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. Sea to the west of Greece; named after King Aegeus after he drowned himself in the sea thinking his son Theseus was dead






2. 'beware of the dog'






3. 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






4. After midday/noon






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






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






7. After midday/noon






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






9. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






10. 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






11. Usually referring to Julius Caesar & the Roman dictator Who was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15th) 44 BCE






12. Blind poet Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey






13. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen






14. 'And others'






15. 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






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






17. 'Work conquers all'






18. 'for the time being' - temporary






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






20. 'seize the day'






21. 5






22. 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






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






24. Goddess of love






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






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






27. One-eyed children of Ouranos/Uranus and Gaea (Mother Earth); sided with Zeus during the war with the Titans; were helpers of the smith-god Hephaestus






28. 100






29. 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






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






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






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






33. 'seize the day'






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






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






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






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

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


38. 'great work'






39. A material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant & used in sheets throughout the ancient Mediterranean world for writing or painting on






40. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)






41. 'The other way around'






42. 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






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






44. 'per head' 'per person'






45. God of the sea






46. Market place/business center






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






48. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






49. 'from the office &' 'by right of office' - used to refer to someone Who is a member of a group (a board & committee & council & etc.) because they hold another office/position






50. The norms or values of a society