Test your basic knowledge |

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. 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






2. 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)






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






4. Spirits who carry out curses and torture for wrongdoing toward one's family member (s)






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






6. The golden wool of a ram sought by Jason and the Argonauts






7. 'peace be with you'






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


9. 'Word for word'






10. 500






11. God of metallurgy (metal working); married to Aphrodite






12. 'This for that &' a fair trade






13. God of the sea






14. 'To infinity &' to continue forever & without limit






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






16. 'Against' & used to show Who is up against who in sports matches & legal battles & etc.






17. First emperor of the Roman Empire; adopted son of Julius Caesar; member of the 2nd Triumvirate; also known as Octavian






18. 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






19. After midday/noon






20. 'The end'






21. Doctor of medicine






22. Another name for Zeus/Jupiter






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






24. 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')






25. 'seize the day'






26. 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)






27. 'before midday &' in the morning & before noon






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


29. Goddess of grain & the harvest & and the seasons; mother of Persephone/Proserpina






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






31. Goddess of childbirth; married to Zeus; queen of the gods






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






33. Challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was turned into a spider for her excessive pride






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






35. 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






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






37. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived






38. 'for the sake of an example' - abbreviation used when providing an example






39. Carthaginian general who attacked Italy by crossing the Italian Alps in the 2nd Punic War; He was eventually defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Zama






40. 100






41. 'seize the day'






42. 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






43. Home of the Greek gods






44. 'Always faithful' - motto of the US Marines






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






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






47. The arena for gladiatorial games in Rome (also known as the Flavian Amphitheater)






48. 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






49. 'in the year of the Lord &' designating the time period after Christ's birth






50. Used on documents & coins & monuments & etc. as an official signature of the Roman government