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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. 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
Daedalus
Cronus/Saturn
Orpheus & Eurydice
iota
2. Volcano which erupted in AD 79 and destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum
Tartarus
Charon
Mt. Vesuvius
magnanimous
3. 'After death'
L (Roman numeral)
post mortem
Golden Fleece
C (Roman numeral)
4. Used on documents & coins & monuments & etc. as an official signature of the Roman government
ambrosia and nectar
papyrus
Cyclops
SPQR
5. 'I refuse &' used by the president of the US to stop any bill he sees unfit from passing
veto
X (Roman numeral)
Tantalus
vice versa
6. Large island off the southeast coast of Italy; home of Mt. Etna & a huge volcano; where the Cyclopes lived in the Odyssey
muses
Sicily
Colosseum
Tiber
7. 1000
post mortem
Icarus & Daedalus
cave canem
M (Roman numeral)
8. 'This for that &' a fair trade
errare humanum est
cave canem
quid pro quo
sedentary
9. 'To err is human' - in other words & it's normal to mess up
errare humanum est
Hestia/Vesta
V (Roman numeral)
labor vincit omnia
10. 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.
Pax Romana
tribune
magnum opus
marathon
11. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship
iota
toga
Caesar
Medea
12. 'Word for word'
labor vincit omnia
verbatim
Ariadne
D (Roman numeral)
13. 100
C (Roman numeral)
Paris
Medea
Colosseum
14. 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
tempus fugit
status quo
persona non grata
Tantalus
15. 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
Orpheus & Eurydice
Athens/Acropolis
Ithaca
N.B./nota bene
16. Goddess of the hunt
Etruscans
Artemis/Diana
Pandora
Hannibal
17. Kingdom in Asia Minor which fought against Greece in Homer's Iliad
Hephaestus/Vulcan
mores
Troy
Minotaur
18. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon
i.e./id est
A.M./ante meridiem
Colosseum
Apollo/Apollo
19. A member of one of the original aristocratic families of Rome; 'aristocratic'
via
Homer
Delphic Oracle
patrician
20. 'beware of the dog'
cave canem
Prometheus
Carthage
Pompeii
21. 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
etc./et cetera
Cyclops
Gorgons
D (Roman numeral)
22. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite
Eros/Cupid
Romulus and Remus
mentor
Athens/Acropolis
23. Temple devoted to Athena; located on the Acropolis of Athens
sub poena
A.D./anno Domini
Parthenon
paterfamilias
24. One of the 12 Titans & father of Zeus/Jupiter & who swallowed his children in an attempt to keep from being overthrown
Cronus/Saturn
per capita
Apollo/Apollo
M (Roman numeral)
25. One of the seven hills of Rome & south of the forum; the site of the imperial palace
M (Roman numeral)
Palatine Hill
D (Roman numeral)
valedictorian
26. 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
Perseus & Medusa
Pantheon
Icarus & Daedalus
papyrus
27. '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
ex officio
Spartacus
muses
28. Spirits who carry out curses and torture for wrongdoing toward one's family member (s)
pontifex maximus
verbatim
the furies
Apollo/Apollo
29. The daughter of king Minos of Crete & who helped Theseus escape from the labyrinth after he killed the minotaur
Ariadne
Ares/Mars
Romulus and Remus
sine qua non
30. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance
Homer
cornucopia
verbatim
rara avis
31. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance
Paris
Orpheus & Eurydice
C (Roman numeral)
cornucopia
32. 'Time flies/flees'
puerile
Arachne
tempus fugit
Aphrodite/Venus
33. Sea to the west of Greece; named after King Aegeus after he drowned himself in the sea thinking his son Theseus was dead
Aegean Sea
aqueduct
Uranus
Charon
34. 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.
Jove
Pompeii
in loco parentis
sub rosa
35. Goddess of grain & the harvest & and the seasons; mother of Persephone/Proserpina
Demeter/Ceres
mea culpa
plebeian
Excelsior!
36. The oracle of Apollo; people visited the oracle for guidance and predictions of the future
agora/forum
Ge/Gaea
Delphic Oracle
vice versa
37. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon
valedictorian
satyr
A.M./ante meridiem
Pegasus
38. A hollow wooden horse built by the Greeks so that they could get into the walls of Troy. The Greeks pretended to pack up and leave from the war & but some hid in the horse which was later led into the walls of Troy by the Trojans (thinking it was a
Minotaur
Trojan Horse
jovial
atrium
39. 'firm ground/solid earth'
sic semper tyrannis
cornucopia
terra firma
Athens/Acropolis
40. The messenger god; god of thieves and travelers; son of Zeus; invented the lyre; escorted people to the Underworld when they died
Hannibal
N.B./nota bene
Hermes/Mercury
ego
41. Writing after the body of a letter
Palatine Hill
tempus fugit
tribune
P.S./post scriptum
42. Athenian prince who killed the Minotaur
P.S./post scriptum
consul
Colosseum
Theseus
43. 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
laurels
Caesar
apple of discord
mentor
44. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)
Punic Wars
Circus Maximus
aqueduct
valedictorian
45. 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
the Fates
Hera/Juno
satyr
persona non grata
46. Good-humored & jolly (ancient astrologers thought that the planet Jupiter fostered cheerfulness)
mentor
jovial
Styx
Etruscans
47. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)
magnanimous
Saturnalia
Tiber
Romulus and Remus
48. A system created by the Romans which carried water over long distances
Hector
aqueduct
mosaic
Athena/Minerva
49. The river surrounding the Underworld
rostra
Minotaur
Styx
p.o./ per os
50. 'I'
ego
Pan
Nike/Victoria
ambrosia and nectar