Oh... THAT Jupiter! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Augustus Caesar

Augustus Caesar, also known as Octavian, was born in 63 B.C. He was the great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. He was one of the members of Second Triumvirate, formed to defeat those who took part in the assassination of Julius Caesar. In 27 B.C., he changed his name to Augustus and became the first Roman emperor.

This date also marked the beginning of the period known as Pax Romana (Roman peace). He died of natural causes in AD 14, whereupon Tiberius succeeded him as emperor.

Answer: Brutus

Marcus Brutus was born in 85 B.C. and was one of several conspirators involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar. After the assassination, he and his fellow conspirators were declared 'enemies of the state'. Brutus died at the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.

He knew his army would be defeated and that he would be captured. Rather than allowing himself to be captured, he committed suicide. After his death, Mark Antony referred to Brutus as "the noblest Roman of them all", because he believed the reason Brutus was involved in the conspiracy was for the good of Rome.

Answer: Mark Antony

Mark Antony was born in 83 B.C. and was a member of the Second Triumvirate, along with Octavian and Lepidus. Although only Julius Caesar was assassinated, the conspirators debated whether Mark Antony should also die. Eventually, Mark Antony and Octavian embarked on a civil war.

It was during this time he fled to Egypt, where he met Cleopatra, who was the pharaoh at the time. The two of them fell in love, eventually having three kids of their own: Ptolemy Philadelphus, along with twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene.

In 30 B.C., Cleopatra commited suicide by getting an asp to bite her. Upon hearing this news, Mark Antony commited suicide himself. Following the death of their parents, the three children would be placed in the care of Octavia (sister of Octavius).

Answer: Commodus

Commodus was born in AD 161 and ruled Rome from 177 to his death in 192. In 177, Commodus was given the title of consul, making him the youngest consul at the time. From 177 to 180, he ruled with his father, Marcus Aurelius. This was the first time Rome had co-emperors.

After his father's death, Commodus became sole emperor of Rome. In 191, a fire had spread across Rome destroying many buildings. This meant that Rome needed to rebuilt, which allowed Commodus to think of himself as a brand-new Romulus (the legendary founder of Rome).

In 192, Laetus formed a conspiracy to assassinate Commodus. The first attempt was when another conspirator, Marcia (Commodus's mistress), tried poisoning Commodus's food, but he vomited the poison up. The assassination became successful when the conspirators sent Narcissus (a wrestling partner of Commodus) to strangle him.

Answer: Pompey

Pompey, along with Julius Caesar and Crassus, was a member of the First Triumvirate. Pompey was born in 106 B.C. In 59 B.C., Pompey married Julia, the daughter of Julius Caesar. Five years later, she died in childbirth. Caesar and Pompey would be part of a civil war because of their opposing views on Roman government.

In 49 B.C., Caesar and his army began invading Pompey's army, which was done by crossing the Rubicon. Caesar knew there would be no return and that he had to complete his attack.

This is where the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" came from, as a phrase that means "passing the point of no return". In 48 B.C., after being pursued by Caesar, Pompey fled to Egypt where he went to Cleopatra and asked her for help. She refused, stabbed him in the back, and then had him beheaded.

This, of course, led to Caesar winning the civil war.

Answer: Seneca

Seneca (sometimes referred to as Seneca the Younger to distinguish him from his father, also named Seneca and also a prominent in Roman history). He was born in 4 B.C. In 41 A.D., Seneca was exiled to Corsica, for alleged adultery with Caligula's sister. Eight years later, Agrippina recalled Seneca to Rome to be an advisor for her son, Nero. Even after Nero became emperor, Seneca continued his advisory role. Unfortunately for Seneca, he was believed to have been involved in an attempt on Nero's life, so he was forced to commit suicide at the request of Nero. Seneca accomplished this by bleeding to death. Seneca died in 65A.D.

Answer: Cato

Cato was born in 234 B.C. However, the date of his birth was not recorded. Cicero wrote that Cato died in 149 B.C. at the age of 85, and from that, it can be determined when Cato was born. His father was in the military, and so Cato decided to follow in his father's footsteps.

Although the extent of Cato's military service was unknown, it's known that Cato was a fighter in the Second Punic War. He gave speeches about the need to destroy Carthage and would usually end his speeches with his personal motto: "Carthage must be destroyed!" Carthage would indeed be destroyed at the end of the Third Punic War (although this happened after his death). Apart from fighting, Cato was a historian, the first Roman historian considered to of importance; his most important book was most likely "Origines".

Answer: Cicero

The orator Cicero was born in 103 B.C. and is usually referred to as Cicero the Elder to distinguish him from his son, also named Cicero, who also was a prominent figure in Roman history. Cicero was believed to have influenced Latin and European languages.

As a philosopher, he helped introduce the Greek philosophy into Roman culture. In addition to his previously mentioned talents, Cicero was also a philosopher and writer. Unfortunately for Cicero, Mark Antony declared Cicero an 'enemy of the state' following the assassination of Julius Caesar.

He was stabbed to death in 43 B.C.

Answer: Agrippina

Agrippina was the wife of Emperor Claudius and was more prominent than other empresses in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Accounts vary, but one belief is that she killed Claudius by poisoning, probably with mushrooms. After Claudius's death, Nero became emperor. What happened to Agrippina is unknown and some works provided contradictory accounts. One possibility is that Nero had Agrippina murdered in AD 59.

Answer: Caesarion

Caesarion was born in 47B.C. During the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, Cleopatra decided to meet Caesar. After meeting, they fell in love and for the next few years, she had an affair with Caesar and they had one son, Caesarion. Octavian and Cleopatra did not have a good relation, and in 30B.C., Octavian invaded Egypt, resulting in Egypt being annexed to Rome. Octavian feared that Caesarion would become emperor of Rome. Octavian gave the order to have Caesarion murdered.