Who's Who: Ancient Pairs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Solomon

Solomon, who became the King of Israel, was the tenth son of King David and Bathsheba. At the request of Bathsheba, David made Solomon his heir at a time when another son, Adonijah, was attempting to overthrow his father. Solomon's reign over the kingdom is sometimes called the Golden Age of Israel.

He built the Temple of Solomon, which was said to have had walls and floor decorated with gold. He expanded his empire, and built forts in strategic locations. He ordered the construction of a fleet of ships, which were used for trade.

He was known for his extraordinary wisdom. His oppressive taxation, however, caused a split within the Twelve Tribes that never healed.

Answer: Aristotle

Both Greek philosophers, Plato was Aristotle's teacher. There are many similarities between the two. In spite of the fact that they both lived in ancient Athens, the birthplace of democracy, they both believed that democracy was the worst form of government.

Instead, they liked the idea of the people being led by a philsopher-king, someone who was chosen for his position due to his virtue and ability. Both opened well-known schools that continued to influence history for many years; Plato's was called the Academy and Aristotle's was the Lyceum.

Answer: Khafre

The pharaohs Cheops and Khafre were father and son, and rulers during ancient Egypt's Fourth Dynasty. Cheops, also known as Khufu, inherited the throne from his father, Sneferu; ancient sources, however, differ as to the length of his reign. In fact, very little is known about his actual reign as pharaoh, except for the fact that he is credited with the building of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Khafre also erected a pyramid on the Giza plateau and is believed to have added the Great Sphinx there as well.

Many historians believe that his image was carved on its face. Why exactly were these structures built? The answers have been debated for centuries and we still don't know for sure!

Answer: Romulus

While there are many myths surrounding the birth and lives of Remus and Romulus, some historians believe that they were real people. They were the twin grandsons of the rightful king of Alba Longa, Numitor, who had been overthrown by his evil brother. Abandoned and rescued at birth, when they became young men they overthrew their evil uncle and reinstated their grandfather as king.

The problem was that both Remus and Romulus were born leaders. When they decided to leave their grandfather to build their own city, it was difficult for them to agree on where it should be and who should rule.

The story is that Romulus killed Remus during an argument and became the first King of Rome in 753 BC. In 2020, Rome celebrated its 2,773rd birthday on April 21.

Answer: Cleopatra

After the death of her lover, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra famously became involved with his best friend, Marc Antony. Antony made a huge mistake by breaking his alliance with Octavian and Lepidus - the so called Second Triumvirate - and divorcing his wife Octavia, the sister of Caesar's heir, Octavian.

He left Rome to pursue his relationship with Cleopatra, and Octavian convinced the people and Senate that Antony was no longer interested in being a Roman. Rome declared war after Anthony's will was produced; it said that he left the Roman provinces in the east to Cleopatra and her children.

After having lost to Octavian's troops at the Battle of Actium, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra was allowed to conduct his burial rites, and, after several attempts to take her own life, she succeeded.

Answer: Amytis

The Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar II built the old city of Babylon into quite a showplace during his reign. Think of what it would have looked like to see the massive walls around the city, go through the beautiful Ishtar Gate, and walk down Processional Street.

His wife, Amytis of Medea, however, grew homesick for the plants of her homeland after arriving in the somewhat barren land around the new city. It is said that in order to make her happy, he imported plants from Medea and had his engineers construct the Hanging Gardens that was considered by the ancient people to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The account was written by a priest named Berossus in approximately 290 BC, but no trace of the ancient structure has ever been found. Don't be discouraged, though.

It is quite possible that the remains lie hidden under the Euphrates River or that the structure was destroyed in antiquity.

Answer: Phidias

Pericles was the well-known leader of Athens during the Golden Age, when great achievements were made in art, architecture, literature, science, and democracy. The Golden Age occurred after the Greek city-states, led by Athens, won the Persian Wars. Athens was chosen to be the leader of the Delian League, a league created for the future defense of Greece, which many of the city-states joined. Pericles used money from the League to rebuild Athens, which had suffered much destruction at the hands of the Persians. One of his best friends and advisors, Phidias, a sculptor, architect, and painter, was placed in charge of of a restoration project on the Acropolis of Athens, where the Parthenon was built. Phidias is credited with sculpting a monumental statue of the goddess Athena inside the temple.

He is also credited with creating one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the statue of Zeus at Olympia.

Answer: Alexander the Great

Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, set the stage of his son to become a great leader. He is credited with uniting the Macedonians, reorganizing the army using the Macedonian phalanx, and planning to invade Macedonia's biggest enemy to the east, Persia.

His assassination under mysterious circumstances made it possible for Alexander to take control. Some think that it was planned by Alexander's mother, Olympias, who wanted her son to be king. Others believe that the Persians caught wind of his plan and orchestrated Philip's death. Nevertheless, Alexander did succeed his father and built one of largest ancient empires, having never lost a battle! How did the two of them get along? Alexander was always afraid that Philip would not leave anything for him to conquer, and Philip's marriages to other women caused friction between them. Alexander favored his teacher, Aristotle, over his father, noting that while his father gave him life, Aristotle taught him to live well.

Answer: Xerxes I

While Darius the Great was not the founder of the Persian Empire, he was, well, great! He established provincial governments and appointed satraps, or governors, to administer them. His network of spies, his "eyes and ears" was so thorough that it was said that he ruled over a government with no corruption.

He built the Royal Road to facilitate trade, communication, and army movement, and established uniform coinage. Why was he great? Because of his fairness in the way he treated conquered people.

His son, Xerxes I, however, was not so great. His father had been unable to conquer those independent Greeks and he also failed in that respect. Known for an overall nasty disposition, and for spending money on extravagant palaces, Xerxes was assassinated by the leader of his own palace bodyguards.

Answer: Zoser

Imhotep served as a doctor, engineer, architect, and high priest of Ra during the Third Dynasty in ancient Egypt. He was also pharaoh's vizier, or main advisor. He is credited with creating a step pyramid, the Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara, that is believed to have served as the final resting place of Pharaoh Zoser. Very little is known about Zoser aside from his construction projects.

The fact that he was able to oversee such a monumental building with its need for workers, money, and materials, however, indicates that he was a successful ruler.

The ancient Egyptians normally deified their pharaohs after death; interestingly, Imhotep was deified as well, becoming a minor god over time.