Ancient Greece Trivia

1. According to Greek mythology, which mighty warrior was the founding father of the Molossian tribe?

From Quiz You say Molossus, I say Molossian

Answer: Achilles

Legend has it that Molossus, for whom the tribe is named, was the grandson of Achilles and Deidamia. His mother was Andromache, who was famed for her virtue and fidelity. Molossus was one of her three sons with Neoptolemus who took her with him after Troy fell, and her first husband Hector was killed.

From Quiz Tales of Caryatids

Answer: Second Persian War

During the Second Persian War, the Athenains had been unable to protect their city from attack. The Persians destroyed or damaged many of the public buildings, and, by the end of the war, several needed to be rebuilt. With the war over, the Greeks decided to form the Delian League in order to protect their country from future attack. Athens was chosen to be the leader of the League, and decided to use the money, paid as tribute by other members of the League for the mutual protection of Greece, from the group's treasury to rebuild their city. The Erechtheion was constructed from 421-406 BC; although its original use is not known, historians believe that it was built to either honor the legendary Erichtonius, who was said to have invented the four horse chariot and also taught the ancients how to plow the soil and smelt silver, or King Erechtheus, who some believe was the founder of Athens.

From Quiz The Ancient Greeks and Tyranny

Answer: Gyges

Gyges (716-678 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Lydia, before it became a part of the Persian Empire, in western Anatolia, and thus was not Greek. He is said, per tradition, to have come to have killed King Candaules with the assistance of the king's wife. Archilochos wrote of the tyranny of Gyges in connection with his vast wealth, and this influenced Herodotus'views on eastern despotism and tyranny. Greeks viewed with suspicion anybody who saw themselves on the same level as the the gods and exercised power. The danger of "hubris"-- unbridled pride-- was always present in the Greek mind, as evidenced by the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.

From Quiz Pylos and Sphacteria

Answer: Sophocles

Born in 497, by the time of this expedition the tragedian who dethroned the great Aeschylus as the greatest man of letters in Athens would have been 72 years old. In Athens, where participation in affairs of state was expected, other public intellectuals like Socrates also fought with bravery in the Peloponnesian War. The other named commanders were Eurymedon and Pythodorus, the latter of which was already in the area of Sicily.

From Quiz The Greek Dark Age

Answer: Mycenaean Greece

The Mycenaean Greek civilization-- so-called for the city of Mycenae in the northeast of the peninsula of the Peloponnesus-- was the original Greek civilization centered in the southern half of the Greek peninsula. It was composed of several relatively large population centers, such as Pylos, Orchomenus, Tiryns, Gla, Iolcos, Athens, Midea and Thebes. Some of these cities had sophisticated palaces, with royalty, aristocrats and bureaucrats, and were based on a "palace-economy"--a centralized economic system that redistributed wealth. Mycenaean Greece was also part of a larger international political and economic system--the Bronze Age civilizations--that included the Hittite kingdom, Egypt, the Levant and the Mesopotamian kingdoms. Sometime around 1200 BC, this system collapsed and with it the Mycenaean Greek world. Theories abound as to why.

From Quiz Going to Hell in a Handbasket

Answer: Formed the Delian League

The competitive nature of the Greek city-states is well-documented, and Athens and Sparta were frequently at odds. The roots of the Peloponnesian War, however, came from the aftermath of the second Persian invasion of Greece that was ended in 479 BC. Although Athens wasn't the only polis responsible for the victory that year, many gave them all the credit. If it hadn't been for the efforts of the Athenian navy at the Battle of Salamis, the Persians would not have been convinced to retreat. Taking advantage of the fear of another Persian invasion, Athens convinced 350 city-states (approximately 1/3 of all of Greece) to join a new League of City-States - the Delian League. Athens would patrol the seas in exchange for tribute that the other members would pay. To seal the deal the members of the League dropped a piece of iron in the water and vowed to work together until it rose again to the surface. It must be noted, however, that 2/3 of the city-states in ancient Greece - including Sparta - did not join the Delian League; in addition, members of the initial League who wanted to leave were not allowed. The formation of the League allowed Athens to become intensely powerful, which would not be tolerated well by the other city-states. Filled with suspicion and pride, the Spartans formed their own rival league - the Peloponnesian League.

From Quiz Thucydides' Civil War at Corcyra

Answer: Corfu

Situated in the Ionian Islands, Corfu, now a popular tourist attraction, is an island located two miles (at the north end) to fourteen miles(at the south end) off the western coast of present day Albania and Greece. The ancient city of Corcyra was located along the southeast side of the island.

