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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. 'doctor/teacher of philosophy' - an advanced academic degree






2. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)






3. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance






4. 1






5. Victorious athletes & generals & and emperors wore crowns of made of the branches of the laurel tree to symbolize their victory; now & 'laurels' refer to someone's achievements






6. 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






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






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






9. Goddess of the hunt






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






11. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






12. 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')






13. The male head of a Roman family






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






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






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






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






18. The highest political office in the Roman Republic; 2 were elected every year






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






20. 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






21. 'I refuse &' used by the president of the US to stop any bill he sees unfit from passing






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


23. 1000






24. The 9 goddesses who looked after the arts and inspired men in those arts






25. 10






26. Reception hall (like the living room) in a Roman house






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






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






29. Festival of Saturn held on December 17th & during which social roles were temporarily reversed (slaves enjoyed relaxed discipline & etc)






30. 'A slip of the tongue'






31. The oracle of Apollo; people visited the oracle for guidance and predictions of the future






32. 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.






33. Market place/business center






34. God of wine and revelry; son of Zeus and Semele






35. 'great work'






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






37. A bundle of wooden sticks and an axe blade that the attendants of Roman magistrates carried; symbolized the magistrates' power to inflict capital punishment






38. 'The other way around'






39. Female monsters who had snakes for hair and whose horrifying gaze could turn a man to stone if he looked at them (Medusa was one of the Gorgons)






40. 'great work'






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






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






43. '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






44. Sailed with the Argonauts to take the Golden Fleece






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. 'Time flies/flees'






47. 'Always prepared'






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






49. Religion in Which many gods are worshipped (from Greek poly 'many' and theoi 'gods')






50. A state of disorganized matter from which the gods and the world were created