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. 'in the year of the Lord &' designating the time period after Christ's birth






2. 10






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






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






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






6. '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.






7. 'note well' i.e. take note






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






9. 'With highest honors' graduating from college in the highest grade scale






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






11. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






12. Kingdom in Asia Minor which fought against Greece in Homer's Iliad






13. 'The other way around'






14. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey






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






16. 100






17. 'great-souled & high-minded'






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






19. '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






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






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






22. Kingdom in Asia Minor which fought against Greece in Homer's Iliad






23. 'A slip of the tongue'






24. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon






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






26. 'The other way around'






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






28. 'firm ground/solid earth'






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






30. Usually referring to Julius Caesar & the Roman dictator Who was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15th) 44 BCE






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






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






33. 50






34. 'The end'






35. 'I'






36. The god of the sky; created the Titans with Gaia & Mother Earth






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






38. Challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was turned into a spider for her excessive pride






39. 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.






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


41. Sorceress & wife of Jason; killed their children to get revenge on Jason for leaving her






42. The male head of a Roman family






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






44. 'firm ground/solid earth'






45. One-eyed children of Ouranos/Uranus and Gaea (Mother Earth); sided with Zeus during the war with the Titans; were helpers of the smith-god Hephaestus






46. 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






47. 'for the sake of an example' - abbreviation used when providing an example






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






49. Through & by way of (from via- road & way)






50. 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