Roman Life and Culture Trivia

1. In 60 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus formed a political alliance between themselves. The alliance ended in 53 BC. What was this alliance named?

From Quiz Roman Knowledge

Answer: The First Triumvirate

In 60 BC Caesar made a proposition to Crassus and Pompey. It was to make the three men powerful and rule Rome together. The alliance was unofficial and was kept secret from the public and any other audience for some time. It ended in 53 BC after Marcus Licinius Crassus had died. Shortly before the death of Crassus, Pompey and Caesar were very unfriendly towards each other due to events that had happened in the years of the alliance. Once Crassus was dead Caesar and Pompey became hostile and so the alliance ended.

From Quiz Let the Best Man Win!

Answer: 3rd century BCE

The first documented and dated games happened in 264 BCE, with just three pairs of gladiators fighting to the death. They were held by Decimus Iunius Brutus Scaeva who thus honored his deceased father.

From Quiz Let the Punishment fit the Games!

Answer: They tied prisoners to each end and made them jump while wild beasts attacked them below.

Prisoners would be tied to the see saw ends and once they got in the rhythm, wild animals such as lions and leopards would be set upon them. The prisoners would have to jump harder because the longer the stayed on the ground the faster they would be eaten by the beasts. Eventually though, animals such as lions would rip them off the board and consume them, to the crowd's delight.

From Quiz A Day at the Forum

Answer: Tiberius

Born Tiberius Claudius Nero, Tiberius was the son of Augustus's third wife Livia Drusilla (later known as Julia Augusta), from her first marriage. His reign as emperor was from 14 to 37 AD. Although he had had a distinguished military career and his reign got off to a good start, this did not last and he became increasingly unpopular, so much so that when he died the populace clamoured for his body to be thrown into the Tiber, a fate normally reserved for criminals' remains. In the end, however, he was cremated. He was succeeded by his adopted grandson (also great-nephew) Caligula.

From Quiz Life Through The Eyes of a Roman Slave

Answer: It depended on the gender of the slave

The denarius (plural denarii) is the currency of ancient Rome. Male slaves are more expensive than female slaves mainly because male slaves are more likely to have some form of education. My master bought me for 5000 denarii.

From Quiz Life in Rome and her Empire

Answer: Monte Testaccio

Janiculum, famous for its water mills, and Monte Mario are the highest hills in Rome, yet neither of them figures among the proverbial Seven Hills of Rome because they are outside the boundaries of the ancient city. Monte Jovis is invented.

From Quiz Roman Society

Answer: Kalends

The Kalends was the first day of the month, from which the word "calendar" is derived. If someone owed interest on a debt, it was due on Kalends.

From Quiz Vestal Virgins

Answer: Hearth

Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, Fortuna the goddess of fortune and Ceres the goddess of the earth.

From Quiz Rome - The Eternal City

Answer: 7

Rome was originally located on seven hills. Examples include the Palatine Hill and Quirinal Hill.

From Quiz The Colosseum

Answer: The Flavian Amphitheatre

The building was named after the Flavian dynasty of emperors, during whose reign the building was completed. The name "Colosseum" allegedly comes from the massive statue of Emperor Nero, "The Colossus", which stood near the amphitheatre.

From Quiz Ancient Roman Culture

Answer: Ostia

Pompeii is the famed city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Brundisium is the city at the other end of the Appian Way, in the heel of the "boot" of Italy. Herculaneum is a city that was, believe it or not, named after Hercules!

From Quiz Roman Baths

Answer: Frigidarium

The "frigidarium" was an integral part of the Roman bath setup based on the Roman idea that a cold bath was a necessary experience after working out in the public gymnasium.

From Quiz The Gladiator

Answer: Swordsman

The term gladiator is derived from the Latin word gladius which means sword.

From Quiz The Grandeur That Was Rome

Answer: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Caesar Augustus)

Gaius Julius Caesar, perhaps the greatest figure of pre-imperial Rome, was offered the title of 'Emperor' of Rome on three separate occasions, and each time, he refused. He was assassinated on March 15, 44B.C. Following his death, three men - Octavian, Antony and Lepidus - formed a 'triumvirate' of power-sharing, which was soon to break into warring factions. In the end, Octavian emerged victorious after the suicide of Antony and the banishment of Lepidus. He was proclaimed Emperor in 27 B.C. but didn't acquire full imperial authority till 23 B.C. He held the position till his death in 14 A.D.

From Quiz The Aeneid - Without Looking

Answer: Troy

Troy has been depicted as a Hittite city, but more commonly as an early Greek-speaking culture.

