Quiz

BuzzFeed Staff

BuzzFeed

Kids take exams like this; do you know more about the ancient world than they do?

Can You Get An A In This Basic Classics Exam?

Questions have been adapted from 2012-16 Scottish Standard Grade and Nat 5 Classical Studies past papers and marking guides issued by the SQA.

The agora (ἀγορά) was a public open space used for assemblies and markets. People would go there to buy and sell commodities, and to discuss all kinds of topics, like business and politics. But not silent discos, sadly.

Correct answer: Trading and political discussion.

Fun fact: our word "melancholy" derives from Greek μέλαινα χολή (melaina kholé) meaning "black bile". The Greeks believed that an excess of black bile caused sadness. Now, we know that it's actually caused by Brexit and Donald Trump.

Correct answer: Blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

Women and men lived separately in ancient Greece, with women occupying upstairs rooms at the back of the house. The Gynaikon or Gynaikonitis is where the women of the house did tasks like weaving, entertained female friends, and probably talked about how they wanted to ban all men.

Correct answer: The gynakion

Dionysus (called Bacchus by the Romans) was the the god of the grape harvest, wine, fertility, and theatre. The Great Dionysia was an annual festival held in March, which honoured the god with dramatic performances, including works by Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, and Aristophanes.

Correct answer: The god of the grape harvest and wine.

Pompeii, along with nearby Herculaneum, was almost completely destroyed in the disaster, with houses and citizens buried underneath around 20 feet of pumice and ash.

Correct answer: i) The bay of Naples ii) A volcano iii) 79 AD

Romulus and Remus are the twin brothers who feature in Rome's foundation myth. Their father was Mars, the god of war. They were abandoned, suckled by a she-wolf, then raised by a shepherd. Pretty standard Roman upbringing, to be fair.

Correct answer: Romulus and Remus; the god Mars

Augustus (born Octavian) was the heir of Julius Caesar. Instead of following Caesar's example and making himself dictator when his great-uncle died, he founded a monarchy headed by an emperor holding power for life. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Correct answer: Augustus

There's no such thing as a "Maximii". Mirmillones wore a helmet with a stylised fish on the crest and carried a gladius and an oblong shield; Bestarii fought various types of exotic, imported beasts. So cruel :(

Correct answer: Maximii

When the newly blinded Cyclops lets his sheep out to graze, he feels their backs to ensure that the men are not escaping. But, cunning sod that he is, Odysseus tells his men to tie themselves to the undersides of the animals, so they get away.

Correct answer: They blind him, then tie themselves to his sheep.

Dido was the founder and first queen of Carthage in modern-day Tunisia. Not to be confused with the _other_ Dido, of course.

Correct answer: Dido

In classical times (4th and 5th century B.C.), it was assumed that the guys were more than just friends. Achilles' relationship with Patroclus was portrayed as same-sex love in the works of Aeschylus, Plato, and Aeschines.

Correct answer: Patroclus

The labours were initially introduced in a Greek epic poem, now lost, written by Peisander in around 600 BC. Hercules didn't have to deal with the sirens, but he did have to kill a whole bunch of things and shovel a whole load of poo out of King Augeas' gross stables.

Correct answer: Defeat the sirens.

Oh dear, you don't know very much about the Ancient World. Did you get all of your classics knowledge from episodes of _Xena: Warrior Princess_?

Oh no, you failed Classics

Bene factum! You don't remember all of your Classical Studies knowledge, but you've got the basics. If you travelled back in time, you could probably muddle through without ending up being fed to lions in the Colosseum. _Probably._

B-grade Classics student

_Bene factum!_ You came, you saw, and you conquered this quiz. You're brainier than Athena and wiser than that centaur bloke who trained Achilles. Well done!

A-grade Classics student

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Can You Get An A In This Basic Classics Exam?

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