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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. '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.
Apollo/Apollo
Ares/Mars
sic semper tyrannis
et al./ et alii
2. Literally 'the greatest bridge' -- the chief priest of Roman religion (later & the emperor took on this role); now used to refer to the Pope & the head of the Catholic Church
toga
Cyclops
pontifex maximus
laurels
3. 'in the whole &' 'as a whole &' 'totally'; ex: The suggestions were adopted in toto.
in toto
Athens/Acropolis
Mt. Vesuvius
Jason
4. Greek island in the Ionian Sea; the home of Odysseus
Paris
Helen
persona non grata
Ithaca
5. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died
Hermes/Mercury
the Odyssey
jovial
labor vincit omnia
6. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship
valedictorian
Sicily
toga
muses
7. 500
Poseidon/Neptune
D (Roman numeral)
Elysian Fields/Elysium
Jove
8. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon
magnum opus
Perseus & Medusa
Poseidon/Neptune
mea culpa
9. 'Higher!' -- the state motto of New York
Pandora
Pompeii
P.M./post meridiem
Excelsior!
10. In early mythology & the resting place of heroes; the later mythology & where good people went in the afterlife
patrician
homo sapiens- 'wise man'
Elysian Fields/Elysium
Parthenon
11. A bundle of wooden sticks and an axe blade that the attendants of Roman magistrates carried; symbolized the magistrates' power to inflict capital punishment
fasces
ambrosia and nectar
satyr
semper fidelis
12. 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
Iliad
papyrus
Tantalus
N.B./nota bene
13. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)
ambrosia and nectar
veni & vidi & vici
Etruscans
sedentary
14. The highest political office in the Roman Republic; 2 were elected every year
Saturnalia
valedictorian
epic
consul
15. Victorious athletes & generals & and emperors wore crowns of made of the branches of the laurel tree to symbolize their victory; now & 'laurels' refer to someone's achievements
terra firma
laurels
plebeian
sub poena
16. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.
consul
ex libris
Punic Wars
sine qua non
17. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter
Hannibal
pax vobiscum
Jove
Pan
18. 'firm ground/solid earth'
terra firma
Romulus and Remus
per annum
the Odyssey
19. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up
magnanimous
errare humanum est
Troy
Persephone/Proserpina
20. 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
fresco
Orpheus & Eurydice
Saturnalia
ex officio
21. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head
D (Roman numeral)
Augustus
toga
Pegasus
22. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)
Saturnalia
Dionysus/Bacchus
labyrinth
Poseidon/Neptune
23. The river surrounding the Underworld
Hermes/Mercury
Styx
muses
iota
24. 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
the Fates
Atlas
Parthenon
Penelope
25. 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
Elysian Fields/Elysium
muses
Hector
Pegasus
26. The plebs were the free but non-aristocratic citizens of Rome; today & plebeian means 'of a low class'
papyrus
Cronus/Saturn
plebeian
Caesar
27. 'To infinity &' to continue forever & without limit
quid pro quo
Golden Fleece
ad infinitum
toga
28. 'Word for word'
verbatim
e.g./exempli gratia
et al./ et alii
Tantalus
29. Literally refers to the heel of Achilles (a character from the Iliad who killed Hector)
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30. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome
fresco
Ares/Mars
Circus Maximus
the Fates
31. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen
verbatim
Persephone/Proserpina
Golden Fleece
ex officio
32. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts
muses
Sparta
Pompeii
summa cum laude
33. Gladiator who led an uprising of slaves against the Romans in the 1st c. BC
cornucopia
Spartacus
veto
e pluribus unum
34. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them
Medea
Pegasus
toga
tribune
35. 10
sic semper tyrannis
sub poena
Spartacus
X (Roman numeral)
36. The technical biological term for the human species
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37. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus
N.B./nota bene
Atlas
e pluribus unum
L (Roman numeral)
38. The golden wool of a ram sought by Jason and the Argonauts
Golden Fleece
Athena/Minerva
puerile
Icarus & Daedalus
39. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter
puerile
Hades/Pluto
Jove
Sparta
40. 'This for that &' a fair trade
quid pro quo
A.D./anno Domini
Golden Fleece
Homer
41. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece
Chaos
Jason
Iliad
P.S./post scriptum
42. 'seize the day'
carpe diem
Helen
tempus fugit
Hannibal
43. The norms or values of a society
mores
per diem
Homer
ex officio
44. Goddess of the hearth
Dionysus/Bacchus
ad infinitum
Hestia/Vesta
Mt. Vesuvius
45. Homer's epic poem about Odysseus & kind of Ithaca & trying to find his way home from the Trojan War
valedictorian
P.S./post scriptum
P.M./post meridiem
the Odyssey
46. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')
toga
Ph.D./Philosophiae Doctor
mellifluous
ex officio
47. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.
Hydra
Mt. Olympus
mosaic
ex libris
48. 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
tribune
Medea
Tantalus
per diem
49. '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.
sic semper tyrannis
in memoriam
SPQR
Hermes/Mercury
50. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it
iota
ad nauseam
pontifex maximus
polytheism