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Test your basic knowledge |
Classical Literacy
Start Test
Study First
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 mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)
Hercules/Heracles
fresco
Iliad
sub poena
2. Through & by way of (from via- road & way)
via
Etruscans
satyr
verbatim
3. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)
Saturnalia
lapsus linguae
Jason
Hestia/Vesta
4. 'per head' 'per person'
per capita
mellifluous
Hera/Juno
labyrinth
5. 'peace be with you'
pax vobiscum
Punic Wars
ex officio
V (Roman numeral)
6. Religion in Which many gods are worshipped (from Greek poly 'many' and theoi 'gods')
polytheism
ad infinitum
D (Roman numeral)
lapsus linguae
7. 'great work'
cave canem
semper paratus
magnum opus
sub poena
8. After midday/noon
Hades/Pluto
P.M./post meridiem
p.o./ per os
L (Roman numeral)
9. Greek island in the Ionian Sea; the home of Odysseus
Ithaca
Romulus and Remus
X (Roman numeral)
Hera/Juno
10. Icarus was the son of Daedalus who flew too close to the sun with the wings his father made him from wax and feathers & and fell to his death
omniscient
Icarus & Daedalus
verbatim
polytheism
11. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon
veto
Perseus & Medusa
Delphic Oracle
Theseus
12. 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
P.M./post meridiem
post mortem
the Fates
satyr
13. Usually referring to Julius Caesar & the Roman dictator Who was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15th) 44 BCE
omniscient
Caesar
N.B./nota bene
e.g./exempli gratia
14. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts
muses
Eros/Cupid
mosaic
Demeter/Ceres
15. 'And you & Brutus?' famous last words of Julius Caesar as the Senate members assassinated him; Brutus was supposed to be a friend of his & but had a hand in the killing
toga
in toto
et tu & Brute?
Styx
16. Mother Earth; the wife of Uranus & the sky; she gave birth to the Titans & the Cyclopes & and the Hundred-Handed Ones
Ge/Gaea
consul
V (Roman numeral)
Sisyphus
17. The golden wool of a ram sought by Jason and the Argonauts
N.B./nota bene
Golden Fleece
sine qua non
Zeus/Jupiter
18. God of metallurgy (metal working); married to Aphrodite
satyr
Hephaestus/Vulcan
patrician
Jove
19. Epic poem written by Home chronicling the Trojan War
Iliad
Helen
Orpheus & Eurydice
via
20. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter
Jove
Trojan Horse
I (Roman numeral)
pontifex maximus
21. The 200 year period of peace which began under the rule of Augustus
patrician
Romulus and Remus
L (Roman numeral)
Pax Romana
22. 10
Medea
Hades/Pluto
Arachne
X (Roman numeral)
23. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.
sine qua non
tempus fugit
ex libris
et tu & Brute?
24. One of the seven hills of Rome & south of the forum; the site of the imperial palace
verbatim
Eros/Cupid
M (Roman numeral)
Palatine Hill
25. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'
et tu & Brute?
Ares/Mars
patrician
satyr
26. 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
mosaic
Trojan Horse
Jason
Mt. Olympus
27. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus
i.e./id est
Atlas
Caesar
A.M./ante meridiem
28. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died
iota
Persephone/Proserpina
veto
Hermes/Mercury
29. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned
Ariadne
Chaos
M (Roman numeral)
labyrinth
30. 'one out of many' - found on most US minted coins and the back of the dollar bill
Pax Romana
veni & vidi & vici
Achilles' heel
e pluribus unum
31. The norms or values of a society
homo sapiens- 'wise man'
mores
carpe diem
Dionysus/Bacchus
32. 'To infinity &' to continue forever & without limit
per diem
labor vincit omnia
ad infinitum
Sparta
33. 'This for that &' a fair trade
quid pro quo
rara avis
SPQR
veto
34. 'Word for word'
verbatim
Chaos
epic
apple of discord
35. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)
Saturnalia
summa cum laude
V (Roman numeral)
tribune
36. 500
Tiber
D (Roman numeral)
Palatine Hill
the Fates
37. The plebs were the free but non-aristocratic citizens of Rome; today & plebeian means 'of a low class'
plebeian
M.D./Medicinae Doctor
Apollo/Apollo
vs./versus
38. A long poem that narrates the deeds of a hero or the history of a nation & e.g. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
X (Roman numeral)
Circus Maximus
Tartarus
epic
39. '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.
post mortem
I (Roman numeral)
Aegean Sea
sic semper tyrannis
40. 'my fault' ; tua culpa -'your fault'
mea culpa
sedentary
Mt. Olympus
vs./versus
41. Market place/business center
agora/forum
Medea
homo sapiens- 'wise man'
Caesar
42. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned
Ides of March
Demeter/Ceres
labyrinth
mellifluous
43. The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld
Odysseus/Ulysses
et al./ et alii
Cerberus
Hades/Pluto
44. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen
V (Roman numeral)
Persephone/Proserpina
Mt. Olympus
Helen
45. 'by mouth' - used on prescription medicines that have to be taken orally
puerile
persona non grata
vs./versus
p.o./ per os
46. 'for the time being' - temporary
pro tempore
rara avis
sic transit gloria mundi
p.o./ per os
47. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head
Pegasus
Homer
per capita
Hermes/Mercury
48. Eurydice died on their wedding day. Orpheus went down to the Underworld to bring her back. Hades agreed & on the condition that Eurydice would follow behind Orpheus on their way up to the mortal world and he couldn't check to make sure She was behind
jovial
puerile
Styx
Orpheus & Eurydice
49. 'Time flies/flees'
per diem
Colosseum
tempus fugit
jovial
50. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)
terra firma
fresco
marathon
Colosseum