Traitors and Villains of the Ancient World

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Living between 85BCE and 42BCE he is responsible for one of the most infamous assassinations in the ancient world. Although he was just one of many conspirators, it is his name that resounds through the ages. Who was it? Marcus Junius Brutus Caepio Marcus Licinius Crassus Oedipus of Mycenae Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo

2. The heroics of King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans have survived thousands of years. Bravely holding the pass of Thermopylae the Persians were unable to break through until which traitor led the vanguard of the Persian army over the mountain? Demaratus Artabanus Mardonius Ephialtes

3. In Greek culture the stealing of a man's wife was unforgivable. When the man in question was a king, it was also stupid as well as unforgivable. While he was away at Troy Agamemnon's wife betrayed him and she and her new lover murdered him on his return. They were both killed by Agamemnon's surviving son, Orestes. Who was Klytemnestra's lover? Melantho Paris Aegisthus Neoptolemus

4. This villain sold out his spiritual leader for thirty pieces of silver, betraying his location to the Roman governor. Unable to live with his action, he ended his own life. Answer: (Two Words)

5. The Trojan War was not good to the Achaean heroes. After surviving the ten years of war, Odysseus was forced to travel for ten more years before ending up on the shores of Ithaca. Arriving home he found his house full of suitors, all trying to marry his wife and claim his throne. What was the the leader of these suitors called? Eurymachus Melathius Aegisthus Antinous

6. The lover of Cleopatra, this man chose to ally himself with Egypt against the forces of Octavian. The loss of the Battle of Actium forced him to retreat and ultimately commit suicide. Octavian became Augustus and used his new position to blacken his former rival. Pompey Scipio Hannibal Marc Antony

7. This young man was responsible for the destruction of his entire people. He stole the wife of a Spartan king and carried her away to his city of Troy. Brought to life again by Orlando Bloom in 2004, who is this legendary lover? Answer: (One Word)

8. This Roman Emperor has a terrible reputation. After the success of Augustus, the Julio-Claudian Line deteriorated. This Emperor, named "Little Boots" by the Praetorians, forced his sister to live as his wife, got her pregnant and then disembowlled her. After promoting himself to a deity, his own bodyguard assisted in his assassination. Tiberius Nero Caligula Vespasian

9. This hero/villain was born to a human woman and Zeus, the greatest of the Greek Gods. Surviving an assassination attempt by two snakes in his crib, he became a great warrior and marksman. Driven insane by Hera he butchered his children in a fit of rage and was forced to complete twelve tasks to atone for his crimes. Upon his death he was elevated to a deity, his success in his tasks turning him from villain to hero. Hercules Prometheus Odysseus Apollo

10. Herbalist or poisoner, this woman was used by the Ahenobarbus family to remove obstacles during their rise to power. First hired by Agrippina to poison Claudius, she rose in prominence and opened her own school. During Nero's reign she enjoyed amazing influence and power through her contract work in poisoning, in effect as a hired assassin. After her patron's death she tried to leave Rome quietly, but her enemies ensured she was executed within a year. Answer: (One Word)