Test your basic knowledge |

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. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






2. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon






3. The ferryman for the river Styx going into the underworld






4. 500






5. 1000






6. 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






7. A state of disorganized matter from which the gods and the world were created






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






9. God of the sea






10. 'To infinity &' to continue forever & without limit






11. God of the sea






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






13. '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.






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






15. 'Always prepared'






16. 'per head' 'per person'






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






18. The plebs were the free but non-aristocratic citizens of Rome; today & plebeian means 'of a low class'






19. 'my fault' ; tua culpa -'your fault'






20. 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






21. After midday/noon






22. 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






23. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'






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






25. 10






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






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






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






29. One-eyed children of Ouranos/Uranus and Gaea (Mother Earth); sided with Zeus during the war with the Titans; were helpers of the smith-god Hephaestus






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






31. 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')






32. 1






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






34. Greek island in the Ionian Sea; the home of Odysseus






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






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






37. 'doctor/teacher of philosophy' - an advanced academic degree






38. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived






39. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it






40. 'I'






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






42. 'The things that must be done' - a to-do list






43. 'Higher!' -- the state motto of New York






44. 'unknown land'






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






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






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






48. 'from the office &' 'by right of office' - used to refer to someone Who is a member of a group (a board & committee & council & etc.) because they hold another office/position






49. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'






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