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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. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines






2. 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






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






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






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






6. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






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






8. 500






9. The 200 year period of peace which began under the rule of Augustus






10. Goddess of the hearth






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






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

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13. 'The other way around'






14. The norms or values of a society






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






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






17. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)






18. 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






19. 'unknown land'






20. 'Time flies/flees'






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






22. The male head of a Roman family






23. Epic poem written by Home chronicling the Trojan War






24. Doctor of medicine






25. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite






26. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.






27. 'peace be with you'






28. 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






29. 'per year'






30. 'per day'






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






32. The daughter of king Minos of Crete & who helped Theseus escape from the labyrinth after he killed the minotaur






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






34. 'I'






35. One of the 12 Titans & father of Zeus/Jupiter & who swallowed his children in an attempt to keep from being overthrown






36. God of war






37. A hollow wooden horse built by the Greeks so that they could get into the walls of Troy. The Greeks pretended to pack up and leave from the war & but some hid in the horse which was later led into the walls of Troy by the Trojans (thinking it was a






38. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)






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






40. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (i); commonly used in the phrase 'not one iota &' meaning 'not one bit'






41. Goddess of the hunt






42. Volcano which erupted in AD 79 and destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum






43. Goddess of wisdom






44. 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






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






46. 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






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






48. 'After death'






49. 'Always prepared'






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