannis
29. God of the sea
Hades/Pluto
Achilles' heel
Poseidon/Neptune
Romulus and Remus
30. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar
Tantalus
P.S./post scriptum
Spartacus
veni & vidi & vici
31. 'in memory of'
Poseidon/Neptune
Persephone/Proserpina
M (Roman numeral)
in memoriam
32. After midday/noon
Apollo/Apollo
omniscient
in toto
P.M./post meridiem
33. Son of Zeus; had to complete 12 labors to regain favor with the gods after killing his family; when he died & he became a god
Hercules/Heracles
Parthenon
Parthenon
per diem
34. Homer's epic poem about Odysseus & kind of Ithaca & trying to find his way home from the Trojan War
D (Roman numeral)
the Odyssey
Hestia/Vesta
Medea
35. 'per year'
Aphrodite/Venus
Iliad
atrium
per annum
36. Refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the responsibilities of a parent
the furies
ambrosia and nectar
in loco parentis
epic
37. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head
the Fates
mea culpa
aqueduct
Pegasus
38. 'by mouth' - used on prescription medicines that have to be taken orally
p.o./ per os
carpe diem
tribune
mores
39. Writing after the body of a letter
P.S./post scriptum
ego
Ariadne
ad infinitum
40. 'in memory of'
Penelope
in memoriam
in toto
Cerberus
41. 'beware of the dog'
etc./et cetera
cave canem
agora/forum
X (Roman numeral)
42. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite
Eros/Cupid
Artemis/Diana
Caesar
mores
43. The wife of Odysseus; a model of faithfulness to one's husband
Penelope
I (Roman numeral)
e.g./exempli gratia
Pantheon
44. 'An unwelcome person' - used in diplomacy to indicate a person Who is barred from entering a certain country
mentor
rara avis
sic semper tyrannis
persona non grata
45. 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
epic
paterfamilias
Hector
iota
46. Epic poem written by Home chronicling the Trojan War
Hades/Pluto
Circus Maximus
e.g./exempli gratia
Iliad
47. A state of disorganized matter from which the gods and the world were created
Achilles' heel
Chaos
Persephone/Proserpina
Tantalus
48. 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')
sub rosa
paterfamilias
cave canem
rostra
49. Goddess of the hunt
Artemis/Diana
Priam
Ge/Gaea
Persephone/Proserpina
50. God of metallurgy (metal working); married to Aphrodite
Charon
et tu & Brute?
Hephaestus/Vulcan
SPQR