Roman History for Kids Trivia Quiz

Answer: Romulus

Romulus and his twin brother Remus were, according to legend, abandoned in a forest and raised by a she-wolf. Legend states that they started building the city wall around Rome in 753 BC, on April 21. (Don't learn this date by heart: it is pure speculation). Romulus quarrelled with Remus and killed his brother, after which he proclaimed himself king of Rome.
The other three Romans mentioned here are some of the other seven Kings of Rome.

Answer: Centurion

The Roman army consisted of several legions guarding different regions. Each legion had sixty divisions of one hundred infantry, commanded by a centurion. The number of infantry troops was officially one hundred per centurion, but due to losses most centurions commanded only eighty-odd troops.
A decurion commanded (officially) ten infantry.
Decathlon and heptathlon are athletic disciplines: ten track and field challenges for men (decathlon), seven for women (heptathlon).

Answer: Circus Maximus

Chariot races were one of the top attractions in Rome, as were the gladiator games. The charioteers went to the Circus Maximus or other race tracks. The Circus Maximus was built by order of one of the Roman kings (before 509 BC) and stayed in use until well into the Roman Empire (at least until about 300 AD). I can't think of any other sport venues that stayed in use this long.
The Cloaca Maxima was the largest sewer in Rome. The Carcere Mamertino was a prison for criminals awaiting their trial. The Capella Sistina is the Sistine Chapel, a part of the Vatican with astonishing paintings.

Answer: Hannibal

Hannibal was a Carthaginian general. In 218 BC Hannibal assembled a massive army in Spain, crossed the Pyrenees and the Alps, and threatened the Roman army on its own terrain. Only a few elephants survived the trip to the mountains, but they scared the Roman infantry. A clever Roman general cut off the supply lines to Hannibal's army and so defeated him.
Astarte, Isis and Aphrodite are goddesses of love - from Babylon, Egypt and Greece.

Answer: He was stabbed to death

Gaius Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC. During his lifetime, civil war was quite common. Caesar conquered France, and then marched his army to Rome where he seized power. Some of his closest advisors were upset by this move, so they decided to remove him from office - in the most decisive way: they stabbed him twenty-odd times.
By the way, Gaius Julius Caesar was not the first Emperor, but later Emperors chose his third name (Caesar) as an honorary title.
Emperor Claudius ate poisoned mushrooms, and Emperor Nero fell on his sword - aided by his slave.

Answer: Gaul

Gaul was the name the Romans gave to the large tract of land between the Pyrenees, the Alps, the river Rhine, and the sea. Most of Gaul is the present France, but also Belgium, Luxembourg, the southern part of the Netherlands and the westernmost part of Germany belonged to Gaul.
Various Celtic tribes inhabited Gaul. Some of these traded with the Romans, others occasionally fought them. Between 58 and 52 BC, Caesar conquered Gaul - mostly by encouraging one tribe to fight the other.
Caledonia is the Roman name for Scotland. Hibernia is what the Romans called Ireland, and Hispania is the present Spain.

Answer: Octavius Augustus

Augustus was born as Gaius Octavius, and adopted by Julius Caesar as his appointed heir. When he seized power, he refused the title of king and the Senate named him Augustus. This means "he who has increased (his power)". Almost all Roman emperors (starting with Augustus) are known by a single nickname.
Augustus followed the Roman custom of adopting his successor. The same method was used by the members of his family who succeeded him. The family tree became quite complicated in this way.
James May presents the British TV show "Top Gear". Valerie June is an American singer-songwriter. Julie Christie is a British actress.

Answer: Pompeii

In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted. Volcanic ashes covered at least three cities (among which Pompeii is the most famous), killing all inhabitants.
The ancient city was dug up by archaeologists, and is now used as an open-air museum.
Manila (in the Philippines) is situated quite near the volcano Pinatubo. Mexico City lies some 43 miles from the volcano Popocatepetl. Reykjavik (Iceland) is close to the volcano Eyjafjallajokull.

Answer: Constantine

According to the Roman authorities, Christians were suspect people, because they refused to believe in the ancient deities such as Jupiter, Juno, Minerva and Mars. So on several occasions the Roman authorities rounded up some Christians, commanded them to make a sacrifice to deities such as Jupiter or Minerva, and had them tortured and killed if they refused.
Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for having started the great fire in Rome. Emperors Decius and Diocletian organised persecutions of Christians.
Constantine, however, granted all Roman citizens religious freedom. Christians were allowed to worship only their God, and so were the Jews. But other Romans were allowed to continue worshipping the ancient Roman deities, or Egyptian, Assyrian or Celtic deities - whatever.

Answer: Romulus Augustus

There is little trustworthy information on this person. It seems Romulus Augustus was a youngster who was manoeuvred into the position of Roman emperor by his father, while the teen had almost no voice in state matters. Romulus Augustus held the position for less than a year, and was then deposed by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer.
Charlemagne was a Frankish emperor. Alexander the Great was a Macedonian king. Alfred the Great was King of England.