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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. God of the sea






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






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






4. The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld






5. 'in the whole &' 'as a whole &' 'totally'; ex: The suggestions were adopted in toto.






6. The male head of a Roman family






7. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen






8. A polis (city-state) in Greece & center of art and philosophy & named after Athena (its patron goddess); the Acropolis was the hill in Athens where many temples (including the Parthenon & the temple to Athena) were located






9. River that runs through the city of Rome






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






11. Goddess of victory






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






13. Home of the Greek gods






14. The norms or values of a society






15. Temple devoted to Athena; located on the Acropolis of Athens






16. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome






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






18. '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.






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

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






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






22. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus






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






24. 'Word for word'






25. 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')






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






27. 'great-souled & high-minded'






28. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






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






30. 'firm ground/solid earth'






31. 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)






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






33. One of the seven hills of Rome & south of the forum; the site of the imperial palace






34. God of the sun & light & reason & and the lyre






35. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






36. 'The end'






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






38. 'The other way around'






39. The Underworld; in early mythology & everyone went to Tartarus after they died; in later mythology & only bad people went to Tartarus after they died






40. Writing after the body of a letter






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






42. God of metallurgy (metal working); married to Aphrodite






43. The food of the gods; some believe it kept them immortal






44. Usually referring to Julius Caesar & the Roman dictator Who was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15th) 44 BCE






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






46. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)






47. City-state in ancient Greece known for its powerful army; fought against Athens in the Peloponnesian Wars






48. Usually referring to Julius Caesar & the Roman dictator Who was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15th) 44 BCE






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






50. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines