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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. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus






2. 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






3. 500






4. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head






5. Spirits who carry out curses and torture for wrongdoing toward one's family member (s)






6. 'per year'






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






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






9. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')






10. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






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






12. 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)






13. 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






14. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon






15. 'in memory of'






16. 'The other way around'






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






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






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






20. 'I'






21. 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')






22. 'by mouth' - used on prescription medicines that have to be taken orally






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






24. 1000






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






26. After midday/noon






27. 'The state in which'






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


29. Home of the Greek gods






30. 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')






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






32. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (i); commonly used in the phrase 'not one iota &' meaning 'not one bit'






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






34. 'Word for word'






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






36. 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.






37. 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






38. God of the sea






39. Goddess of the hearth






40. 'per day'






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






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






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






44. 'After death'






45. 'Thus always & to tyrants.' Allegedly said by Brutus during the assassination of Caesar. John Wilkes Booth also shouted it after shooting President Lincoln. It is now the motto of Virginia.






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






47. 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






48. In early mythology & the resting place of heroes; the later mythology & where good people went in the afterlife






49. Goddess of love






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