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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. Literally & the apple that Eris (goddess of strife) threw in front of Hera & Aphrodite & and Athena to cause a dispute over Who was the fairest; figuratively & anything which causes a dispute






2. After midday/noon






3. '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.






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






5. 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






6. Goddess of wisdom






7. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)






8. 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






9. Epic poem written by Home chronicling the Trojan War






10. 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






11. Speaker's platform in the forum & which was decorated with the prows of ships the Romans captured in war (rostrum means 'beak & prow of a ship')






12. The food of the gods; some believe it kept them immortal






13. Writing after the body of a letter






14. 'one out of many' - found on most US minted coins and the back of the dollar bill






15. Refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the responsibilities of a parent






16. 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






17. 'All-knowing'






18. 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






19. 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






20. '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






21. The ferryman for the river Styx going into the underworld






22. A teacher Who is like a parent; comes from the Mentor & Odysseus' old friend & whom he left in charge of his son Telemachus when he went off to the Trojan War






23. Female monsters who had snakes for hair and whose horrifying gaze could turn a man to stone if he looked at them (Medusa was one of the Gorgons)






24. The food of the gods; some believe it kept them immortal






25. Titan best known for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans; He was punished by being chained to a rock and having his liver eaten by a bird everyday






26. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome






27. God of the sea






28. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome






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






30. 'After death'






31. 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.






32. 'The end'






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






34. 'in memory of'






35. 'Word for word'






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






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






38. Literally refers to the heel of Achilles (a character from the Iliad who killed Hector)

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39. 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






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






41. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus






42. God of war






43. The 200 year period of peace which began under the rule of Augustus






44. The technical biological term for the human species

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45. 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






46. 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






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






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






49. 'The state in which'






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