Test your basic knowledge |

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. 'beware of the dog'






2. 10






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






4. Goddess of wisdom






5. Writing after the body of a letter






6. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived






7. Goddess of love






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






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






10. 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






11. 'note well' i.e. take note






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






13. 'I'






14. 'I refuse &' used by the president of the US to stop any bill he sees unfit from passing






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






16. 'per head' 'per person'






17. 'I refuse &' used by the president of the US to stop any bill he sees unfit from passing






18. 'seize the day'






19. 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






20. God of the sea






21. 50






22. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')






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






24. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






25. 'And the rest' usually seen at the end of a list of things & instead of listing everything






26. River that runs through the city of Rome






27. 'The state in which'






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






29. God of the sun & light & reason & and the lyre






30. 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






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






32. '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.






33. 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)






34. Temple in Rome dedicated to all the Roman gods






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






36. 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






37. Goddess of wisdom






38. 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






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






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






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






42. Goddess of the hearth






43. 'great-souled & high-minded'






44. 'in memory of'






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






46. 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)






47. God of metallurgy (metal working); married to Aphrodite






48. Icarus was the son of Daedalus who flew too close to the sun with the wings his father made him from wax and feathers & and fell to his death






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






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