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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. Sorceress & wife of Jason; killed their children to get revenge on Jason for leaving her






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






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






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






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






6. Religion in Which many gods are worshipped (from Greek poly 'many' and theoi 'gods')






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






8. 'under penalty' a written order for a person to come testify in court






9. 'Thus passes the glory of the world.' i.e. 'Worldly things are fleeting.'






10. Out of her curiosity & she opened a box containing all the bad things in the world; she put the lid on just in time & so that hope did not escape from the box & too






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






12. The god of the sky; created the Titans with Gaia & Mother Earth






13. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon






14. 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






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






16. 'Word for word'






17. The male head of a Roman family






18. 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')






19. 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






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






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






22. 'Time flies/flees'






23. The norms or values of a society






24. 'per day'






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






26. 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






27. 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






28. 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






29. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






30. In early mythology & the resting place of heroes; the later mythology & where good people went in the afterlife






31. Reception hall (like the living room) in a Roman house






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






33. God of the sea






34. 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






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






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






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






38. 'After death'






39. 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






40. 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)






41. A town on the western coast of Italy destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuius in AD 79






42. 10






43. Half-man & half-goat creatures; companions of Pan and Dionysus






44. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance






45. Athenian prince who killed the Minotaur






46. 'A rare bird' - something unique/rare






47. Refers to an action or condition necessary for something to happen






48. Figuratively 'secretly.' Aphrodite gave her son Eros a rose. Eros gave it to Harpocrates & the god of silence & to ensure that his mother's love affairs remained a secret.






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






50. Literally & the apple that Eris (goddess of strife) threw in front of Hera & Aphrodite & and Athena to cause a dispute over Who was the fairest; figuratively & anything which causes a dispute