Death in Various Cultures

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. One of Willa Cather's most famous works is 'Death Comes for the ____________'. Answer: (One Word)

2. In some legends, Death (the Grim Reaper) plays a fiddle with how many strings? 7 2 1 5

3. According to the Buddhist tradition, deceased people who have followed the Eightfold Path will be freed from the cycle of reincarnation and gain what state of total peace? Answer: (One Word)

4. According to the King James version of the Twenty-Third Psalm, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no ___________'? Answer: (One Word)

5. In the history of the United States of America, only four U.S. presidents have been assassinated. Who was the SECOND such president? William McKinley Abraham Lincoln James Garfield Zachary Taylor

6. In Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra,' and perhaps in history as well, with what did Cleopatra kill herself? Antony's sword a noose carbon monoxide a venomous snake

7. Shah Jahan of India built what famously beautiful building as a memorial to his favorite wife? Great Stupa at Sanchi Taj Mahal Red Fort temple at Khajuraho

8. The Celtic queen, Boudicca (Boadicea), allegedly took poison to prevent torture by the Romans after they defeated her rebel forces in battle. Where is she thought to be buried? Westminster Abbey King's Cross Station Castel Angelo Trevi Fountain in Rome

9. Another Celtic leader -- who united Gaul under his command and came very close to defeating Julius Caesar -- did fall into Roman hands. He was brought back to Rome and executed by being dragged apart by wild horses. What was the name of this first French national hero? Asterix Clovis Charles de Gaulle Vercingetorix

10. She had the great misfortune of living in Paris during the Reign of Terror, and she was forced to make death masks of the people who had been guillotined. Later she moved to Britain, and these death masks became the basis of a famous wax museum. She was Madame _________. Answer: (One Word)

11. Robert Frost, perhaps best known among schoolchildren as the author of 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,' also wrote a poem describing 'The Death of the ______________' Answer: (Two Words)

12. In Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women', which March sister dies? Amy Laurie Beth Meg

13. The European Middle Ages -- a time of war and plague -- was defined by death. One frequent artistic motif, representing death, depicted the Grim Reaper leading people away in the ______________. Danse Macabre Heavenly Kingdom Elysian fields road to Hell

14. Joan of Arc, maid of Orleans, was burned as a witch and a heretic by the English in what other French city during the Hundred Years' War? Rouen Marseilles Rheims Paris

15. What ancient Egyptian god, father of Horus, was murdered by his brother Seth and then became king of the Underworld? Answer: (One Word)