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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. 100
Punic Wars
C (Roman numeral)
Mt. Olympus
Caesar
2. One of the seven hills of Rome & south of the forum; the site of the imperial palace
Punic Wars
papyrus
rostra
Palatine Hill
3. 'great work'
P.M./post meridiem
Ares/Mars
Hera/Juno
magnum opus
4. 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
toga
Orpheus & Eurydice
patrician
agenda
5. '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
veto
N.B./nota bene
per diem
et tu & Brute?
6. God of war
Eros/Cupid
Ares/Mars
paterfamilias
veni & vidi & vici
7. Blind poet Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey
ex libris
Homer
finis
Romulus and Remus
8. Site of the Apollo's oracle at Delphi; home of the Muses
Hector
Gorgons
Perseus & Medusa
Mt. Parnassus
9. God of the sun & light & reason & and the lyre
Pegasus
Parthenon
agenda
Apollo/Apollo
10. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon
Tantalus
etc./et cetera
vs./versus
A.M./ante meridiem
11. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey
toga
satyr
Odysseus/Ulysses
puerile
12. The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld
plebeian
Cerberus
Etruscans
via
13. 50
P.M./post meridiem
L (Roman numeral)
pontifex maximus
Minotaur
14. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned
labyrinth
Priam
sedentary
Jove
15. 'Always prepared'
semper paratus
Palatine Hill
marathon
post mortem
16. Doctor of medicine
i.e./id est
M.D./Medicinae Doctor
Colosseum
rostra
17. A town on the western coast of Italy destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuius in AD 79
Mt. Olympus
etc./et cetera
Paris
Pompeii
18. Home of the Greek gods
agora/forum
atrium
Cyclops
Mt. Olympus
19. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance
cornucopia
Spartacus
A.D./anno Domini
the furies
20. 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
Excelsior!
ego
pro tempore
laurels
21. 'unknown land'
Ph.D./Philosophiae Doctor
terra incognita
vice versa
Iliad
22. 'An unwelcome person' - used in diplomacy to indicate a person Who is barred from entering a certain country
persona non grata
pax vobiscum
Eros/Cupid
I (Roman numeral)
23. The Underworld; in early mythology & everyone went to Tartarus after they died; in later mythology & only bad people went to Tartarus after they died
Etruscans
Tartarus
L (Roman numeral)
Caesar
24. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them
tribune
ambrosia and nectar
Tiber
Hannibal
25. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'
jovial
summa cum laude
patrician
Poseidon/Neptune
26. 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
Tantalus
Chaos
Trojan Horse
Augustus
27. 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
Ides of March
pontifex maximus
Priam
in toto
28. 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
terra firma
vice versa
per diem
Helen
29. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen
omniscient
rostra
iota
Persephone/Proserpina
30. 50
L (Roman numeral)
p.o./ per os
Ithaca
rara avis
31. City-state in ancient Greece known for its powerful army; fought against Athens in the Peloponnesian Wars
magnum opus
Hades/Pluto
Sparta
via
32. Goddess of love
patrician
Aphrodite/Venus
Dionysus/Bacchus
lapsus linguae
33. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)
et al./ et alii
Colosseum
Hades/Pluto
via
34. 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
Hannibal
Ides of March
labor vincit omnia
Prometheus
35. 'Time flies/flees'
Trojan Horse
tempus fugit
Hera/Juno
Hector
36. 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)
Priam
post mortem
Pantheon
aqueduct
37. 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
patrician
quid pro quo
Demeter/Ceres
Athens/Acropolis
38. 'With highest honors' graduating from college in the highest grade scale
fresco
patrician
ex officio
summa cum laude
39. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar
Sisyphus
Jason
A.M./ante meridiem
veni & vidi & vici
40. 'A slip of the tongue'
Hector
lapsus linguae
tribune
M.D./Medicinae Doctor
41. 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
Cyclops
mentor
tribune
Hephaestus/Vulcan
42. Reception hall (like the living room) in a Roman house
Trojan Horse
semper paratus
atrium
L (Roman numeral)
43. Good-humored & jolly (ancient astrologers thought that the planet Jupiter fostered cheerfulness)
jovial
muses
summa cum laude
pro tempore
44. The food of the gods; some believe it kept them immortal
carpe diem
puerile
ambrosia and nectar
C (Roman numeral)
45. 'under penalty' a written order for a person to come testify in court
polytheism
Arachne
Spartacus
sub poena
46. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.
verbatim
plebeian
omniscient
ex libris
47. 'doctor/teacher of philosophy' - an advanced academic degree
mores
Ph.D./Philosophiae Doctor
Aphrodite/Venus
Saturnalia
48. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived
Pompeii
Troy
Daedalus
iota
49. 'This for that &' a fair trade
Atlas
quid pro quo
Poseidon/Neptune
A.D./anno Domini
50. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines
Trojan Horse
Hector
mea culpa
semper fidelis