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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. 'note well' i.e. take note






2. 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






3. 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






4. 'one out of many' - found on most US minted coins and the back of the dollar bill






5. 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






6. Female monsters who had snakes for hair and whose horrifying gaze could turn a man to stone if he looked at them (Medusa was one of the Gorgons)






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






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






9. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up






10. Through & by way of (from via- road & way)






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






12. Through & by way of (from via- road & way)






13. 'This for that &' a fair trade






14. 10






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






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






17. 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')






18. Blind poet Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey






19. Female monsters who had snakes for hair and whose horrifying gaze could turn a man to stone if he looked at them (Medusa was one of the Gorgons)






20. After midday/noon






21. 'The state in which'






22. 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






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






24. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






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






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






27. 'And others'






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. God of the sea






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






31. 'The end'






32. 'The state in which'






33. 'peace be with you'






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






35. 50






36. 'A slip of the tongue'






37. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






38. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up






39. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them






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






41. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






42. 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






43. 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






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






45. 'Always prepared'






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






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






48. Temple in Rome dedicated to all the Roman gods






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






50. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')