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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. Mother Earth; the wife of Uranus & the sky; she gave birth to the Titans & the Cyclopes & and the Hundred-Handed Ones






2. Refers to an action or condition necessary for something to happen






3. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






4. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them






5. 'Higher!' -- the state motto of New York






6. 'per year'






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






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






9. 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






10. Was chosen by Zeus to settle the argument of Who was the fairest of the goddesses; he chose Aphrodite because she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world if he chose her






11. 100






12. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome






13. 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






14. 'The things that must be done' - a to-do list






15. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery






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






17. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery






18. 'All-knowing'






19. 'beware of the dog'






20. Religion in Which many gods are worshipped (from Greek poly 'many' and theoi 'gods')






21. A long poem that narrates the deeds of a hero or the history of a nation & e.g. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey






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






23. The highest political office in the Roman Republic; 2 were elected every year






24. 'To infinity &' to continue forever & without limit






25. 'Word for word'






26. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome






27. 'Time flies/flees'






28. 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)






29. Reception hall (like the living room) in a Roman house






30. 'for the time being' - temporary






31. The food of the gods; some believe it kept them immortal






32. The ferryman for the river Styx going into the underworld






33. Roman officials who were charged with protecting the people (the plebeians) from oppression; they were sacrosanct & meaning no one could harm them






34. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite






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






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






37. 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')






38. 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.






39. Writing after the body of a letter






40. City-state in ancient Greece known for its powerful army; fought against Athens in the Peloponnesian Wars






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






42. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






43. Goddess of childbirth; married to Zeus; queen of the gods






44. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)






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






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






47. 'And others'






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






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






50. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome