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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 90 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Ancient Greece
Roman Emperor. Byzantium regarded itself as the true continuation of the Roman Empire. The notion that the Roman Empire came to an end (in AD 476) is very much a West European view.
| Who succeeded the Minoans and laid the foundations of Ancient Greece? | Ancient Greece
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Mycenaeans. "Nike, alas." The last words Pleadipes said after the Battle of Marathon. Translation: "We won."
city-state. Sparta, Athens, and Corinth were all 'polises'. In modern times, the word was widely used in the sense of 'city' and is found in the names of many American cities, for example.
| Peloponnesian War: Sparta used which tactic to easily win the war? | Ancient Greece
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naval siege/blockade. With help from the Persians, Sparta built a fleet and besieged Athens, causing a plague to spread and lots of people to die, resulting in the surrender of Athens. The phalanx was a Macedonian tactic, not Spartan.
| Sparta: what was one of the lessons the Spartan teachers taught the children to do during military school? | Ancient Greece
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stealing. Greek Fire was invented by the Athenians during the Battle of Salamis during the Persian War. King Xerxes watched his fleet literally go up in flames.
| Athens: who was not one of the people that helped make Athens a democracy? | Ancient Greece
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Darius. Darius was the commander of the Persian army during the Persian War. 2nd king of the Persia and his son, Xerxes, takes over soon after the 1st Persian War.
| Philip of Macedonia wanted to unite the city-states: what military formation did he use consistently and very successfully? | Ancient Greece
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phalanx. The turtle was created by Alexander the Great for defense not offense. The cavalry was really the "clean-up" of every battle, while slaves had to pick up spears for the spear throwers, a tough job.
| Mythology: what other god did Athena face for the title of Athens? | Ancient Greece
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Poseidon. Poseidon sprang salt water from the Acropolis, Athena sprung an olive tree.
| Who commanded the Spartan army at the Battle of Thermopylae? | Ancient Greece
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Leonidas. All 300 Spartans held up the Persians and died.
Crete. Called "the stepping stone of Greece."
| Which large island south of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea is known for its wine and marble, as well as possibly being the birthplace of Homer? | Historic Places of Ancient Greece
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Chios. Chios was conquered by the Persians in 494 B.C. and later became one of the most powerful and loyal of Athens' allies.
Aetolia. Aetolia was north of Achain and east of Acarnania. It was a wild and mountainous region in Western Greece.
Achelous. The Achelous rises on Mount Pindus and flows through Acarnania before emptying into the Ionian Sea at the entrance of the Corinthian Gulf.
Delos. Delos was a small island in the Aegean Sea. Delos was the center of Cyclades. It was also the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
Delphi. Delphi was a town in Phocis, on the lower slopes of Mount Parnassus. It was the site of the oracle of Apollo and the Pythian games.
Lemnos. Lemnos is a large volcanic island in the northeast Aegean Sea. According to myth, the Lemnian women all murdered their husbands and fathers.
Plataea. Plataea was a southern Boetian city near the Attic border. The sympathies of its inhabitants had always been with Athens and they aided the Athenians at Marathon.
Thera. Thera was the volcanic island of the Cyclades, just north of Crete. Thera was destroyed by massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Mycenae. Mycenae was the center of the Mycenaean civilization. Its king, Agamemnon, led the Achaians in the Trojan war to bring back his brother Menelaus' wife, Helen.
Saronic Gulf. The Saronic Gulf is in the Aegean Sea between Attica and Argolis. On the island of Salamis in the Saronic Gulf the Persian navy was defeated decisively.
| What is the name of the temple of Athena built on the Acropolis in Athens? | Ancient Greece
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Parthenon. The Parthenon was destroyed in the Persian invasion. It also served as a treasury for the Delian League. A new Parthenon was built but was badly damaged in AD 1687.
| Who was the daughter of Zeus and Leda? (She was the Queen of Sparta and her abduction led to a war). | Ancient Greece
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Helen. Paris was a Trojan prince who went to Sparta to get Helen and marry her after he had been promised Helen by the goddess Aphrodite after he picked the latter as the most beautiful goddess.
| What did the gods consume to insure immortality and youth, the distinguishing characteristic of a Greek god? | Ancient Greece
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Nectar and ambrosia. The Latin meaning of 'nectar' is 'drink of the gods'. Nectar is a liquid sugar sauce produced by flowers and is also the source for making honey. Ambrosia was known as a food or drink of the gods.
| Who did the Olympians overthrow in order to become the major Greek deities in Greek Mythology? | Ancient Greece
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Titans. The Titans were powerful deities that ruled during the Golden Age of Greece. They were the older gods that were overthrown by the powerful younger gods called the Olympians in what was called the "War of the Titans".
| Who was the greatest warrior, according to Homer's 'Iliad', in the Trojan War and is also described as being one the most handsome and quickest? He had only one weakness according to legend. | Ancient Greece
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Achilles. Legend has it that when Achilles was born his mother dipped him in the River Styx to make him immortal. She held him by the heel making this the only vulnerable area of his body. He was said to have been shot in the heel by a poisonous arrow and that is what killed him. The expression 'Achilles' heel' refers to a fatal single weakness or flaw in a person.
| Who was the King of Macedon that was once a highly successful military commander and is reputed to have never been defeated in battle? | Ancient Greece
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Alexander the Great . Alexander the Great's conquests include Syria, Gaza, Egypt, and Mesopotamia just to name a few. Alexander's boyhood tutor was none other than Aristotle. In the Apochrypha, the Book of Maccabees, Chapter 1: 1-7 is about Alexander.
| What is the name of the author whose works include: 'Medea', 'Electra' and the only complete satyr play to survive from ancient times, 'Cyclops'? | Ancient Greece
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Euripides. Euripides was one of three well known tragedians of Athens, Greece. The other two are Sophocles and Aeschylus. In major drama competitions, tragedians usually submitted three tragedies and one satyr play, which was most likely a comedy that pokeed fun at Greek legends.
| What is the name of the Persian King that invaded Greece to punish Athens? His son, Xerxes I, later fought 300 Spartans at Thermopylae? | Ancient Greece
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Darius. King Darius II was king of the Persian Empire for 19 years and died around December 24th, 424 BC.
| What is the epic poem attributed to Homer that centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after the fall of Troy? | Ancient Greece
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Odyssey. Odyssey is actually a sequel to the Homer's 'Iliad'. Odysseus was known as Ulysses in Rome.
apella. The Council's proposals had to be passed by the Assembly, or apella, which was made up of all citizens over 30. Experts think that the Assembly probably could not debate or amend anything: they could only vote for or against measures.
They did this by shouting "yes" or "no", and the loudest group won.
| This type of Greek play was written about ordinary people and often mocked leading politicians and personalities of the day. Which was it? | Ninth Graders' Ancient Greece: 1
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comedy. It was a forerunner to modern comedy shows like "Saturday Night Live".
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