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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. 'for the sake of an example' - abbreviation used when providing an example
Ph.D./Philosophiae Doctor
Hercules/Heracles
Hephaestus/Vulcan
e.g./exempli gratia
2. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome
Circus Maximus
errare humanum est
plebeian
lapsus linguae
3. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts
laurels
muses
Hera/Juno
Ph.D./Philosophiae Doctor
4. A town on the western coast of Italy destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuius in AD 79
Aegean Sea
Etruscans
Pompeii
SPQR
5. Refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the responsibilities of a parent
mores
Hector
Minotaur
in loco parentis
6. 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')
et al./ et alii
rostra
et tu & Brute?
polytheism
7. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)
fresco
Saturnalia
mellifluous
e.g./exempli gratia
8. Goddess of the hunt
epic
Orpheus & Eurydice
Artemis/Diana
ad infinitum
9. The technical biological term for the human species
10. Refers to an action or condition necessary for something to happen
fresco
M.D./Medicinae Doctor
Styx
sine qua non
11. 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.
magnanimous
aqueduct
marathon
epic
12. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship
papyrus
Charon
per annum
toga
13. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'
Caesar
Odysseus/Ulysses
i.e./id est
Parthenon
14. 'A rare bird' - something unique/rare
magnum opus
rara avis
paterfamilias
sedentary
15. 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
tribune
Helen
Trojan Horse
Aphrodite/Venus
16. 'The state in which'
status quo
post mortem
sub rosa
Sparta
17. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery
cave canem
Aegean Sea
Troy
mosaic
18. Kingdom in Asia Minor which fought against Greece in Homer's Iliad
finis
Troy
Sicily
omniscient
19. 'Work conquers all'
ex officio
Pax Romana
in loco parentis
labor vincit omnia
20. 'And others'
Ariadne
apple of discord
Palatine Hill
et al./ et alii
21. A long poem that narrates the deeds of a hero or the history of a nation & e.g. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
rara avis
epic
semper fidelis
Nike/Victoria
22. 'Word for word'
terra firma
Saturnalia
Atlas
verbatim
23. 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
sub rosa
sic semper tyrannis
Sisyphus
the Fates
24. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned
labyrinth
Mt. Vesuvius
via
I (Roman numeral)
25. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up
plebeian
ad nauseam
Prometheus
errare humanum est
26. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey
cornucopia
Chaos
Odysseus/Ulysses
pontifex maximus
27. 'for the time being' - temporary
pro tempore
lapsus linguae
etc./et cetera
Palatine Hill
28. Sweet-sounding (literally 'flowing like honey')
mellifluous
Medea
veni & vidi & vici
Paris
29. Temple in Rome dedicated to all the Roman gods
Arachne
Pantheon
P.S./post scriptum
sic transit gloria mundi
30. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)
sedentary
Sisyphus
atrium
Iliad
31. 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
Iliad
Demeter/Ceres
Orpheus & Eurydice
Zeus/Jupiter
32. In early mythology & the resting place of heroes; the later mythology & where good people went in the afterlife
Orpheus & Eurydice
plebeian
Hestia/Vesta
Elysian Fields/Elysium
33. 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
laurels
Icarus & Daedalus
Sicily
Elysian Fields/Elysium
34. God of wine and revelry; son of Zeus and Semele
sedentary
Parthenon
Dionysus/Bacchus
Carthage
35. 'Always prepared'
errare humanum est
rara avis
semper paratus
Etruscans
36. The river surrounding the Underworld
Styx
pontifex maximus
aqueduct
Gorgons
37. '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
et tu & Brute?
sine qua non
agenda
magnum opus
38. Titan best known for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans; He was punished by being chained to a rock and having his liver eaten by a bird everyday
aqueduct
Prometheus
Hestia/Vesta
Odysseus/Ulysses
39. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar
Helen
p.o./ per os
sic semper tyrannis
veni & vidi & vici
40. 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
Hector
Sparta
magnum opus
et al./ et alii
41. 'firm ground/solid earth'
Jove
laurels
Apollo/Apollo
terra firma
42. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines
Daedalus
semper fidelis
A.D./anno Domini
magnum opus
43. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey
Ithaca
Odysseus/Ulysses
I (Roman numeral)
the Fates
44. The god of the sky; created the Titans with Gaia & Mother Earth
Uranus
mentor
Troy
Artemis/Diana
45. Large island off the southeast coast of Italy; home of Mt. Etna & a huge volcano; where the Cyclopes lived in the Odyssey
Hector
I (Roman numeral)
Sicily
Hestia/Vesta
46. 'The state in which'
aqueduct
Romulus and Remus
carpe diem
status quo
47. The male head of a Roman family
paterfamilias
agora/forum
Ithaca
plebeian
48. '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
ex officio
polytheism
Sicily
status quo
49. 'by mouth' - used on prescription medicines that have to be taken orally
Hestia/Vesta
Hera/Juno
mellifluous
p.o./ per os
50. 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
the Fates
Ithaca
Icarus & Daedalus
Jove