Ancient Wonders of the World Trivia Quiz

Answer: 2

The Pharos of Alexandria and the Pyramids were the only two wonders located in Egypt. However, the list of wonders was very Mediterranean based and didn't therefore encompass the possible treasures lurking in Asia or the Americas.

Answer: Alexandria

The Pharos, or lighthouse at Alexandria was one of the first of its kind in the ancient world. The fire in the lighthouse was always kept burning by slaves at night, so as to guide ships into the port. Alexandria was named after Alexander the Great who conquered the area and made this city an important part of his empire.

Answer: Sphinx

The sphinx is undoubtedly a formidable creature, with the body of a lion and the head of a woman; not many Egyptians were going to stand in its way. A chimaera was a mixture of lion, goat and serpent and was seen more often in Greek mythology guarding underground treasures.

The manticore is also a Greek beast and may be seen as the Greek equivalent of the sphinx as it has the body of a red lion and a human head. The Cyclops is perhaps the most famous of these beasts, distinguished by its one eye and brutal nature.

Answer: Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are perhaps the most beautiful of the Seven Wonders and yet no-one is quite sure where they were located, or indeed, if they ever existed. Some believe that they were located in Eastern Europe, where as others say Asia Minor. Troy was a large citadel on the edge of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) to which the Greeks lay siege for ten years before the cunning of Odysseus allowed them to enter using a wooden horse. Crete is located South of Greece in its own sea, the Sea of Crete and was one of the peripheries of the Greek empire before the Romans took over. Elis was a small city in Greece, close to where the Olympic games were held, so as to host visiting athletes and spectators.

Answer: True

A mausoleum was a grand tomb, the likes of which were only given to the rich or royalty. It usually consisted of the corpse being placed inside a large stone building, similar to the fashion used by the Egyptians when they placed their pharaohs in the pyramids.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus is the burial place of King Mausolus, and this tomb was so well known that the word mausoleum was coined thank to this building. Many of the surviving remains of the mausoleum are now in the British Museum.

Answer: Olympia

The Statue of Zeus was a magnificent 12m high statue constructed from ivory, with gold-plating by Phidas, who was a legendary architect of the time. The statue was so large that it filled the temple that was built to house it. Unfortunately, this supreme monument to the Gods no longer remains as it was either destroyed with the temple, or taken to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed in a fire. Athens was the ancient capital of Greece and at the height of the Greek civilisation, housed between a third and a half of the whole population. Sparta was the war state of Greece and all citizens (even women) were trained in combat should the need for battle ever arrive. Isthmia was a city on the isthmus of Greece. An isthmus is a small strip of land surrounded on both sides by water and it is after this city that all of the world's isthmus' are now named. Isthmia was also the site of the Isthmian games, which along with the Nemean and Pythian games, were a secondary to the Olympics.

Answer: Colossus

The Colossus at Rhodes was the tallest statue ever seen in ancient times (around 30 m tall) and was a depiction of the Greek sun god Helios made from iron and bronze. It was almost a guardian over the port of Rhodes, which along with Egypt, controlled a lot of the trade in the Mediterranean area.

However the statue only lasted a short time (54 years) and snapped at the knees after an earthquake in 226 BC. The Temple of Artemis was located at Epheseus and unfortunately, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Statue of Liberty weren't around in ancient times and they are in America.

Answer: 1

Despite the Pyramids at Giza being the first Wonder to be constructed (c.2570 BC), it is now the only one of the seven wonders to stay intact. The Temple of Artemis was destroyed by an arsonist in 356 BC, and only a few columns remain to mark its place.

The Mausoleum was destroyed by earthquakes in the 13/14th century, after looking over the area for sixteen centuries. The Pharos was also destroyed by earthquakes in the 14th Century and a castle was built on the site in the 15th Century.

Answer: 3,800 years

The Great Pyramid, or the Pyramid of Khufu was constructed c.2570 BC and was originally 146.6m tall (now 138.8). It remained the tallest building in the world until 1300 AD when it was surpassed by Lincoln Cathedral in England, with its 160m high spire.

Answer: 5

The Statue of Zeus and the Colossus of Rhodes were constructed completely by Greeks, and the mausoleum and the temple of Artemis were co-built by Greeks and Persians. The Pharos at Alexandria was iniated by a Greek general in the army of Alexander. The pyramids were built by the Egyptians and the hanging gardens were constructed by the Babylonians.