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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. 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






2. 'note well' i.e. take note






3. 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






4. 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






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






6. 'per year'






7. 5






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






9. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship






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






11. 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






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






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






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






15. The technical biological term for the human species


16. 'Time flies/flees'






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






18. 1000






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






20. 'And the rest' usually seen at the end of a list of things & instead of listing everything






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






22. Goddess of the hearth






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






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






25. A material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant & used in sheets throughout the ancient Mediterranean world for writing or painting on






26. Lived in the Labyrinth; fed off of Athenian youths; killed by Theseus






27. Goddess of wisdom






28. The city in Northern Africa that the Romans fought and destroyed during the Punic Wars (264-146 BC.)






29. 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






30. 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






31. 'The state in which'






32. 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






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






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






35. 'boyish &' 'childlike' (from puer- boy)






36. The male head of a Roman family






37. 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






38. Volcano which erupted in AD 79 and destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum






39. After midday/noon






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






41. 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')






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






43. 'Work conquers all'






44. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus






45. '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






46. 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






47. The river surrounding the Underworld






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


49. Greek god of nature; had the torso and head of a man & but the legs and horns of a goat






50. Maze under the palace of Palace of Minos at Crete & where the Minotaur (half man & half bull) was thought to have been imprisoned