Tales of Ancient Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Memphis

According to an ancient Egyptian priest, Manetho, the city of Memphis was founded by Narmer, who was also called Menes. In 3100 BC, he united the Kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt, and made Memphis his capital. It's location at the joining point of the kingdoms was meant to symbolize unification. Even after the capital was moved elsewhere, the city of Memphis continued to thrive during most of the long history of ancient Egypt.

The patron deity of the city was Ptah, the guardian of craftsmen, as well as the god of creation.

His temple in Memphis, the Hut-ka-Ptah, was considered to be one of the top three temples of worship in ancient times. The location of Memphis at the mouth of the Nile Delta, as well as its dedication to the god Ptah, made it an important commercial city, as well as religious center.

The ruins of the ancient city have been a World Heritage Site since 1979, and are an open-air museum today.

Answer: Avaris

The time of the 12th Dynasty was a prosperous time in ancient Egypt, and the wealth of Egypt attracted a nomadic group, believed to have been from Asia, into the Nile Delta. Also known as the Shepherd Kings, the Hyksos originally appear to have assimilated into Egyptian culture; eventually, however, they established a small kingdom centered around the city of Avaris, and traded with people in the area, notably the Minoan civilization, that influenced frescoes that were designed on the walls of the Hyksos temple.

Although a Hyksos ruled as pharaoh for a short time, an Egyptian pharaoh continued to govern as well. After a hundred years of this arrangement, Pharaoh Kamose decided to take action; he saw Egypt sandwiched between the Hyksos and the Nubians - and didn't like it! The Hyksos were expelled - but not before introducing the use of the horse and chariot and a better bow to Egypt - and the New Kingdom began. Today the site is called Tell el-Dab'a and is an archaeological site.

Answer: Amarna

With the city of Thebes such a stronghold of the god Amun, Akhenaten found it necessary to move his capital as he attempted to make his belief in the god AtenAton the new state religion of Egypt. Amarna was built by Akhenaton in 1346 BC, and abandoned shortly after his death, although there is archaeological evidence that the site was occupied once again during Greek and Roman times.

The city contained a huge palace for the royal family, as well as the Great Temple of the Aten, in addition to buildings needed for trade, commerce, and the city's administration.

While the worship of Akhenaten's god was short-lived, the effect that the Amarna Period had on art had more of an impact. Earlier art had been stiff and rigid; the art of the Amarna period was more realistic, and even pictured pharaoh and his family interacting in a more personal way.

The area today is the site of an on-going archaeological dig.

Answer: Alexandria

One of the many cities that was founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria in Egypt was the capital of the Ptolemaic Empire. Considered by many to be the most important city of the Hellenistic Age, it was located on the Nile Delta, and had waterways that connected the city with both the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. Built in approximately 331 BC, the city remained an important center for a thousand years, and boasted the location of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Lighthouse of Alexandria - and one of the greatest schools of learning - the Royal Library. Today the modern city of Alexandria is the second largest in Egypt behind Cairo and is an important industrial center due to the prescence of oil and natural gas pipelines from Suez.

Answer: Thebes

The city of Thebes was founded in approximately 3200 BC, and served as the capital of a nome, one of the political divisions of Upper Egypt, before Egypt was unified. It was chosen to be the capital of Egypt by Ahmose I at the beginning of the New Kingdom, and remained the capital during most of the reign of the 18th Dynasty, during which time massive building projects were undertaken in the city.

The Karnak temple project had been started during the Middle Kingdom, however, most of the expansion of the complex took place during this time, making it the second largest temple complex of the ancient world. Even after the capital was moved during the 19th Dynasty, Thebes continued to thrive, and the pharaoh continued to rule from the city for a portion of the year, and maintained its status as an important religious center. Today the modern city of Luxor is located among the ancient ruins, close to temples, as well as the Valley of the Kings burial site.

Answer: Heliopolis

Meaning, "City of the Sun", Heliopolis was a city that was built as the center of worship of the sun god, Ra-Atum, in predynastic times; the buildings, however, were expanded during both the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom. The priests of the city taught that Ra-Atum was the first being, creating himself by rising from the water. An important religious center rather than political center, Heliopolis was one of the three most important centers of worship in ancient Egypt, and the priests who ran the temple complex became very powerful as the worship of Re became the state religion. Today the remains of Heliopolis is below parts of two suburbs of the modern city of Cairo, Ein Shams and Mataria.

Answer: Abydos

The first pharaoh, Menes, was buried at Abydos, as well as the other pharaohs of the First and Second Dynasties; one of the oldest cities in ancient Egypt, however, Abydos dates back to predynastic times. Originally a cult center for the god, Khenti-Amentiu, "Chief of the Westerners", or the dead, the city became a worship center for Osiris, whose name became associated with Khenti-Amentiu.

The building of the Great Osiris Temple began during the First Dynasty, but it continued to be enlarged until the 26th Dynasty and was even rebuilt during the reign of Mentuhotep II during the Eleventh Dynasty. One of the most important archaeological finds at Abydos was the discovery of the Abydos King List, which was a chronicle of the reigns of pharaohs during the Old Kingdom, as well as some of the New Kingdom rulers, found on the wall of the Temple of Seti I. Today the ruins of Abydos are part of an archaeological site that is below modern structures.

Answer: Leontopolis

Called Taremu, or "Land of the Fish", by the ancient Egyptians, Leontopolis was the capital of the 11th nome, or district, in the Kingdom of Lower Egypt in the Nile Delta area. After the Ptolemaic Dynasty took over Egypt, the city was known by its Greek name, and later, by a more Latin name - Leontos.

The city probably gained its name Leontopolis, as it held temples to Bast (protector of Lower Egypt), typically pictured as having the body of a women and the face of a cat or lioness, and Sekhmet (protector of Upper Egypt), who was pictured in a similar fashion.

After unification, the roles of both goddesses began to change. It is believed that during the Greek period of occupation, live lions were kept at the temple complex. Today there is a settlement and archaeological ruins on the site.

Answer: Smabehdet

Dating back to at least 2400 BC and renamed several times, Smabehdet was once an important port; now, however, due to changes in the Nile Delta, it is inland, almost ten miles from the Mediterranean Sea. Several temples to the god Amun were located on the island as well as a cemetery for wealthier citizens.

The city was continuously inhabited through the 6th century AD; at that time it was a Roman settlement. Howard Carter, of King Tut fame, worked at archaeological excavations in the area before moving on to the Valley of the Kings.

The old city consists of a mound that is said to be virtually intact.

Answer: Giza

In ancient times Giza was used as the necropolis for the city of Memphis, and was inhabited by workers rather than official residents. It took a lot of people to complete the building projects on the ancient plateau, but there was also a demand for secondary workers like bakers, brewers, and the like to support all the workers. Of course, it is most famous today for the Great Pyramid, which is not only the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but also the only one that still survives, the Great Sphinx, and other pyramids and temples that were built on the plateau. Today the city, about three miles from Cairo, is the third largest city in Egypt, and is considered to be one of the cities that forms what is called the Greater Cairo metropolis.