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






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






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






4. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died






5. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)






6. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar






7. 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






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






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






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






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






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






13. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






14. 'The one who says farewell' -- the student with the highest grade point average & Who is chosen to give a speech at the end of graduation






15. Prince of Troy Who was killed by Achilles in the Iliad; Achilles tied Hector's dead body to the back of his chariot and dragged it around the city walls three times






16. 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






17. Literally & the apple that Eris (goddess of strife) threw in front of Hera & Aphrodite & and Athena to cause a dispute over Who was the fairest; figuratively & anything which causes a dispute






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






19. The norms or values of a society






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






21. 'The one who says farewell' -- the student with the highest grade point average & Who is chosen to give a speech at the end of graduation






22. 'The end'






23. 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






24. 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)






25. A modern day race of 26.2 miles; from Marathon in Greece & the scene of a victory over the Persians in 490 BC; the modern race is based on the tradition that a messenger ran from Marathon to Athens (26 miles) with the news.






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






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






28. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it






29. Home of the Greek gods






30. After midday/noon






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






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






33. 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






34. 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






35. 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






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






37. 'Word for word'






38. 500






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






40. God of the sea






41. 1






42. Large island off the southeast coast of Italy; home of Mt. Etna & a huge volcano; where the Cyclopes lived in the Odyssey






43. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon






44. 'per day'






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






46. Goddess of the hunt






47. After midday/noon






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






49. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






50. 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