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






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






3. 'And others'






4. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






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






6. Son of Zeus; had to complete 12 labors to regain favor with the gods after killing his family; when he died & he became a god






7. 'Word for word'






8. 'great-souled & high-minded'






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






10. Market place/business center






11. One of the seven hills of Rome & south of the forum; the site of the imperial palace






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






13. Writing after the body of a letter






14. 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.






15. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up






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






17. 500






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






19. A long poem that narrates the deeds of a hero or the history of a nation & e.g. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey






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






21. 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






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






23. 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






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






25. 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






26. God of the sun & light & reason & and the lyre






27. Sea to the west of Greece; named after King Aegeus after he drowned himself in the sea thinking his son Theseus was dead






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






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






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






31. One of the 12 Titans & father of Zeus/Jupiter & who swallowed his children in an attempt to keep from being overthrown






32. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






33. 'my fault' ; tua culpa -'your fault'






34. Doctor of medicine






35. Goddess of the hunt






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






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






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






39. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died






40. 1






41. A large horse and chariot racing track in Rome






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






43. The technical biological term for the human species

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44. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'






45. Goddess of the hearth






46. 'To the point of sickness' - doing/saying something over and over until everyone is sick and tired of it






47. 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.






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






49. 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






50. 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