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Roman Scientists Trivia Quiz

Rome was not known for its scientific or artistic innovations and what few figures did participate in scientific endeavors perhaps were not the most qualified? Here are a few examples of some of the prominent Roman figures who dabbled in science...enjoy

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

Author
thejazzkickazz

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
81,107

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
357

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which Roman era philosopher wrote the fascinating work of pseudo-science called 'On
the Nature of Things'? Hint

Seneca

Cicero

Lucullus

Lucretius

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which fellow provided the distinction amongst the 'liberal arts' that became the standard
for the curriculum of the Middle Ages? Hint

Strato

Varro

Hero

Callidus

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Question 3 of 10

3. One Roman scientist and historian was killed while making investigations in nature, who
was he? Hint

Pliny the Younger

Livy

Agricola

Pliny the Elder

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which historian of the Roman era provided the ancient world with the first accurate
descriptions of Italian and Spanish geography? Hint

Eudoxus

Polybius

Seutonius

Phidias

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Question 5 of 10

5. A certain Greek geographer, who lived from 63 B.C. to 24 AD, is considered the greatest
of the Roman era, with his culminating work being the 'Geography'. Who was this
well-traveled fellow? Hint

Strabo

Eudoxus

Pythias

Hecateus

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Question 6 of 10

6. Who wrote the earliest known treatise on medicine using the Latin language? Hint

Celsus

Junius

Varrus

Livius

7. Which ancient Roman writer on architecture of the 1st century B.C. included much on
the orientation and position of drainage systems of buildings in his 10-volume
compendium called 'De architectura'? Hint

Palladio

Collidius

Vitruvius

Alberti

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Question 8 of 10

8. The Julian calendar, containing leap years and 365 days, was the work of Julius Caesar
and a number of his advisers. Which Alexandrian mathematician was his chief advisor
on the calendar? Hint

Eratasthenes

Callipedes

Manaechmus

Sosigenes

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Question 9 of 10

9. Perhaps the last gasp of the Alexandrian legacy in Roman science and philosophy came
via the 'Neo-Platonism' that flourished from the early-3rd century until the early 5th
century AD Who is considered the most influential early exponent of this new
philosophical system? Hint

Martianus

Cassiodorus

Tertullian

Plotinus

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which late Roman philosopher divided mathematics into four categories, namely:
arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy, which he later named the 'quadrivium'? Hint

Macrobius

Isidore

Boethius

Rabanus Maurus

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which Roman era philosopher wrote the fascinating work of pseudo-science called 'On the Nature of Things'?

Answer: Lucretius

Lucretius, a follower of the Epicurians, established his
belief in the atomic theory of matter, the indestructibility of matter, and of evolutionary
theory. Unfortunately, Lucretius did not have a deep knowledge of the sciences and
hence did not make true investigations into these topics. Thus the theories of Lucretius
are clouded with fantastical ideas regarding the sizes and shapes of atoms and the idea of
spontaneous generation, among others.

2. Which fellow provided the distinction amongst the 'liberal arts' that became the standard for the curriculum of the Middle Ages?

Answer: Varro

Varro was an encyclopedist who enjoyed
classifying and the art of etymology. He wrote a work called 'Res Rusticae' (On
Farming), an example of his encyclopedic works.

3. One Roman scientist and historian was killed while making investigations in nature, who was he?

Answer: Pliny the Elder

Pliny died in 79 AD while investigating the soon to be very
active Mt. Vesuvius. Pliny provided us with his 'Natural History', which he created by
drawing upon hundreds of other scholarly works from Romans and Greeks alike.

4. Which historian of the Roman era provided the ancient world with the first accurate descriptions of Italian and Spanish geography?

Answer: Polybius

Polybius was well traveled,
even having been present at the destruction of Carthage. His biggest contribution to
literature was his 40 volume work on Roman history, but unfortunately most of this work
has been lost.

5. A certain Greek geographer, who lived from 63 B.C. to 24 AD, is considered the greatest of the Roman era, with his culminating work being the 'Geography'. Who was this well-traveled fellow?

Answer: Strabo

Strabo, who worked largely off the calculations of
Eratosthenes, created the most extensive atlas of the world of antiquity.

6. Who wrote the earliest known treatise on medicine using the Latin language?

Answer: Celsus

This work, written at about 30 AD in Rome, is perhaps the most scientifically ethical and
rigorous of all the works prepared by Roman science.

7. Which ancient Roman writer on architecture of the 1st century B.C. included much on the orientation and position of drainage systems of buildings in his 10-volume compendium called 'De architectura'?

Answer: Vitruvius

Vitruvius, or Marcus Vitruvius Pollio,
was much admired by later writers on architecture such as Alberti and Palladio. Not only
were the Romans concerned with drainage for buildings, they also had developed a
fantastic system of underground sewers, called 'cloacae' very early on. The main drain of
Rome was called the 'Cloaca maxima' and parts of it are still in use in the modern era.
It's important to note that parts of Rome were built on swamps, so drainage was of
tantamount importance!

8. The Julian calendar, containing leap years and 365 days, was the work of Julius Caesar and a number of his advisers. Which Alexandrian mathematician was his chief advisor on the calendar?

Answer: Sosigenes

The Julian calendar was introduced in 45 B.C., the year
before Caesar's death, and to commemorate this, the seventh month was renamed Julius.
The eighth month was later renamed 'Augustus' for Caesar's successor and the first
emperor of Rome.

9. Perhaps the last gasp of the Alexandrian legacy in Roman science and philosophy came via the 'Neo-Platonism' that flourished from the early-3rd century until the early 5th century AD Who is considered the most influential early exponent of this new philosophical system?

Answer: Plotinus

Neo-Platonism maintained a serious challenge against
Christian doctrine for a couple centuries, having advocates in various Roman emperors
such as Julian. Its final defeat probably came with the subsuming of its doctrine into
Christianity by St. Augustine and by the murder of Hypatia, a great thinker of Alexandria.

10. Which late Roman philosopher divided mathematics into four categories, namely: arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy, which he later named the 'quadrivium'?

Answer: Boethius

The word 'quadrivium' means 'four pathways'. Boethius, otherwise known as
Anicius Manilus Severinus, who lived from 480-524, also wrote books on music and
mathematics, in an attempt to preserve the learning of the ancients. Boethius, who
sometimes is called the 'last of the ancients', also penned 'De Consolatione Philosophiae'
(The Consolation of Philosophy), an influential treatise of the Middle Ages.

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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