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






2. 'And others'






3. 'I'






4. 'by mouth' - used on prescription medicines that have to be taken orally






5. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived






6. 1






7. 'I came & I saw & I conquered &' famous words of Julius Caesar






8. 'A slip of the tongue'






9. Twin brothers & raised by a wolf; Romulus killed Remus and founded Rome






10. Goddess of the hearth






11. A polis (city-state) in Greece & center of art and philosophy & named after Athena (its patron goddess); the Acropolis was the hill in Athens where many temples (including the Parthenon & the temple to Athena) were located






12. River that runs through the city of Rome






13. Doctor of medicine






14. 'Always prepared'






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

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16. 'The end'






17. 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






18. The ferryman for the river Styx going into the underworld






19. 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






20. 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






21. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)






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






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






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






25. 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






26. God of war






27. 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






28. A mural painted directly onto wet plaster (fresco means 'fresh' in Italian)






29. 'great-souled & high-minded'






30. King of Troy during the Trojan War; father of Hector and Paris; begged Achilles to give his son Hector's body back to be properly buried (Achilles had been dragging it around the city)






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






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






33. Goddess of wisdom






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






35. 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')






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






37. 100






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






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






40. God of the Underworld/Tartarus






41. 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






42. Site of the Apollo's oracle at Delphi; home of the Muses






43. The river surrounding the Underworld






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






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






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






47. 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






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






49. River that runs through the city of Rome






50. Inventor who created the Labyrinth where the Minotaur lived