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. 'Work conquers all'






2. The plebs were the free but non-aristocratic citizens of Rome; today & plebeian means 'of a low class'






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






4. A system created by the Romans which carried water over long distances






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






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






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






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






9. 1






10. 'from the office &' 'by right of office' - used to refer to someone Who is a member of a group (a board & committee & council & etc.) because they hold another office/position






11. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)






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






13. '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






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






15. River that runs through the city of Rome






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






17. 100






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






19. 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






20. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen






21. 'in the whole &' 'as a whole &' 'totally'; ex: The suggestions were adopted in toto.






22. The wife of Odysseus; a model of faithfulness to one's husband






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






24. City-state in ancient Greece known for its powerful army; fought against Athens in the Peloponnesian Wars






25. '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






26. 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.






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






28. Writing after the body of a letter






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






30. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (i); commonly used in the phrase 'not one iota &' meaning 'not one bit'






31. 'That is' used for further explanation: 'in other words...'






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






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






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






35. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






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






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






38. The daughter of king Minos of Crete & who helped Theseus escape from the labyrinth after he killed the minotaur






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

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


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






41. '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






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






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






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






45. 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')






46. 'The things that must be done' - a to-do list






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






48. Goddess of the hearth






49. 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






50. 'unknown land'