From Quiz Xenophon: The Man and His Times

Answer: Athens

Xenophon was born to a wealthy family the same year Pericles gave his famous Funeral Oration in 430 BC. He grew up on the family farm around horses and based on his life seems to have always enjoyed country living. In his teens he became a student and follower of Socrates, who would have a profound impact upon his life. It does not seem definitively known that he participated in the Great Peloponnesian War; but given that he would have been 26 at its end, his social status and his subsequent conduct as well Athens' manpower needs at war's end, it seems likely he did in some role.

From Quiz Plutarch's Greek Lives

Answer: Theseus

Theseus was the son of King Aegeus of Athens and made his way there from Troezen, performing a series of fantastic heroic feats during the journey. While his life was often tragic, he is considered to be one of the great moral forces in the Athens' founding.

From Quiz Tales of The Acropolis

Answer: Citadel

Translated from the ancient Greek, acropolis means "High City" or "City in the Air". Many Greek city-states, such as Corinth, Thebes, and, of course, Athens, had an impressive acropolis. The war-like nature of the ancient Greeks made it necessary to establish the polis in an area where there was a natural citadel. During times of crisis, the people would flee from their homes to the acropolis in search of protection. While the women and children would pray to the gods for divine intervention, the men would fight.

From Quiz The Origins of the Great Peloponnesian War

Answer: The Peloponnesian League and the Delian League

The Peloponnesus was that part of Greece south of the Isthmus and had been dominated by Sparta for at least a 150 years. Thebes, north of the Isthmus, was also a member. The Delian League, which got its name from the island of Delos, had come into existence after the Second Persian War in 480-479 BC when Athens began defending the Greeks inhabiting the islands along the western coast of Asia Minor from the Persian Empire.

From Quiz Philip II of Macedonia

Answer: Thebes

According to some sources, Philip was held hostage in the house of the Theban politician, Pammenes, a friend of the Theban general Epaminondas, for three years. Alexander was assassinated in 365 BC and succeeded by Perdiccas III and Philip returned shortly thereafter.

From Quiz The Rise and Fall of Demetrius, Pt 2

Answer: Lysichamus

After Ipsus, the Successors divided up the territory previously held by Demetrius' father, Antigonous. Lysichamus gained most of Antigonous' holdings in Asia Minor. Demetrius raided Lysichamus' Thrace in retaliation and enriched his forces, according to Plutarch.

From Quiz The Rise and Fall of Demetrius, Pt 1

Answer: Antigonous Monophthalmus (the "One-eyed")

Antigonous distinguished himself for Alexander by holding Phrygia in Central Asia Minor and keeping the Macedonian King's supply lines to Asia clear. Antigonous became one of the most powerful of the Diadochi (Successors). The other key Successors and players were Antipater, Perdiccas, Lysichamus of Thrace, Seleucas, Ptolemy of Egypt, Polyperchon and Cassander.

From Quiz Ancient Greece via Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Answer: Acropolis

Socrates probably learned his craft from his father Sophroniscus, who was also a stonemason. The Acropolis was an area of high ground in Athens that included the Parthenon. The Colosseum (or Flavian Amphitheater) is in Rome. The Colossus was a large statue in the harbor for the island of Rhodes. The Mausoleum was a famous tomb in Halicarnassus in modern Turkey.

From Quiz Greek City-States

Answer: Spartan mothers to their sons leaving for war

This meant the sons was expected to come back victorious, in glory, or die in battle! The Spartan soldiers would never come back defeated, because to do so would have been a disgrace. They were expected to fight to the death.

From Quiz Ancient Greece Through Ancient Words

Answer: Polytheistic

Polytheism is the worship of or belief in more than one god. Ancient Greek religion was based on a mixture of beliefs, practices and myths. Of the ancient Greeks writers, some of Hesiod, Homer and Pindar's writings are considered reference texts for the religion. The epic poems of Homer and Hesiod are the earliest surviving examples of Western literature.

From Quiz The Boys From Syracuse

Answer: Sicily

The main city of "Magna Graecia" ("Greater Greece"), the Italian areas colonised by Greeks, Syracuse was sited on the east coast of Sicily. The colonists originally settled the small island of Ortygia, but by the fifth century BC it had grown to rival Athens in size.

