Oh, Pretty Woman Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nefertiti

The bust of Nefertiti was discovered in 1912 by a member of the archaeological team of Ludwig Borchardt. Found in the ancient workshop of a sculptor named Thutmose, the sculpture was scanned using CT technology, and yielded a surprise! Apparently Thutmose sculpted Nefertiti as she looked at the time, with wrinkles and even a bump on her nose; he then applied a layer of stucco, which smoothed out the features creating the beautiful image that is seen today.

Although the Amarna Period in Egyptian history is well-known for the religious upheaval of changing the state religion to the worship of one god, Aton, another characteristic of the period is more realistic art.

The bust of Nefertiti, today seen in Berlin, is considered to be one of the finest examples of the style, which appears to have only been popular during the rule of Akhenaten.

Answer: Helen

Okay! It may be true that Helen is a mythological person. However, how can anyone be sure? She was said to have been so beautiful that every man in Sparta wanted to marry her. Menelaus "won" the contest, but all of the other suitors were bound in an oath to defend whoever was chosen to be the lucky husband. It is the next part of the story that leads one to wonder if beauty was only skin deep for Helen. The accounts of some ancient sources say she was abducted by Paris, others indicate that she went to Troy willingly; some sources, however, claim that she did not go to Troy at all, but spent the duration of the war in Egypt after strong winds caused the ships of Paris to go there. What happened to Helen in the end? Most sources note that she went home with Menelaus, who, angry as he was, when looking at her beauty, could not bring himself to harm her.

While it may be more historically correct to note that the Greeks and Trojans went to war because the Trojans had somehow interfered with needed grain shipments from Greek colonies in the Black Sea region, war fought for a variety of reasons was very common in ancient Greece!

Answer: Phryne

One might be surprised that the nickname of Mnēsarétē was "Phrınē", meaning "toad". However, it must be remembered that she was a courtesan, and "Phrınē" was a nickname commonly given to courtesans. Many ancient writers tell of her beauty, however, it was her benefactor, the sculptor Praxiteles, who immortalized her image in his statue, "Aphrodite of Knidos".

The ancient writer, Athenaeus of Naucratis, claimed that Praxiteles made two other statues using her as a model - one called "Eros", and one of solid gold of Phrınē herself that was located in the Temple of Delphi and stood next to two statues of Apollo.

Although accounts vary, it was written that when Phrınē was brought to trial on an unknown capital charge, all she had to do to be acquitted was take off her robe!

Answer: Taking a bath

Bathsheba was famously married to Uriah the Hittite, but King David fell into lust/love with her immediately after seeing her bathing, as told in 2 Samuel 11. It is the classic story of man's weakness, God's wrath and forgiveness. Bathsheba, seduced by David became pregnant, and David, desperately wanting to conceal his action, was unable to convince Uriah to have sex with his wife! Believing there to be no other recourse, David ordered that Uriah would be in the front line of battle, where he died, making it possible for David to marry Bathsheba. God's punishment was severe: their child died a few days after birth, and later, David's oldest son, Absalom, plunged his father's kingdom into rebellion.

It is written that David accepted God's punishments.

Although Bathsheba was not his only wife, she was the mother of David's successor, their son, Solomon.

Answer: Four Beauties

Although much is written about the Four Beauties, or Four Great Beauties, much of what is known about the women is believed to have been embellished over time. Wang Qiang is said to have been so beautiful that birds would forget to flap their wings and fall to the ground when they saw her.

Her beauty was known throughout her home county, and she was selected at a young age to join the harem of the Emperor Yuan, who apparently chose his concubines from looking at their image. Wang Qiang refused to bribe the artist who painted portraits of the harem girls for the emperor's selection as the other girls did, and the picture presented to the emperor was a bit unflattering.

When the emperor wanted to select a member of his harem as a gift to Huhanye Chanyu, the plainest girl, believed to be Wang Qiang, was chosen due to the artist's picture. Unable to rescind the gift after seeing her in person, Emperor Yuan instead ordered the artist's death! More than 700 poems and stories exist today that were written by both ancient and modern scholars about the beauty of Wang Qiang.

Answer: John the Baptist

Neither account in the Bible (Mark 6:17-29 and Matthew 14:3-11) gives Salome's name as the dancer who demanded the head of John the Baptist; she is, however, believed to be the daughter of Herodias who danced at Herod's birthday party. According to the Gospel of Mark, Salome pleased King Herod so well with her dance, that he promised to fulfill any wish that she might have. Goaded by her mother, who was angry at John the Baptist because he said that her marriage to the king was unlawful, Salome said that she would like to have John the Baptist's head brought to her on a platter.

While both gospels state that Herod was not pleased by the request, he, of course, fulfilled it. To this day, Salome's name is more associated with external beauty than internal.

She is either pictured as a manipulated young girl or "femme fatale".

Answer: Queen of Sheba

After hearing about Israel and its wise king, Makeda made a pilgrimage to the city; it is said that she spent six months there, learning how to govern wisely from the wise king. However wise Solomon might have been in governing, he does not seem to hold the same wisdom in dealing with women - especially ones that he found very beautiful. Even after Makeda told him she was not interested in a relationship with him, Solomon devised a plan.

The result? On the way back to Ethiopia, Makeda gave birth to a son who became Menelik I, founder of the Kingdom of Axum.

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

Even though Prithviraj was a very powerful king, he belonged to a clan that was a rival of Samyukta's father, Jaichand. Samyukta was attracted to the power and reputation of Prithviraj, and he was attracted by her beauty. However, Jaichand refused to approve of the romance.

In fact, he ordered a "swayamvara" for his daughter, a gathering of suitors from whom she was to select a husband. Prithviraj was not invited, but a statue was made of his image which was to represent him at the gathering. Prithviraj stole his lady love out from under the nose of her father, hiding behind his statue to kidnap her as she proclaimed that he would be her new husband.

The ending to the story is vague, but it does not appear that the two 'lived happily ever after'.

Answer: Titus

By the time Berenice met Titus, she did not have a stellar reputation. This great-granddaughter of Herod the Great was first married to Marcus Julius Alexander, who was a Jewish merchant from Alexandria. Upon his untimely death, she married her uncle, Herod of Chalcis, and then married the King of Cilicia, Polemon II of Pontus.

It appears that she spent most of her life in the court of her brother, Agrippa, amidst rumors of an incestuous relationship. She met Titus while he and his father were battling the Jewish Revolt in Judaea in approximately 67 AD.

She returned to Rome with him, where it was written that she acted as his wife in every way, even though they were not married. Public opinion swayed against Berenice when Titus became emperor, and she was sent away. Berenice, who has been described as a "miniature Cleopatra", left Rome; what happened after that is unknown.

Answer: Gracchi

During her lifetime, Cornelia Scipionis Africana was viewed as the quintessential virtuous Roman wife and mother. While there is not much mentioned about her outer beauty, there is plenty written about her inner beauty. After her husband died, this mother of twelve chose to remain a widow instead of remarrying, furthering the education of herself and her children.

After the deaths of Gaius and Tiberius, who were brutally murdered, she retired to the family villa; when she died the Romans erected a statue to honor her, first inscribed with "mother of the Grachii", and later with "daughter of Scipio".

It is said that when other patrician women inquired about her simple dress, Cornelia pointed to her reformer sons and replied, "These are my jewels".