Civilizations From the Past Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Greeks

Ancient Greece produced writers like Homer, who wrote "The Iliad". They built beautiful temples like the Parthenon, which you can still visit in Athens, today the capital of Greece. They had philosophers like Socrates and Plato, scientists like Aristotle and Archimedes and they had sculptors like Phidias.

The Greek civilization has had influence in all ways of our modern life. The Greeks attained their golden age during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.

Answer: The Romans

Jesus was born during the life of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. The man who judged him was Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor under Emperor Tiberius, as Rome was in control of Judea, the province where Christ lived. The Romans brought their language, Latin, to many European countries, creating new languages which are called Romance languages, like Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French.

Answer: The Phoenicians

The Phoenicians carried civilization to the many ports they visited, as they went from one place to another bringing innovations and discoveries. They traded in carved woods, ivory, fine linen dyed in Tyrian purple, precious metals and glass. They flourished between 1500 to 300 B.C.

Answer: The Mesopotamians

The word Mesopotamia comes from the Greek, "mesos" meaning "between" and "potamoi" meaning "river". These people were not a single civilization but four different ones, who had in common their religion, certain laws, the way they treated women and the way society was formed. They were: Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians (first and second empires) and Assyrians. The Mesopotamians invented the wheel, they planted the first crops, and they had advanced knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and agriculture.

Answer: The Egyptians

The Egyptians' civilization was important as far back as 5000 years ago. The Egyptians were excellent in architecture, engineering and medicine. The Nile, the longest river in the world, was very important to them because the rest of the country is a desert and the Nile had fertile lands nearby that could be used for agriculture.

It was also used for transportation. The pyramids of Giza, built around 2500 years B.C., are still standing as well as many temples found all around Egypt.

Answer: The Chinese

China was united under the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who built the Great Wall, but archeologists have found remains of primitive men in China, which proves that this land was inhabited thousands of years before handwriting was invented. Some inventions of the Chinese were how to make silk out of butterfly cocoons, how to make gunpowder, paper and clay ceramic.

The Chinese also invented the compass and calligraphy,

Answer: The Huns

The Huns lived in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Many countries suffered from the attack of the Huns, among them, the Chinese, who built the Great Wall to protect their cities. Also, the people of India, Persia, and many Europeans of the times suffered at the hands of the Huns.

Answer: The Mongols

Marco Polo, one of the most famous travelers, lived many years in the court of Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. He conquered China, founding the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century.

Answer: The Vikings

The Vikings explored and conquered not only neighboring lands, but also the Mediterranean, the coast of Africa and even America, which they visited several centuries before Columbus. The Vikings became very important between the 8th and the 11th centuries.

They raided villages but also traded furs, tusks, seal fat and slaves. Two of their most famous leaders were Leif Ericson and Erik the Red.

Answer: The Moors

The Moors is what North African Muslims were known as in the Middle Ages. They were expelled from Spain by the Catholic King and Queen, but, although uninvited conquerors, they brought with them civilization, culture and beautiful architecture, like the Alhambra of Granada. In those days, they were much more advanced than the people of Spain.