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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. 'Time flies/flees'






2. 'A slip of the tongue'






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






4. Goddess of victory






5. 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






6. The 15th of March & the day in 44 BC Julius Caesar was assassinated






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






8. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts






9. 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')






10. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines






11. 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.






12. 'firm ground/solid earth'






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






14. 'After death'






15. 'boyish &' 'childlike' (from puer- boy)






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






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






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






19. 'my fault' ; tua culpa -'your fault'






20. Goddess of wisdom






21. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






22. The male head of a Roman family






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






24. Half-man & half-goat creatures; companions of Pan and Dionysus






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






26. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'






27. Goddess of the hunt






28. 'great-souled & high-minded'






29. Temple devoted to Athena; located on the Acropolis of Athens






30. 'Thus passes the glory of the world.' i.e. 'Worldly things are fleeting.'






31. Used on documents & coins & monuments & etc. as an official signature of the Roman government






32. 'great-souled & high-minded'






33. 1000






34. Doctor of medicine






35. The people in control of the Italian peninsula before Rome began to spread






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






37. 'great work'






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






39. 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






40. 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






41. God of the sea






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






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






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






45. 'under penalty' a written order for a person to come testify in court






46. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned






47. 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






48. 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






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






50. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'