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






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






3. 'beware of the dog'






4. A bundle of wooden sticks and an axe blade that the attendants of Roman magistrates carried; symbolized the magistrates' power to inflict capital punishment






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






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






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






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






9. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






10. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar






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






12. Used on documents & coins & monuments & etc. as an official signature of the Roman government






13. 'per day'






14. 'Work conquers all'






15. 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






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






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






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






19. Spirits who carry out curses and torture for wrongdoing toward one's family member (s)






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






21. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'






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






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






24. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery






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






26. 'seize the day'






27. 'The state in which'






28. 'firm ground/solid earth'






29. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)






30. 100






31. 1






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






33. 5






34. 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






35. A king Who was tortured in the Underworld by having water and grapes within his reach & but the water and grapes pulled away whenever he went to take drink or a bite






36. 'This for that &' a fair trade






37. '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.






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






39. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






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






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






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






43. King of Troy during the Trojan War; father of Hector and Paris; begged Achilles to give his son Hector's body back to be properly buried (Achilles had been dragging it around the city)






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






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






46. 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






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






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






49. 500






50. 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