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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. The garment which signified a Roman man's citizenship
toga
Punic Wars
Poseidon/Neptune
plebeian
2. Reception hall (like the living room) in a Roman house
Circus Maximus
atrium
e pluribus unum
Homer
3. 'Higher!' -- the state motto of New York
ad infinitum
Iliad
Excelsior!
persona non grata
4. A state of disorganized matter from which the gods and the world were created
the Odyssey
Nike/Victoria
Chaos
D (Roman numeral)
5. 50
Homer
in loco parentis
L (Roman numeral)
fasces
6. 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
Atlas
Hercules/Heracles
pontifex maximus
M.D./Medicinae Doctor
7. The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld
Cerberus
Poseidon/Neptune
Nike/Victoria
mea culpa
8. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar
pro tempore
Saturnalia
veni & vidi & vici
P.M./post meridiem
9. 50
Minotaur
L (Roman numeral)
pro tempore
Persephone/Proserpina
10. 'Thus always & to tyrants.' Allegedly said by Brutus during the assassination of Caesar. John Wilkes Booth also shouted it after shooting President Lincoln. It is now the motto of Virginia.
p.o./ per os
Pan
Atlas
sic semper tyrannis
11. 'under penalty' a written order for a person to come testify in court
sub poena
mosaic
I (Roman numeral)
Hera/Juno
12. The golden wool of a ram sought by Jason and the Argonauts
Golden Fleece
Hades/Pluto
fasces
C (Roman numeral)
13. Refers to an action or condition necessary for something to happen
sic transit gloria mundi
sine qua non
D (Roman numeral)
Carthage
14. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)
Pegasus
Punic Wars
carpe diem
et tu & Brute?
15. The Underworld; in early mythology & everyone went to Tartarus after they died; in later mythology & only bad people went to Tartarus after they died
quid pro quo
summa cum laude
Tartarus
C (Roman numeral)
16. 'from the library of' used as an inscription on a bookplate to show the name of the book's owner: ex libris Mark Twain.
Mt. Vesuvius
sine qua non
ex libris
terra firma
17. 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
papyrus
etc./et cetera
Orpheus & Eurydice
Charon
18. 'Work conquers all'
Demeter/Ceres
per capita
p.o./ per os
labor vincit omnia
19. A system created by the Romans which carried water over long distances
Athens/Acropolis
Ithaca
aqueduct
Palatine Hill
20. The king of the gods; god of thunder and lightning
Tiber
rara avis
L (Roman numeral)
Zeus/Jupiter
21. 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
Orpheus & Eurydice
A.D./anno Domini
Sisyphus
lapsus linguae
22. 'I'
ego
magnum opus
consul
N.B./nota bene
23. Sea to the west of Greece; named after King Aegeus after he drowned himself in the sea thinking his son Theseus was dead
Artemis/Diana
Icarus & Daedalus
summa cum laude
Aegean Sea
24. A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage & a Phoenician city in Northern Africa & for control of the Mediterranean (264-146 BC)
fresco
Punic Wars
sic transit gloria mundi
in memoriam
25. God of metallurgy (metal working); married to Aphrodite
Romulus and Remus
Hephaestus/Vulcan
Mt. Olympus
Sisyphus
26. Daughter of Demeter; kidnapped by Hades to make her his queen
rara avis
e pluribus unum
Persephone/Proserpina
consul
27. Titan who had to hold up the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus
Atlas
Colosseum
Medea
Delphic Oracle
28. 'I'
magnanimous
i.e./id est
ego
satyr
29. 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
SPQR
Hannibal
D (Roman numeral)
mentor
30. 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
veni & vidi & vici
Dionysus/Bacchus
the Fates
Hannibal
31. Religion in Which many gods are worshipped (from Greek poly 'many' and theoi 'gods')
plebeian
patrician
polytheism
jovial
32. Characterized by sitting & inactive (from sedet- to sit)
et al./ et alii
Circus Maximus
Artemis/Diana
sedentary
33. 1000
M (Roman numeral)
Pandora
semper fidelis
tribune
34. Son of Zeus; had to complete 12 labors to regain favor with the gods after killing his family; when he died & he became a god
aqueduct
pax vobiscum
Medea
Hercules/Heracles
35. 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
veni & vidi & vici
epic
Paris
Orpheus & Eurydice
36. God of love and desire; son of Aphrodite
A.D./anno Domini
papyrus
Paris
Eros/Cupid
37. 'I refuse &' used by the president of the US to stop any bill he sees unfit from passing
agenda
veto
P.M./post meridiem
ego
38. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome
vs./versus
errare humanum est
sub poena
Romulus and Remus
39. God of the sea
apple of discord
Icarus & Daedalus
laurels
Poseidon/Neptune
40. Through & by way of (from via- road & way)
via
Penelope
summa cum laude
L (Roman numeral)
41. The river surrounding the Underworld
in loco parentis
Etruscans
Zeus/Jupiter
Styx
42. Winged horse which flew from the neck of Medusa the Gorgon after Perseus cut off her head
Pegasus
Ithaca
Hydra
verbatim
43. God of war
Ares/Mars
C (Roman numeral)
carpe diem
agora/forum
44. Goddess of grain & the harvest & and the seasons; mother of Persephone/Proserpina
rostra
Demeter/Ceres
finis
toga
45. 'Thus always & to tyrants.' Allegedly said by Brutus during the assassination of Caesar. John Wilkes Booth also shouted it after shooting President Lincoln. It is now the motto of Virginia.
sic semper tyrannis
Ares/Mars
ego
toga
46. The male head of a Roman family
paterfamilias
in loco parentis
cornucopia
Prometheus
47. The highest political office in the Roman Republic; 2 were elected every year
Eros/Cupid
consul
Troy
Dionysus/Bacchus
48. Goddess of wisdom
magnanimous
Caesar
Athena/Minerva
X (Roman numeral)
49. 'horn of plenty' a symbol of food and abundance
cornucopia
P.S./post scriptum
Hephaestus/Vulcan
consul
50. Perseus slayed Medusa the Gorgon
Pan
in loco parentis
Perseus & Medusa
jovial