Ancient History Quiz

20 Questions

1. Which ancient Roman city was destroyed with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD?
2. Who was the most famous student of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato?
3. Which general commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle with the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War?
4. Boudica was queen of which British tribe?
5. Construction began in AD 142 of which wall across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde?








6. Alexander the Great was a king of which ancient Greek kingdom?
7. Which empire ruled over a vast territory in southern Mexico and northern Central America from 2600 BC?
8. Which battle took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece?
9. Which Chinese philosopher, politician and poet is traditionally credited with having authored many of the Chinese classic texts, including all of the Five Classics?
10. The Parthenon, a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, is dedicated to which goddess?
11. What did the Romans call Portugal?
12. Archimedes came from which ancient city in Sicily?
13. Which ancient Greek city on the Bosporus was rebuilt by Constantine I in 330 AD and had its name changed to Constantinople?
14. Can you name the ancient Egyptian god of the dead which was represented by a jackal?
15. Which powerful and warlike ancient Britain tribe occupied what is now south east Wales?
16. Which civilization flourished in the Middle Bronze Age on the island of Crete?
17. What name was first recorded by Greek geographer Hecataeus, in 517 BC, when writing about an ethnic group of people living near modern Marseille in France?
18. Name the capital of ancient Egypt which is about 15 miles south of modern Cairo?
19. Which unit of the Imperial Roman army served as personal bodyguards for the Roman emperors?
20. Which city-state warrior society in ancient Greece reached the height of its power after defeating Athens in the Peloponnesian War?

Answers:

1. Pompeii
2. Aristotle
3. Hannibal
4. Iceni tribe
5. Antonine Wall
6. Macedon
7. Mayan empire
8. The Battle of Marathon
9. Confucius
10. Athena
11. Lusitania
12. Syracuse
13. Byzantium
14. Anubis (also called Anpu)
15. The Silures
16. Minoan civilization
17. Celts
18. Memphis
19. The Praetorian Guard
20. Sparta