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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. Epic poem written by Home chronicling the Trojan War
sic transit gloria mundi
agenda
Iliad
pax vobiscum
2. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it
e.g./exempli gratia
ad nauseam
P.M./post meridiem
Hades/Pluto
3. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')
sic semper tyrannis
mellifluous
Etruscans
finis
4. The ferryman for the river Styx going into the underworld
magnum opus
Charon
D (Roman numeral)
i.e./id est
5. 'The state in which'
fresco
Perseus & Medusa
Nike/Victoria
status quo
6. God of the Underworld/Tartarus
Hydra
Ides of March
Hades/Pluto
veni & vidi & vici
7. 'Time flies/flees'
fasces
homo sapiens- 'wise man'
tempus fugit
Arachne
8. 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
I (Roman numeral)
Mt. Vesuvius
Aegean Sea
Prometheus
9. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)
I (Roman numeral)
V (Roman numeral)
fresco
Hercules/Heracles
10. Goddess of the hunt
Odysseus/Ulysses
Artemis/Diana
plebeian
Hades/Pluto
11. 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
Poseidon/Neptune
in memoriam
muses
Sisyphus
12. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'
sine qua non
sub rosa
Delphic Oracle
i.e./id est
13. 'The end'
fasces
finis
Zeus/Jupiter
Apollo/Apollo
14. Temple devoted to Athena; located on the Acropolis of Athens
mosaic
Parthenon
Delphic Oracle
polytheism
15. 'Always prepared'
Punic Wars
magnum opus
Hannibal
semper paratus
16. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen
Pandora
Gorgons
quid pro quo
Persephone/Proserpina
17. The golden wool of a ram sought by Jason and the Argonauts
Zeus/Jupiter
Carthage
Golden Fleece
jovial
18. 'great-souled & high-minded'
quid pro quo
Delphic Oracle
magnanimous
Ph.D./Philosophiae Doctor
19. The wife of Odysseus; a model of faithfulness to one's husband
Pax Romana
ego
Penelope
Chaos
20. 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
carpe diem
vice versa
Ariadne
Hydra
21. Half-man & half-goat creatures; companions of Pan and Dionysus
Cronus/Saturn
satyr
L (Roman numeral)
Medea
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
SPQR
i.e./id est
the Fates
Ithaca
23. Good-humored & jolly (ancient astrologers thought that the planet Jupiter fostered cheerfulness)
verbatim
jovial
L (Roman numeral)
Etruscans
24. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')
Caesar
P.M./post meridiem
mellifluous
Iliad
25. 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
Tantalus
A.M./ante meridiem
Hydra
plebeian
26. 'seize the day'
labor vincit omnia
Palatine Hill
carpe diem
Parthenon
27. A modern day race of 26.2 miles; from Marathon in Greece & the scene of a victory over the Persians in 490 BC; the modern race is based on the tradition that a messenger ran from Marathon to Athens (26 miles) with the news.
P.M./post meridiem
e pluribus unum
Golden Fleece
marathon
28. The 15th of March & the day in 44 BC Julius Caesar was assassinated
Ares/Mars
lapsus linguae
Hephaestus/Vulcan
Ides of March
29. Sorceress & wife of Jason; killed their children to get revenge on Jason for leaving her
Ithaca
in toto
L (Roman numeral)
Medea
30. Blind poet Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey
summa cum laude
plebeian
Homer
p.o./ per os
31. Goddess of victory
Uranus
Nike/Victoria
laurels
Augustus
32. Market place/business center
Arachne
agora/forum
Athena/Minerva
quid pro quo
33. 'note well' i.e. take note
via
N.B./nota bene
Styx
Ge/Gaea
34. 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
Penelope
lapsus linguae
Saturnalia
apple of discord
35. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)
Golden Fleece
sub rosa
tribune
Colosseum
36. 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
vice versa
Styx
Hydra
laurels
37. The food of the gods; some believe it kept them immortal
Persephone/Proserpina
Zeus/Jupiter
Cronus/Saturn
ambrosia and nectar
38. Lived in the Labyrinth; fed off of Athenian youths; killed by Theseus
Excelsior!
D (Roman numeral)
Minotaur
Pantheon
39. God of the sea
Poseidon/Neptune
C (Roman numeral)
sub poena
Romulus and Remus
40. Doctor of medicine
Hera/Juno
e pluribus unum
M.D./Medicinae Doctor
mosaic
41. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived
Daedalus
agora/forum
Jason
Cyclops
42. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter
Jove
semper paratus
post mortem
p.o./ per os
43. 'in the whole &' 'as a whole &' 'totally'; ex: The suggestions were adopted in toto.
in toto
Charon
V (Roman numeral)
tribune
44. Literally refers to the heel of Achilles (a character from the Iliad who killed Hector)
45. 1000
M (Roman numeral)
fresco
pro tempore
P.M./post meridiem
46. The 15th of March & the day in 44 BC Julius Caesar was assassinated
Ides of March
e.g./exempli gratia
Ariadne
Persephone/Proserpina
47. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died
Ares/Mars
Pandora
Hermes/Mercury
Ides of March
48. 'An unwelcome person' - used in diplomacy to indicate a person Who is barred from entering a certain country
sine qua non
rara avis
persona non grata
Perseus & Medusa
49. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey
Excelsior!
Styx
Odysseus/Ulysses
pax vobiscum
50. '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.
Nike/Victoria
Palatine Hill
SPQR
sic semper tyrannis