Those Amazing Romans Trivia Quiz

Answer: Italy

The city of Rome dates back to the 8th century BC, and was the centre of the Roman Empire. At the time, Italy did not exist as a united country and didn't become one country until quite recently, in the nineteenth century. The map shows some of the historical divisions of Italy which existed before the country was unified.

Answer: Wolf

Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, and are described in myth as having been abandoned in a basket on the river Tiber. They were discovered by a female wolf who allowed them to suckle milk from her before they were taken in by a shepherd and brought up to become shepherds themselves.

The photo is of a wolf. Of the choices I gave you, only foxes and wolves live in Europe.

Answer: Seven

Romulus and Remus decided to build a city where they were originally found, although they couldn't agree on the exact site. They quarrelled and Remus ended up dead (there are different stories about how exactly this happened, although many sources say Romulus killed him), so the city ended up with a version of Romulus's name. Rome has seven hills, with the best known probably being the Palatine Hill, where Romulus began building his city.

The picture doesn't show any hills at all, but there are seven dustbins.

Answer: Latin

The name of Latin comes from the region of Italy around Rome, which was called Latium. Because Rome's empire spread so far, many languages of Europe, such as French, Spanish and Portuguese, have their roots in Latin and you probably know more Latin words than you realise.

The expression shown in the photo is 'carpe diem', meaning 'seize the day'. You might also know 'et cetera', meaning 'and the rest' and 'per annum', Latin for 'each year'.

Answer: Augustus

Augustus was the founder of the Roman Empire and its first emperor. His original name was Gaius Octavius and he took the name of Augustus when he became emperor. Before his time, Rome had been a republic with the rulers being known as Dictators, who were chosen as leaders. The Roman Republic lasted from 509 BC to 27 BC.

Augustus gave his name to the month of August, the eighth in the year, so the photo is another clue to help you choose the right answer.

Answer: Jupiter

Many of the Roman gods of mythology are based on Greek deities, with Jupiter being the Roman equivalent of Zeus, the chief Greek god. Neptune was the god of the sea while Mars was the god of war. Mercury had several roles, including being the messenger of the gods.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System - the 'king of the planets' might be a good description.

Answer: Fire

The Great Fire of Rome dates from 64 AD and raged for about six days before being controlled. It caused a huge amount of damage, and the Emperor Nero was blamed for the devastation. He, in turn, laid blame on the Christian population and began persecuting them.

Although Nero was a musician, he could not have been playing the violin, which wasn't invented until the tenth century. The expression has become common usage, with 'to fiddle while Rome burns' referring to anyone who does very little during a major crisis.

Answer: Scotland

The countries of the British Isles were known as Cambria (Wales), Hibernia (Ireland), Anglia (England) and Caledonia (Scotland). The Romans invaded the British Isles from around 43 AD and many English cities were given Latin names, like Aquae Sulis for Bath and Deva for Chester. Other countries with Latin names were France (Gallia), Hispania (Spain) and Lusitania (Portugal).

The photo clue shows some tartans, which are associated particularly with Scotland.

Answer: Boots

Caligula is remembered as being a particularly cruel and mad emperor, although many of the stories about him may be exaggerated. It seems that he was popular as a young man, and his nickname of 'Little Boots' dates from his early childhood. Among the tales which have come down to us is that Caligula intended to make his horse one of the consuls (politicians) and that he believed himself to be a god. He was assassinated in 41 AD.

The photo of feet should have helped to point you towards something worn on them.

Answer: Colosseum

The Colosseum was first opened in 80 AD, so is nearly 2,000 years old. It was used for events like gladiator fights between men and between men and animals, such as lions. It gradually fell into disrepair until the eighteenth century when Pope Benedict XIV decided it should be a memorial to the Christians who had died there.

The photo shows the Colosseum as it is in the early twenty-first century. The best known Acropolis is in Athens, Greece and the Parthenon is located there. The Circus Maximus, once used for chariot racing, is also in Rome.