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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. 'great-souled & high-minded'






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






3. One of the seven hills of Rome & south of the forum; the site of the imperial palace






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






5. Goddess of grain & the harvest & and the seasons; mother of Persephone/Proserpina






6. 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






7. City-state in ancient Greece known for its powerful army; fought against Athens in the Peloponnesian Wars






8. The daughter of king Minos of Crete & who helped Theseus escape from the labyrinth after he killed the minotaur






9. Reception hall (like the living room) in a Roman house






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






11. The city in Northern Africa that the Romans fought and destroyed during the Punic Wars (264-146 BC.)






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






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






14. 'A slip of the tongue'






15. 'Always prepared'






16. Large island off the southeast coast of Italy; home of Mt. Etna & a huge volcano; where the Cyclopes lived in the Odyssey






17. God of wine and revelry; son of Zeus and Semele






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






19. 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)






20. The river surrounding the Underworld






21. 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






22. Good-humored & jolly (ancient astrologers thought that the planet Jupiter fostered cheerfulness)






23. 'great-souled & high-minded'






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






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






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






27. A polis (city-state) in Greece & center of art and philosophy & named after Athena (its patron goddess); the Acropolis was the hill in Athens where many temples (including the Parthenon & the temple to Athena) were located






28. Athenian prince who killed the Minotaur






29. 'With highest honors' graduating from college in the highest grade scale






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






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






32. 'in the whole &' 'as a whole &' 'totally'; ex: The suggestions were adopted in toto.






33. Figuratively 'secretly.' Aphrodite gave her son Eros a rose. Eros gave it to Harpocrates & the god of silence & to ensure that his mother's love affairs remained a secret.






34. The norms or values of a society






35. Queen of Sparta Who was promised to Paris by Aphrodite for choosing her (Aphrodite) as the fairest goddess; Helen was already married to Menelaus and her kidnapping began the Trojan War






36. Greek god of nature; had the torso and head of a man & but the legs and horns of a goat






37. Market place/business center






38. Son of Zeus; had to complete 12 labors to regain favor with the gods after killing his family; when he died & he became a god






39. Figuratively 'secretly.' Aphrodite gave her son Eros a rose. Eros gave it to Harpocrates & the god of silence & to ensure that his mother's love affairs remained a secret.






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






41. 'seize the day'






42. 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






43. 'The state in which'






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






45. 'in memory of'






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






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






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






49. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite






50. Goddess of victory