Test your basic knowledge |

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. '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






2. 'great-souled & high-minded'






3. 'A rare bird' - something unique/rare






4. 'great work'






5. 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






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






7. 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






8. 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






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






10. 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






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






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






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






14. Goddess of the hunt






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






16. 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






17. 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






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






19. 'All-knowing'






20. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






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. 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






23. 'The other way around'






24. The Underworld; in early mythology & everyone went to Tartarus after they died; in later mythology & only bad people went to Tartarus after they died






25. 'in the whole &' 'as a whole &' 'totally'; ex: The suggestions were adopted in toto.






26. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance






27. The wife of Odysseus; a model of faithfulness to one's husband






28. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






29. 'Word for word'






30. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'






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






32. 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






33. The Underworld; in early mythology & everyone went to Tartarus after they died; in later mythology & only bad people went to Tartarus after they died






34. A state of disorganized matter from which the gods and the world were created






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






36. The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld






37. 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






38. 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')






39. God of the sea






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






41. 'one out of many' - found on most US minted coins and the back of the dollar bill






42. A town on the western coast of Italy destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuius in AD 79






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






44. Blind poet Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey






45. 500






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






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






48. Goddess of wisdom






49. 'I refuse &' used by the president of the US to stop any bill he sees unfit from passing






50. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)