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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. One of the 12 Titans & father of Zeus/Jupiter & who swallowed his children in an attempt to keep from being overthrown






2. 'in the year of the Lord &' designating the time period after Christ's birth






3. 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






4. 'great-souled & high-minded'






5. God of war






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






7. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them






8. 'Work conquers all'






9. Goddess of love






10. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head






11. 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)






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






13. Goddess of childbirth; married to Zeus; queen of the gods






14. 'by mouth' - used on prescription medicines that have to be taken orally






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






16. 'The one who says farewell' -- the student with the highest grade point average & Who is chosen to give a speech at the end of graduation






17. 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






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






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






20. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)






21. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)






22. 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






23. 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






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






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. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery






27. 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)






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






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






30. 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






31. The male head of a Roman family






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






33. 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






34. '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






35. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship






36. 'A slip of the tongue'






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






38. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them






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






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






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






42. God of war






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






44. 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






45. 'peace be with you'






46. 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






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






48. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up






49. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon






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