Don't Forget Your Toga! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Homer

Homer was born sometime in the 8th or 9th century BCE, although the actual location of his birth is in dispute by historians. Various places claim to be Homer's birthplace, but the historical data points primarily to Chios and Ionia, where it is believed that Homer lived most of his life (as reflected in the style and wording of his writings). Homer, of course, is best known for his epic poems "Odyssey" and "Iliad".

Question by reedy

Answer: Hippocrates

Historians agree that Hippocrates was born circa 460 BCE on the island of Kos. His ideas of medicine went against the established Greek way of doing things, and for his advocacy he earned a 20-year prison sentence. It was radical and rebellious thinking to claim that illness came as a cause of nature, and not because of superstition or acts of the gods.

In modern times, the legacy of Hippocrates' work is reflected in the Hippocratic Oath, which historically all doctors and medical health professionals take to promise to act ethically, and is believed to have been written by Hippocrates himself.

Question by reedy

Answer: Herodotus

Herodotus (484 BCE-425 BCE) was one of the ancient world's most famous historians. He produced only one work during his life which is usually known as the "Histories" or the "Histories of Herodotus". He was one of the first historians to systematically arrange his materials, verify their accuracy, and then put them together in a fascinating and fact-filled narrative.

Question by dcpddc478

Answer: Pythagoras

Pythagoras was born sometime in about 570 BCE and died in about 496 BCE and was an Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician. One of his most famous works was Pythagoras' Theorem, which is in the geometry field and relates to right-angled triangles. He also founded Pythagoreanism, a religious movement influenced by mathematics and followed by Pythagoras and his followers. He also had a notable interest in music and his work greatly influenced another great Greek in Plato.

Question by Daaanieeel

Answer: Aeschylus

Aeschylus was a Greek playwright born around 525 BCE in Eleusis. There are no reliable sources to exactly pinpoint his date of birth. He is known as the 'Father of Tragedy' and is one of three ancient Greek playwrights whose work has survived. He is responsible for several Greek tragedies, like "Agamemnon" and "The Oresteia". According to sources Aeschylus often wrote trilogies, although "The Oresteia" is the only surviving trilogy. Aeschylus supposedly started writing by entering a dramatic competition in honour of Dionysus, the God of wine. Sources attribute between seventy and ninety tragedies to him, although a large number of them did not survive to this day.

Question by James25

Answer: Euclid

This interesting guest would be Euclid. His mathematical masterpiece "Elements" was believed to be the most important textbook in math and especially geometry until the early 20th century. He was a man well ahead of his time.

Question by dcpddc478

Answer: Aristotle

He is Aristotle, born in 384 BCE. He was taught by Plato and taught Alexander the Great. He studied a huge number of things, including physics, poetry, theatre, music, politics, biology and zoology. He also greatly influenced religion, in particular Jewish and Islamic teachings, and his work still influences the Catholic Church. Plato, Socrates and Aristotle are considered three of the most important Western philosophy figures. He passed away in 322 BCE.

Question by Daaanieeel

Answer: Pericles

Pericles is one of the most influential statesman of Ancient Greece. He was born in 495 BCE in Athens as part of a wealthy family. He was the quiet type in his early days, much devoted to his studies. He came into power around 460 BCE after his rival Cimon was ostracized. He led his city empire through several wars including the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was very interested in philosophy, being friends with philosophers like Protagoras and Anaxagoras. He took an interest in rebuilding Athens in 448 BC, including the Parthenon and the Acropolis. It showed what a beautiful city Athens was, but also provided work for his people.

Question by James25

Answer: Poetry

Korinna, Praxilla and Sappho were all ancient Greek poetesses. Korinna is believed to have lived around the 6th century BCE and her two surviving poems are preserved on 2nd century BCE fragments of papyrus. Praxilla was believed to have lived in the 5th century BCE and was one of the most respected poets of her time. Only eight of her works survive and none of them are complete. As with the other two poets, Sappho was well thought of in her time, but only fragments of her work survive today. Much of what is known of these three women comes from remarks made by later Greek authors who all considered them to be the greatest female poets of their times.

Question by dcpddc478

Answer: Socrates

Incidentally, 'symposium' translates as 'gathering of drinkers'.

Socrates was a Classical Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE. He is known for 'Socratic irony' and the 'Socratic method' (the technique of questions used to draw information from the student, as described in the question).

Interestingly, Socrates did not leave any of his own writings behind (at least nothing that can be proven to be written by Socrates), so the only knowledge of Socrates that historians have to go on are the writings of his students and fellow philosophers Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle and Aristophanes.

Question by reedy