Ancient Geography Trivia Quiz

Answer: Luxor

Thebes is actually the Greek name for the city. The Egyptian name was Wase or Nowe. Luxor is near the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, the location of the Tomb of Tutankhamen.

Answer: Samarkand

Samarkand is in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Quiz author dericpw contributes: "...Rome was founded around 753BC, Babylon about 2,300BC - 1,900BC and Samarkand somewhere between 3,000BC and 5,000BC." So yeah, it's pretty old. Used to be called Maracanda back in Alexander's day. And it was uninhabited from the 1720s to the 1770s. Oh, the things you find out when trying to verify a question. Fascinating, right? Here's another interesting fact... OK, I'll stop now.

Answer: Euphrates

Babylon is south of modern Baghdad. Ever heard that the word "honeymoon" is a relic of Babylonian culture? Seems that parents were expected to give newlyweds a month's worth of mead, an alcoholic drink made of honey. Well, if you've heard it, forget it, because it's a myth. Still, it's more interesting than the Hanging Gardens trivia I was going to put in here.

Answer: Tyre

Ezekiel describes Tyre in the Bible. Sidon is thought to have colonized Tyre which in turn colonized Carthage.

Answer: Anatolia

The size and location of Hissarlik differs from that given by Homer for Troy.

Answer: Minoan

Arthur Evans excavated the site beginning in 1900. It was he who named the Minoan people after King Minos of Greek mythology. His conclusion that the site was a palace has since been questioned.
http://www.uk.digiserve.com/mentor/minoan/knossos.htm

Answer: Georgia

Colchis was where Jason and the Argonauts sought the Golden Fleece in myth. Archeological digs around the city of Vani in the Colchis Lowlands of Georgia have yielded rich finds.

Answer: Black Sea

Colchis was on the Euxine.

Answer: Caspian Sea

The fantasy author Robert E. Howard used authentic ancient names of places and peoples in his Conan stories, such as Cimmeria. The Hyrkanian Sea figures fairly prominently in his work. The real Cimmerians, by the way, lived north of the Caucasus and the Sea of Azov, until the Scythians drove them south.

Answer: Ostia

"The Romans considered Ostia their first colony and attributed its founding to their fourth king, Ancus Marcius."-- Encyclopedia Britannica.

Answer: Ireland

"They are Ulster (Ulaid), Connacht, Munster (Mumu), Leinster (Lagin), Meath (Mide)," according to Michael Sundermeier. Meath "seems to have contained what are now the counties of Westmeath and Meath." http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/english/micsun/IrishResources/geograph.htm

Answer: Scythians

Publicly owned slaves, so-called "Scythian Archers", served as police in ancient Athens and wore the Scythian national costume as a sort of uniform.

Answer: Elephantine

Elephantine was called Abu or Yabu in ancient times, both names meaning elephant. It was said to be the home of the god Khnum, and you can see ruins of that god's temple on Elephantine today. A bionicle is a toy made of Legos. Keftiu is an Egyptian term regarding the Minoan civilization. http://www.touregypt.net/elephantine.htm

Thanks to player Brutus_cassius for a correction to the interesting information for this question.

Answer: Afghanistan

"Although today only a small provincial town, Balkh speaks of greatness in Afghanistan's history. As Bakhtri it was the birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster and as Bactria it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329BC and was the city where he took his wife Roxanne."
http://www.kabulcaravan.com/mazar.html

Answer: Sparta

Sparti is the present-day capital of the nomos, or department, of Lakonia in Greece. Ancient Sparta was located on the right bank of the Evrotas Potamos (river). There are relatively few archeological remains, which attests to the austerity of the Spartans.

Answer: Sudan

Some historians have tried to upgrade these ancient Kingdoms in importance in comparison to Egypt.

Answer: Portugal

Lusitania also included much of western Spain. "The province took its name from the Lusitani, a group of warlike tribes who, despite defeats, resisted Roman domination until their great leader, Viriatus, was killed (139 B.C.) by treachery."

Answer: Scotland

The Picts of Caledonia were apparently pretty fierce, prompting the construction of Hadrian's famous wall.

Answer: Romania

As you would expect from the country's name, Romania's development was heavily influenced by the Roman Empire.

Answer: Albania

As the Roman Empire expanded in the Balkan Pennisula, the province of Illyricum was divided into the provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia. "In the 3rd century AD Illyricum became the last bulwark of Rome and of Western culture in the ancient world."-- Encyclopedia Britannica.