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Ancient Historical Facts Trivia Quiz

Just a few questions about the ancient world. Enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by nerthus. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
nerthus

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
35,085

Updated
Jun 17 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
13624

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 167 (4/10), Guest 38 (10/10), Guest 136 (6/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In 356 BC, a man named Herostratus tried to seek immortality by burning one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Which wonder was this? Hint

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Colossus at Rhodes

Temple of Artemis

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Someone very famous was born the very night that Herostratus burned the ancient wonder. Who was he? Hint

Plutarch

Alexander the Great

Aristotle

Ptolemy

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. In 352 BC, Chinese astronomers recorded the earliest known sighting of a ...? Hint

solar eclipse

comet

supernova

binary star

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Around 2600 BC, the Egyptian queen, Hetepheres, mother of Pharoah Cheops was the first person to be ...?

Answer: (One Word (think mummy))

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. In 280 BC, the sculptor Chares built an immense bronze statue. What was this? Hint

Zeus at Olympia

Laocoon

Colossus at Rhodes

Athena at Parthenon

6. Isaac Newton's first law of motion - that a body stays in a state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by outside forces - was recorded centuries earlier in 250 BC by which civilisation? Hint

Mayan

Chinese

Indian

Sumerian

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Honouring Ptolemy V Epiphanes, which important ancient work was engraved in 196 BC, and eventually lost until 1799 when it was unearthed during a military construction project?

Answer: (Two Words - it was engraved in Egyptian and Greek)

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Around 1500-1200 BC, the first of the four Vedic texts was written in Sanskrit. What is it? Hint

Sama Veda

Atharva Veda

Yajur Veda

Rig Veda

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Around 400 BC, the talented Chinese artisan Lu Ban made the first known ...? Hint

water clock

sundial

oil-burning lamp

kite

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Which written symbol made its earliest known appearance in India in 876 BC?

Answer: (One Word-math)

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Most Recent Scores

Dec 24 2024 : Guest 167: 4/10
Dec 20 2024 : Guest 38: 10/10
Dec 19 2024 : Guest 136: 6/10
Dec 13 2024 : benjovi: 6/10
Dec 09 2024 : skatersarehott: 4/10
Dec 09 2024 : Guest 90: 7/10
Nov 28 2024 : Guest 120: 3/10
Nov 21 2024 : Guest 50: 2/10
Nov 05 2024 : Guest 62: 8/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 356 BC, a man named Herostratus tried to seek immortality by burning one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Which wonder was this?

Answer: Temple of Artemis

The attempt worked somewhat - his name was immortalized.

2. Someone very famous was born the very night that Herostratus burned the ancient wonder. Who was he?

Answer: Alexander the Great

Plutarch the historian, wrote that the goddess Diana was too busy attending to Alexander's birth that she couldn't save her own temple. It was Alexander who helped to rebuild the temple after he conquered Asia Minor.

3. In 352 BC, Chinese astronomers recorded the earliest known sighting of a ...?

Answer: supernova

The sighting of a comet was first recorded by the Chinese more than 2000 years BC. The Babylonians were the first to record a solar eclipse in 736 BC.

4. Around 2600 BC, the Egyptian queen, Hetepheres, mother of Pharoah Cheops was the first person to be ...?

Answer: embalmed

Apparently her internal organs are the only parts of her to have survived.

5. In 280 BC, the sculptor Chares built an immense bronze statue. What was this?

Answer: Colossus at Rhodes

The colossus was of the sun god Helios, and stood over 100 feet high. It was destroyed in an earthquake in 224 BC. The Laocoon is a beautiful sculpture of Laocoon, a priest of Apollo and his two sons, struggling with two large snakes.

Answer: Chinese

The followers of Mo Tzu, recorded this principle in the book 'Mo Ching'

7. Honouring Ptolemy V Epiphanes, which important ancient work was engraved in 196 BC, and eventually lost until 1799 when it was unearthed during a military construction project?

Answer: Rosetta Stone

Engraved in hieroglyphic and demotic Egyptian as well as Greek, the Rosetta Stone was instrumental in providing the key that deciphered ancient Egyptian writing.

8. Around 1500-1200 BC, the first of the four Vedic texts was written in Sanskrit. What is it?

Answer: Rig Veda

Together the four vedas form the canon of Hinduism.

9. Around 400 BC, the talented Chinese artisan Lu Ban made the first known ...?

Answer: kite

The water clock was built by the Egyptians around 1450 BC. The sundial was introduced by Anaximander to the Greeks around 520 BC.

10. Which written symbol made its earliest known appearance in India in 876 BC?

Answer: zero

The concept of zero itself is probably a lot older.

Source: Author nerthus

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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