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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. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey
Parthenon
Icarus & Daedalus
Odysseus/Ulysses
quid pro quo
2. 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')
et tu & Brute?
finis
plebeian
rostra
3. Temple in Rome dedicated to all the Roman gods
Icarus & Daedalus
semper paratus
Pegasus
Pantheon
4. The king of the gods; god of thunder and lightning
Tantalus
Tartarus
muses
Zeus/Jupiter
5. The people in control of the Italian peninsula before Rome began to spread
laurels
Romulus and Remus
Orpheus & Eurydice
Etruscans
6. 'Thus passes the glory of the world.' i.e. 'Worldly things are fleeting.'
ambrosia and nectar
sic transit gloria mundi
Augustus
jovial
7. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up
errare humanum est
Athens/Acropolis
Atlas
carpe diem
8. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts
Priam
muses
A.M./ante meridiem
C (Roman numeral)
9. A long poem that narrates the deeds of a hero or the history of a nation & e.g. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
Helen
epic
Aphrodite/Venus
Elysian Fields/Elysium
10. A bundle of wooden sticks and an axe blade that the attendants of Roman magistrates carried; symbolized the magistrates' power to inflict capital punishment
fasces
laurels
pro tempore
patrician
11. 'in memory of'
Cerberus
in memoriam
Palatine Hill
muses
12. 'per year'
Elysian Fields/Elysium
Saturnalia
iota
per annum
13. The norms or values of a society
pontifex maximus
agora/forum
Delphic Oracle
mores
14. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head
Eros/Cupid
Delphic Oracle
Pegasus
I (Roman numeral)
15. Sea to the west of Greece; named after King Aegeus after he drowned himself in the sea thinking his son Theseus was dead
sine qua non
ego
sedentary
Aegean Sea
16. Carthaginian general who attacked Italy by crossing the Italian Alps in the 2nd Punic War; He was eventually defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Zama
Sparta
Hannibal
Gorgons
Cyclops
17. The ferryman for the river Styx going into the underworld
vs./versus
valedictorian
Charon
Pax Romana
18. The king of the gods; god of thunder and lightning
Jove
mellifluous
etc./et cetera
Zeus/Jupiter
19. 'seize the day'
carpe diem
laurels
Hades/Pluto
Delphic Oracle
20. The ferryman for the river Styx going into the underworld
Tartarus
Saturnalia
mores
Charon
21. 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
Sisyphus
tribune
sine qua non
vs./versus
22. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)
Charon
fresco
Aphrodite/Venus
X (Roman numeral)
23. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')
Apollo/Apollo
puerile
Tartarus
mellifluous
24. 'The end'
Chaos
finis
plebeian
rara avis
25. The people in control of the Italian peninsula before Rome began to spread
Hector
Orpheus & Eurydice
et tu & Brute?
Etruscans
26. The god of the sky; created the Titans with Gaia & Mother Earth
Uranus
status quo
Artemis/Diana
I (Roman numeral)
27. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship
toga
Homer
I (Roman numeral)
Etruscans
28. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them
tribune
in toto
Palatine Hill
Sisyphus
29. God of metallurgy (metal working); married to Aphrodite
p.o./ per os
Hephaestus/Vulcan
carpe diem
the furies
30. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon
Parthenon
A.M./ante meridiem
Demeter/Ceres
the Fates
31. 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
laurels
Prometheus
sine qua non
Athens/Acropolis
32. Goddess of wisdom
mosaic
Sicily
Iliad
Athena/Minerva
33. 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')
pontifex maximus
rostra
Tartarus
Demeter/Ceres
34. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it
Styx
P.S./post scriptum
Athena/Minerva
ad nauseam
35. 'for the time being' - temporary
pro tempore
homo sapiens- 'wise man'
Trojan Horse
N.B./nota bene
36. 'firm ground/solid earth'
terra incognita
agenda
Atlas
terra firma
37. 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
agenda
pontifex maximus
Pan
atrium
38. 'Higher!' -- the state motto of New York
ego
the Odyssey
Pan
Excelsior!
39. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter
Jove
consul
Priam
cave canem
40. River that runs through the city of Rome
Styx
A.M./ante meridiem
Tiber
Medea
41. Carthaginian general who attacked Italy by crossing the Italian Alps in the 2nd Punic War; He was eventually defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Zama
post mortem
Tantalus
toga
Hannibal
42. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)
Spartacus
Punic Wars
epic
aqueduct
43. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned
plebeian
labyrinth
vs./versus
Mt. Olympus
44. 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
mentor
ex officio
semper paratus
satyr
45. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery
Nike/Victoria
mosaic
Ariadne
Spartacus
46. Good-humored & jolly (ancient astrologers thought that the planet Jupiter fostered cheerfulness)
et tu & Brute?
Excelsior!
Ge/Gaea
jovial
47. 'The other way around'
Cerberus
Ides of March
vice versa
Parthenon
48. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it
ad nauseam
Pandora
Delphic Oracle
Colosseum
49. 'I'
Ares/Mars
ego
sub rosa
X (Roman numeral)
50. 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
Sisyphus
Hera/Juno
lapsus linguae
omniscient