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Gold - How is thy Shine? - I Trivia Quiz

Gold always had the power to excite and corrupt. The fall of many a mighty came due to this lustrous metal. Testing your knowledge about some of these men and a few 'golden' questions ...

A multiple-choice quiz by ace_sodium. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
ace_sodium

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
155,789

Updated
Oct 31 24

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
752

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who exclaimed, 'Solomon, I've surpassed thee' after his 'pet project' was completed in A.D. 537? The quote was a reference to the amount of gold used in this project. Hint

Juline

Constantine

Justinian

Romeine

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Question 2 of 10

2. Gold turns the greatest of heroes into men of 'loose integrity'! Nothing can illustrate this better than the Greek hero, whose adventure (and its perils) were linked to gold and whose bride-to-be's death also had the element of gold in it. Who was it? Hint

Hercules

Jason

Odysseus

Paris

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Question 3 of 10

3. Today, we define the purity of gold in carats but it was first used to describe the weight of the gold that was being transacted. Where did this word originate from? Hint

From an animal

From a fruit

From the name given to the stem of a coffee plant in Urdu

From a bird

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Question 4 of 10

4. Midas, the man with the 'golden touch', is the best example of the lust that gold generates in the mind of mortals. To relieve him of his golden touch, Bacchus (who granted him the wish in the first place) asked him to bathe in a particular river. Which river? Hint

Pactolus

Nile

Danube

Pantaloona

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which Lydian king, reportedly showed off his gold to Solon, the famous Greek law-maker and enquired whether the latter had met anyone more fortunate than him? Hint

Croesus

Crimera

Midas

Nimerus

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Question 6 of 10

6. This 'King of Kings' was the first person to stamp his portrait on the official gold coin. He called these coins by his name. Name this 'great' ruler? Hint

Alexander

Croesus

Darius

Crygus

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Question 7 of 10

7. 'Gold kills'! At least this axiom was literally true for one Roman gentleman, who made his money by organising fire brigades, 'unscrupulous' tenancy deals besides other sources of income. Name this prominent personality who met his end when the Parthians poured molten gold down his throat? Hint

Coimius

Crassus

Humourus

Cassius

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Question 8 of 10

8. When first released, these coins weighed 4.55 gms and were 98% pure. This coin was used in transactions for around 700 years - the longest ever till A.D. 2003. What were these coins called? Hint

Doa

Pesanto

Bezants

Roda

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Question 9 of 10

9. The Arab Muslims also had a great need for gold. They started using Gold coins (based on the Byzantine currency). The first Gold coins were issued by Caliph Abd el-Melik at Damascus. What were these coins popularly known as? Hint

Pesos

Dirhams

Dinars

Riyals

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Question 10 of 10

10. During the 15th century, Europeans used a particular name to call the gold-bearing areas (especially in Africa). Though controversy surrounds the origin of the word, it is still used today, albeit for different reasons. What was the name given to these gold-bearing areas? Hint

Ivory Coast

Guinea

El Dominica

Jassi

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who exclaimed, 'Solomon, I've surpassed thee' after his 'pet project' was completed in A.D. 537? The quote was a reference to the amount of gold used in this project.

Answer: Justinian

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian supervised the construction of the Church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople, which contained around 12 metric tons of gold. Justinian's reference was to the Biblical king Solomon, who had build a great temple adorned with gold.

Answer: Jason

Jason retrieved the Golden Fleece; in the process, he had secured the help of Medea under the pretext that he would marry her. However, Jason's world crumbled around him in a series of events after this. He 'ditched' Medea to woo the daughter of King Creon. Medea, scorned and bitter, presented a gown made of gold (and drenched in poison) to Jason's bride-to-be.

She then killed her sons (fathered by Jason). Jason, inconsolable, stabbed himself to death.

3. Today, we define the purity of gold in carats but it was first used to describe the weight of the gold that was being transacted. Where did this word originate from?

Answer: From a fruit

Keration (Greek), qirat (Arabic) or carato (Italian) - all were used to describe the fruit of the Carob tree. A pod of this fruit weighed 1/5th of a gram. Today weight is measured in grains (though the price is generally expressed in US$ per 'troy ounce').

Answer: Pactolus

The legend has it that Midas's Golden touch passed on to the river; this ushured in prosperity for the Phrygian empire (Midas's) and the neighbouring Lydians.
Later, Midas was attacked by the Cimmerians and his empire was destroyed. However his chariot remained tied to a post in the main temple of Gordium with a complex knot (aka the Gordian Knot). [Please note that there are different versions of this story.]

5. Which Lydian king, reportedly showed off his gold to Solon, the famous Greek law-maker and enquired whether the latter had met anyone more fortunate than him?

Answer: Croesus

Croesus was the fifth (and last) generation ruler of the Gyges dynasty. To Croesus's comment, all Solon said was, "my dear Croesus, humans are the creatures of pure chance."
Croesus was one of the first rulers to incorporate gold coins into the currency. The Lydian Empire is also credited with creating the first official 'Bimetallic Standard' (which continued till the 18th century A.D.).

6. This 'King of Kings' was the first person to stamp his portrait on the official gold coin. He called these coins by his name. Name this 'great' ruler?

Answer: Darius

Croesus put only an official logo in his coins. Darius, the Persian Emperor, put not only his portrait on the coin, but he also called them 'Darics'. The Persian Empire was also the first to collect taxes in coins rather than in kind.

Answer: Crassus

Crassus lived around the same time as Caesar and Pompey. Crassus provoked the Parthians (Mesopotamia) and attacked them with 40,000 odd troops. However, he wasn't a military genius!

8. When first released, these coins weighed 4.55 gms and were 98% pure. This coin was used in transactions for around 700 years - the longest ever till A.D. 2003. What were these coins called?

Answer: Bezants

First introduced by Emperor Constantine, they were the official currency units of the Byzantine Empire. Ironically Bezant was introduced at a time when the Romans were debasing their currencies.

Answer: Dinars

The Dinars initially had the Caliph's face in it, which was subsequently replaced by quotations from the Holy Quran (a tradition that still continues in many Arab currencies).

Answer: Guinea

Initially, the British used to call these areas 'Ginney'. The Portugese even went to the extent of getting permission from the Pope to call their King 'Lord of Guinea'.
In 1662, the English started minting a new coin called the 'Guinea'. Originally intended to be worth one pound sterling, its value rose with the gold price ... It wasn't till the 19th century that the Bank of England had the resources to stabilize (or fix) the price of gold (1823 onwards).

Source: Author ace_sodium

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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