From Quiz It's all Greek to me

Answer: Mycenaean

The Mycenaean civilisation flourished from around 1900-1100 BCE. Mycenae is about 90 kilometres from Athens, in the Peloponnese, and what we know about it is from the archaeological evidence, and from accounts such as Homer's 'Iliad', which tells of the war against Troy. The Mycenaeans were greatly influenced by the Minoan civilisation in Crete, and had a system of writing that we call 'Linear B' which was a development of the Minoan 'Linear A' script. Around 800 BCE Greece began to split into 'City States', which were independent and frequently at war with one another. There were a great many of these city states, but some of the most powerful ones included Athens, Sparta, Rhodes, Corinth, Argos and Megara. The states would sometimes unite against an enemy, which is what happened in the case of the the Trojan War, the subject of Homer's 'Iliad'.

From Quiz Headline News

Answer: Marathon

The battle of Marathon between the Athenians and their allies against the invading Persians, took place in August or September in 490 BC. The Persian army, under the leadership of Datis and Artaphernes, had occupied the Cyclades islands and destroyed the town of Eretria in Eoboea before camping on the plain of Marathon. The Athenian army, under the leadership of Miltiades and aided with a small force from the city of Plataea, attacked from the flanks and managed to rout the Persian army. The battle of Salamis was fought in 480 BC during the second Persian invasion. Issus and Gaugamela were battles during Alexander's military campaign against the Persians.

From Quiz Ancient Greece

Answer: Spartiates

The Spartiates were Spartan males who were trained from a very young age for battle and hardship. They had the reputation of being the most feared and fearless soldiers in Greece. Spartiates were the only people with full citizenship and political rights among the classes in Spartan law.

From Quiz Ancient Macedonia

Answer: Chaeronea

King Philip II led the Macedon army to face the Athenians, the Thebans and other smaller states in 338 BC. Macedon rose because Philip became king and attacked all the surrounding enemies with new inventions of catapults and siege machinery, as well as the new phalanx formation armed with longer two handed spears called the Sarissa.

From Quiz Meet the Minoans

Answer: Crete

Minoan settlements have been found on a number of Greek islands but the culture arose and was based on Crete. In fact, the term "Minoan" was coined by archaeologist Arthur Evans in honour of King Minos, the legendary king of Crete.

From Quiz Learning About Ancient Greece

Answer: Athena

Athens was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom. According to legend, Athena and Poseidon wanted to see who could give the people of Athens a better gift. Poseidon provided saltwater while Athena provided an olive tree. The people, under the leadership of Cecrops (who was most likely the one that made the final call) liked Athena's gift better and so it was decided to name the city after her.

From Quiz Ancient Computing - The Antikythera Mechanism

Answer: 1900-1901

During the month of October 1900, whilst sheltering from a storm on the island of Antikythera, a group of sponge divers discovered a wreck and retrieved a number of artefacts during a dive near Point Glyphadia. During 1902, whilst some of these artefacts were being examined, a toothed gear wheel bearing fragments of an inscription was revealed. This major find has now become known as the Antikythera Mechanism. It is believed to be the world's oldest and possibly the first analogue computing machine, although it has also been suggested that this device was one of a line, any previous examples of which still remain undiscovered. The wreck itself has been dated to the first half of the 1st century BCE and has produced a number of statues, some of which date back to the 4th century BCE.

From Quiz The Parthenon

Answer: The Acropolis

The Acropolis tops a hill in Athens. Artifacts dating beck to the Neolithic Era have been found there. The remains of the floors of a Mycenaen megaron or great hall dating back to the Bronze Age have been found on the Acropolis. The etymology of the term "acropolis" is "high city".

From Quiz The Attic Orators

Answer: Alexandrian Canon

Attica was the name given to the area of Greece around the city of Athens. The Attic Orators all lived between the third and fifth centuries BC, and their work inspired the later Atticism movement which began in the first century BC. Aristarchus of Samothrace and Aristophanes of Byzantium were both Head Librarian of the Great Library of Alexandria, with Aristarchus succeding Aristophanes in the post.

From Quiz Ninth Graders' Ancient Greece: 3

Answer: Hestia

Hestia was the sister of Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hades, and Poseidon.

From Quiz Ninth Graders' Ancient Greece: 1

Answer: pentathlon

This event was composed of five events: Wrestling, running, discus, javelin, and jumping. The name comes from the Greek "pente" meaning "five".

From Quiz The Golden Age of Athens

Answer: Delian League

After defeating the Persians for the second time, the Greeks decided that they needed to form a league to promote the mutual protection of Greece. All members who joined the League were to pay a fee to help defray costs. The treasury of the League was located on the island of Delos, for which the League was named. At the time the Greeks were so determined to make the defensive alliance work, that they sealed the pact by throwing a piece of iron into the sea, and pledged to support each other until it rose back to the surface.

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