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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. 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
Paris
Pegasus
P.S./post scriptum
SPQR
2. '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.
Iliad
cornucopia
veto
sic semper tyrannis
3. God of wine and revelry; son of Zeus and Semele
semper paratus
iota
cornucopia
Dionysus/Bacchus
4. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)
Sparta
tribune
Poseidon/Neptune
Punic Wars
5. The plebs were the free but non-aristocratic citizens of Rome; today & plebeian means 'of a low class'
valedictorian
semper paratus
plebeian
Caesar
6. City-state in ancient Greece known for its powerful army; fought against Athens in the Peloponnesian Wars
Sparta
in memoriam
Mt. Parnassus
laurels
7. '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
carpe diem
tribune
et al./ et alii
et tu & Brute?
8. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece
Hera/Juno
Jason
terra incognita
mores
9. 10
magnum opus
Athena/Minerva
X (Roman numeral)
Aegean Sea
10. Goddess of the hunt
muses
Artemis/Diana
mellifluous
per annum
11. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.
ex libris
Caesar
Athena/Minerva
Poseidon/Neptune
12. Queen of Sparta Who was promised to Paris by Aphrodite for choosing her (Aphrodite) as the fairest goddess; Helen was already married to Menelaus and her kidnapping began the Trojan War
omniscient
pontifex maximus
Helen
Ariadne
13. Refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the responsibilities of a parent
Spartacus
cornucopia
in loco parentis
Tantalus
14. 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
Colosseum
pro tempore
the Fates
Pantheon
15. 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)
vs./versus
Hercules/Heracles
sub poena
Priam
16. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned
labyrinth
Athena/Minerva
Daedalus
epic
17. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus
Atlas
Etruscans
summa cum laude
status quo
18. Reception hall (like the living room) in a Roman house
e pluribus unum
the Odyssey
N.B./nota bene
atrium
19. The god of the sky; created the Titans with Gaia & Mother Earth
A.D./anno Domini
vice versa
pro tempore
Uranus
20. Temple in Rome dedicated to all the Roman gods
lapsus linguae
Trojan Horse
Pantheon
cornucopia
21. 'in the year of the Lord &' designating the time period after Christ's birth
Dionysus/Bacchus
P.S./post scriptum
valedictorian
A.D./anno Domini
22. 'under penalty' a written order for a person to come testify in court
pro tempore
D (Roman numeral)
Artemis/Diana
sub poena
23. The norms or values of a society
per capita
Athens/Acropolis
mores
Tartarus
24. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died
Nike/Victoria
Hermes/Mercury
vs./versus
Hades/Pluto
25. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)
valedictorian
terra firma
sedentary
Hector
26. 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
in memoriam
sedentary
per diem
Cyclops
27. Doctor of medicine
Prometheus
M.D./Medicinae Doctor
Troy
Pax Romana
28. Mother Earth; the wife of Uranus & the sky; she gave birth to the Titans & the Cyclopes & and the Hundred-Handed Ones
Nike/Victoria
mentor
P.S./post scriptum
Ge/Gaea
29. God of the sun & light & reason & and the lyre
persona non grata
Athena/Minerva
Apollo/Apollo
Jove
30. 500
D (Roman numeral)
laurels
Ides of March
e pluribus unum
31. Home of the Greek gods
rara avis
rostra
Mt. Olympus
magnanimous
32. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon
via
A.M./ante meridiem
tempus fugit
Etruscans
33. First emperor of the Roman Empire; adopted son of Julius Caesar; member of the 2nd Triumvirate; also known as Octavian
sub rosa
tempus fugit
Sparta
Augustus
34. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'
P.M./post meridiem
Etruscans
per diem
patrician
35. 50
epic
L (Roman numeral)
Sicily
N.B./nota bene
36. Lived in the Labyrinth; fed off of Athenian youths; killed by Theseus
Penelope
Minotaur
polytheism
Colosseum
37. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines
veni & vidi & vici
semper fidelis
L (Roman numeral)
Minotaur
38. The oracle of Apollo; people visited the oracle for guidance and predictions of the future
Delphic Oracle
P.M./post meridiem
et al./ et alii
Spartacus
39. 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
Sisyphus
Ides of March
Pegasus
veni & vidi & vici
40. 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)
rara avis
P.M./post meridiem
Mt. Parnassus
Priam
41. The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld
I (Roman numeral)
Iliad
Cerberus
e pluribus unum
42. 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
pontifex maximus
I (Roman numeral)
Elysian Fields/Elysium
the Fates
43. '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
valedictorian
pontifex maximus
in loco parentis
Charon
44. 'for the time being' - temporary
Chaos
pro tempore
Homer
Zeus/Jupiter
45. A picture made from small bits of glass or pottery
satyr
jovial
carpe diem
mosaic
46. '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.
mellifluous
P.S./post scriptum
sic semper tyrannis
Caesar
47. King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of using the Trojan horse to defeat the city of Troy; hero of the Odyssey
Delphic Oracle
labyrinth
Cronus/Saturn
Odysseus/Ulysses
48. Temple devoted to Athena; located on the Acropolis of Athens
Medea
Parthenon
sub rosa
status quo
49. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died
polytheism
Hermes/Mercury
paterfamilias
Mt. Parnassus
50. A system created by the Romans which carried water over long distances
aqueduct
Hestia/Vesta
Chaos
lapsus linguae