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The Histories of Herodotus Trivia Quiz

Herodotus maybe the Father of History, but his History is buried beneath a series moralising anecdotes and appeals to the gods. In this quiz, we explore Herodotus' take on the rise of Persia up until the outbreak of war.

A multiple-choice quiz by GPSpann. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
GPSpann

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
349,996

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
292

Last 3 plays: Guest 213 (2/10), Guest 129 (2/10), Guest 65 (9/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Herodotus begins his Histories with the once-great Lydian Empire, ruled by King Croesus, famous for his great riches.

One day, Croesus approaches the wise seer, Solon of Athens, asking whether he himself is in fact the happiest man in the world. How does Solon respond? Hint

Croesus is actually miserable beyond all men.

Croesus is indeed the happiest man in the world.

One cannot be considered happy until after his death.

A happy man would not have to ask such a question.

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Croesus prepares to launch a campaign against the mighty Persian Empire. Before setting out, Croesus consults the Oracle at Delphi, asking whether such a campaign is wise. What does the Oracle say would happen if Croesus went to battle? Hint

"Croesus will become master of the world"

"Croesus will win all the world's riches"

"Croesus will enslave the barbarians"

"Croesus will destroy a great empire"

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. When Cyrus' Persians and Croesus' Lydians finally do battle, what is Cyrus' secret weapon? Hint

Snakes

Camels

Elephants

Balistas

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Question 4 of 10

4. Croesus is about to be burnt alive by Cyrus as a punishment for daring to cross the Persians. At this stage, he realises Solon's advice to be true: "count no man happy until his death."

However, he is saved from this horrible fate at the last minute. What saves him? Hint

Croesus turns out to be a god, immune to flames.

Cyrus is moved by Solon's advice and puts out the flames.

Apollo sends forth rain.

The Athenians arrive just in time and kill all the Persians.

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. How did Cyrus eventually die? Hint

He was killed by Massagetae soldiers.

He was killed by his son, Cambyses.

He was killed by Croesus.

He committed suicide.

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Question 6 of 10

6. One could say that Herodotus was also the father of travel writing. In Book 2 of his Histories, he pauses the narrative to tell us about his tour of Egypt. What particularly surprises him about Egyptian customs? Hint

Egyptian customs are all opposite to Greek customs.

Egyptians don't have any customs.

Egyptian and Greek customs are the same.

Egyptians have more customs than any other race.

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Question 7 of 10

7. Cambyses, son of Cyrus, adds Egypt to the Persian Empire by defeating the great Pharaoh Amasis. However, Cambyses, according to Herodotus, goes mad shortly after and carries out a series of terrible crimes. Which of these is NOT one of Cambyses' crimes? Hint

He kills Croesus.

He desecrates the tomb of the Pharaoh Amasis.

He murders his brother and his sister.

He slays the sacred Apis Bull.

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Cambyses, in his madness, secretly killed his brother. However it just so happened that there was a Magus who looked very similar to Cambyses' brother and who also happened to share the very same name! Upon the death of Cambyses, this Magus usurped the throne, pretending to be Cambyses' brother. What, according to Herodotus, was the name of this man? Hint

Atossa

Intaphernes

Smerdis

Darius

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Question 9 of 10

9. There were seven conspirators, including Darius, who were not fooled by the fake Smerdis. They successfully managed to overthrow the fake Smerdis and claim the throne for themselves.

However, only one of the seven could be king. They decided to ride into the city and, out of the seven conspirators, award the throne to ... Hint

... the man whose horse should neigh first

... the man whose horse is the fastest

... the man who receives the loudest cheer

... the man who does not fall off his horse

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Question 10 of 10

10. The Ionian Greek states, situated along the Western coast of Turkey, decided to revolt against Darius and the Persians. Which mainland Greek state, also descended from the ancient Ionian tribe, sent troops to assist the revolt? Hint

Thebes

Sparta

Athens

Corinth

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Herodotus begins his Histories with the once-great Lydian Empire, ruled by King Croesus, famous for his great riches. One day, Croesus approaches the wise seer, Solon of Athens, asking whether he himself is in fact the happiest man in the world. How does Solon respond?

Answer: One cannot be considered happy until after his death.