From Quiz Tales of the Lupercalia

Answer: February 15

The ancient Romans enjoyed a variety of holidays during the calendar year; on January 9 the Agonalia was held in honor of the god Janus, and on March 15 the Feriae Iovi, sacred to Jupiter, was celebrated. The Veneralia, which honored Venus, took place on April 1. February 15 was the date of the Lupercalia, also called the "dies Februatus" after the "februa", instruments used in the ritual. The goddess Juno, who was called Juno Februalis during the Lupercalia, was the festival's patron deity. Different sources claim a variety of people may have actually influenced the beginnings of the ancient festival - the Etruscans (as already mentioned), along with Greeks, Latins, and Sabines - all early groups who inhabited the area around Rome and influenced Roman development.

From Quiz Let the Best Man Win!

Answer: The forum (marketplace)

From the very beginning, gladiator fights were a public spectacle for the masses. As such, they were held in the most frequented area of the city - the forum. From the earliest games, they quickly grew in size and opulence - 216 BCE already saw a notable three-day feast with 22 pairs of gladiators and in 183 BCE, sixty pairs battled to commemorate the death of Publius Licinius, a consul and Pontifex Maximus.

From Quiz Let the Punishment fit the Games!

Answer: chimpanzee

Chimpanzees were often trained to mock and abuse women in the arena. Some of these primates could be very violent. However in most cases they were used to give the Roman audience a laugh. When the chimpanzee was finished entertaining the crowd, women were usually executed either by the sword or by other animals.

From Quiz A Day at the Forum

Answer: bathing

A strigil was a metal tool used along with perfumed oils to scrape dirt and sweat from the body before bathing. Roman bathing was quite a ritual; only wealthy families had their own bath houses, so for the majority of the people bathing was undertaken in public bath houses. These consisted of a hot bath, called a caldarium, a tepidarium (warm), and the frigidarium, which as its name suggests, was a cold bath. Bath houses were often elaborate and bathing was almost a social event, with friends and families meeting together to bathe whilst passing the time of day or even conducting business. Many bath houses had large seating areas and even offered food and drink for sale.

From Quiz Beauty Products in Ancient Rome

Answer: Milk from asses

With emphasis on ass. Cleopatra and Poppaea Sabina (the second wife of Nero) are known figures from those days to use this product in their never-ending chase to maintain beauty.

From Quiz Henry's Roman Holiday

Answer: Greatest Sewer

According to legend, the Cloaca Maxima was constructed about 600 B.C. by the king, Tarquinius Priscus, and the last of the seven legendary kings, Tarquinius Superbus, is given credit for having the underground work completed before his overthrow. The sewer is one of the earliest sewage systems in the world; it helped to drain the marshes and carry waste out of the city. My Latin teacher said that sometimes the Romans would throw corpses into the sewer rather than give them a proper burial.

From Quiz The Eternal City

Answer: Ptolemy

The boy's full name was Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar. But fortunately, he was generally called by his nickname, Caesarion, which is Greek for 'little Caesar'. He was the son of Cleopatra and, though historians have argued the point for two millenia, Julius Caesar himself seemed to believe Caesarion to be his son. Caesarion was killed by Caesar Augustus when he was seventeen years old.

From Quiz Those Who are About to Die Salute You!

Answer: Animal hunts

The word "venations" means "animal hunts", but this could often be more of an "animal show" where unusual and exotic animals were paraded for the crowds. That said, many animals died for the crowds' amusement, pitted against each other, or hunted down and killed by the "venatores". The job of those armed with whips was to goad the animals into a rage, making the show even more exciting.

From Quiz Life in Rome and her Empire

Answer: They would be thrown in the arena to be torn apart by beasts.

Punishment was harsh, especially during the imperial period when most of the income of such criminals was melted in the imperial treasury.

From Quiz Vestal Virgins

Answer: maintaining the sacred fire of Vesta

All of these were duties of the Vestal Virgins, but maintaining the fire was the most important task.

From Quiz Rome - The Eternal City

Answer: Water

Aqueducts could be found all over the Roman Empire, they were massive architectural miracles. The architects made sure that they sloped downwards in the direction that they wanted the water to flow. It was possible to transport water over long distances.

From Quiz The Colosseum

Answer: Vespasian

Building commenced in 71 AD but only the first three tiers were built during Vespasian's reign. The building was a gift to the people of Rome.

From Quiz Ancient Roman Culture

Answer: Sabines

This was known as the "Rape of the Sabine Women". The Sabines were invited to a great feast, and they had no idea of what was going to happen. In the end, Romulus and the Sabine leader, Titus Tazio, ruled Rome together, and the Sabines joined the Romans.

From Quiz Roman Baths

Answer: Laconicum

There are no known references to laconicums in the women's section of the Roman public baths.

From Quiz The Gladiator

Answer: Etruscan funerals

It was performed with intention to give the dead man armed attendants in the next world, hence the fights were usually to the death.

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