Herodotus' Histories are full of moralising. And indeed, as the Histories progress, Croesus certainly does meet his fair share of misfortunes ...

Answer: "Croesus will destroy a great empire"

If Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a great empire. As it turned out, the great empire that he would destroy was his own empire!

For Herodotus, the Oracle is the font of knowledge, but the Oracle also has a tendency to be rather cryptic ...

3. When Cyrus' Persians and Croesus' Lydians finally do battle, what is Cyrus' secret weapon?

Answer: Camels

According to Herodotus, horses hate camels! When Cyrus brought his camels (initially used to carry provisions and baggage) to the front of the battle line, the Lydian cavalry refused to fight. Hence the Lydian Empire is conquered by the Persians.

4. Croesus is about to be burnt alive by Cyrus as a punishment for daring to cross the Persians. At this stage, he realises Solon's advice to be true: "count no man happy until his death." However, he is saved from this horrible fate at the last minute. What saves him?

Answer: Apollo sends forth rain.

You're half-right if you said "Cyrus is moved by Solon's advice and puts out the flames." Cyrus is indeed moved when he hears Solon's words of wisdom from a pleading Croesus, and he does indeed try to put out the flames. However, the flames are already too high. It is only when the god Apollo intervenes with rain that Croesus is saved.

And so Croesus is spared and gets a job as Cyrus' adviser. Not so unfortunate after all ...

5. How did Cyrus eventually die?

Answer: He was killed by Massagetae soldiers.

Cyrus may have subjugated the Medes, the Lydians and the Babylonians, but as we all know by now, a man's fortune can suddenly change! Cyrus was killed by Massagetae soldiers who then sent his head to their queen who ruled the Massagetae, a small nomadic tribe based in present-day Uzbekistan.

Answer: Egyptian customs are all opposite to Greek customs.

"The Egyptians... established for themselves manners and customs in a way opposite to other men in almost all matters: for among them the women frequent the market and carry on trade, while the men remain at home and weave; and whereas others weave pushing the woof upwards, the Egyptians push it downwards: the men carry their burdens upon their heads and the women upon their shoulders: the women urinate standing up and the men crouching down." Herodotus 2.35

Answer: He kills Croesus.

Cambyses certainly tried to kill Croesus after Croesus (still royal adviser) had offered the king some bad advice, but Croesus once again escaped with his life!

For Herodotus, burning the body of Amasis was the worst crime of all and definite proof of Cambyses' madness because it is not the Egyptian custom to burn their dead, and "only a madman would ridicule foreign customs."

Answer: Smerdis

According to Herodotus, this Magus, assisted by his brother, successfully usurped the throne. The Persians believed the fake-Smerdis to be real-Smerdis because the two looked so similar. However, Herodotus does mention in passing that the fake Smerdis had no ears, but obviously no-one noticed that...

This story sounds pretty-far fetched, although a similar story can be found on the Behistun Inscription, a monument set up by the Persian King Darius in present-day Iran. Herodotus gets a few names wrong and adds a few details, but for the most part it is pretty accurate.

9. There were seven conspirators, including Darius, who were not fooled by the fake Smerdis. They successfully managed to overthrow the fake Smerdis and claim the throne for themselves. However, only one of the seven could be king. They decided to ride into the city and, out of the seven conspirators, award the throne to ...

Answer: ... the man whose horse should neigh first

Darius cheated apparently. Herodotus says that the night before, one of Darius' slaves led Darius' favourite horse to a certain part of the city along with a mare, at which point the two horses had some sort of sexual encounter. The next day, when the time of the competition itself arrived, Darius' horse, having reached this same part of the city, remembering the night before, got all exicted and neighed. And so he won.

If you believe that you'll believe anything!

Answer: Athens

They asked the Spartans as well but the Spartans didn't want to hear of it!

This revolt was the event which, in 498 BC, started the Persian wars. The revolt was initially successful, with the Persian city Sardis being destroyed. However, Athens, realising that the Persians were no push-overs, withdrew. Following the Athenians' withdrawal, the Ionian Revolt failed.

Darius never forgave the Athenians. He commanded that a slave would say to him three times a day: "Master, remember the Athenians."

Source: Author GPSpann

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