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Quiz about Women of the Ancient World
Quiz about Women of the Ancient World

Women of the Ancient World Trivia Quiz


In honor of Women's History Month, here's a tip of the hat to some women of the Ancient World. Have fun!

A multiple-choice quiz by shvdotr. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
shvdotr
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
373,779
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1505
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 175 (4/10), Guest 130 (7/10), Guest 108 (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Our first tip of the hat goes to the wife of Socrates. Reputedly much younger than her famous husband, she had a reputation for being difficult to get along with. However, the great philosopher said that this quality was why he married her, saying if he could get along with her, he could do so with anyone. What was her name? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Our next tip of the hat goes to another well-known woman of Athens, one who is said to have influenced Socrates. Born in Ionia, she emigrated to Athens and greatly impressed Plato with her intelligence and wit. However, her greatest influence was on the Athenian ruler Pericles, with whom she had a romantic attachment. Who was this powerful figure, who was probably a courtesan? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. My next tip of the hat goes to a 10th century Jewish Ethiopian queen who destroyed the ancient Axumite kingdom and set up her own, ruling for 40 years. Described by some websites as "semi-legendary," this powerful figure is referred to in several historical accounts both within and outside of Ethiopia. Can you pick out her name, which is often confused with a Biblical woman who has her own book, but not in Protestant Bibles? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. I will take my whole hat off to the first Roman lady on the quiz, although she is generally seen as quite a villainess. But she was also strong-minded and decisive, killing two husbands, one of whom was the Emperor Claudius (who was also her uncle), as well as at least eight other people to ensure her son's rise to the throne. Who was this great-granddaughter of Caesar Augustus, sister of Emperor Caligula, and mother of Emperor Nero? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Our next honoree was Queen of Georgia, ruling from the time her father, George III, named her co-ruler in 1178 and until her death in 1213. She expanded Georgia's size and power and ruled over its golden age. The Georgian Orthodox Church canonized her with the title of "Holy Righteous King." Due to the link seen by the Georgian monarchy between them and the House of David, she may have been named after the Biblical mother of Perez and Zerah, two sons of Judah. What was her name? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Not to be confused with a famous 17th century Italian woman artist of the same name, our next lady was Queen of Ionia, a subject state in the Persian Empire of Xerxes in the 5th Century BC. She commanded five ships in Xerxes' fleet at the Battle of Salamis, and later consulted with the Persian emperor, persuading him to abandon his invasion of Greece. Can you pick out her name? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. We head to Rome in the first century BC for my next honoree. This lady exercised great influence in Rome, particularly as the wife of Mark Antony. He was her third husband, having been widowed twice. All three of her husbands were tribunes and supporters of Julius Caesar. Aside from her political activities, she was the first non-mythical woman to appear on Roman coins. Who was this woman, known as "Lioness among Romans"? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. For my next tip of the cap, I'm going to leave the comforts of Western Civilization and venture into less familiar territory. Picture a warrior queen waging war from the back of an elephant. She's wearing gold armor and wielding a sword in each hand. She raised an army of over 1,000 men and women and took on the mighty Eastern Wu Kingdom of China, defeating them in over 30 battles. Who has been called the "Vietnamese Joan of Arc"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What name is generally ascribed in Ethiopian sources to the Queen of Sheba? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Our final tip of the cap goes to the famous queen of Palmyra who conquered Roman-held Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Who was this queen who claimed descent from Cleopatra, but who was eventually defeated by Rome? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Our first tip of the hat goes to the wife of Socrates. Reputedly much younger than her famous husband, she had a reputation for being difficult to get along with. However, the great philosopher said that this quality was why he married her, saying if he could get along with her, he could do so with anyone. What was her name?

Answer: Xanthippe

There are many stories about Xanthippe. One tells of her punctuating an argument with Socrates by dumping a chamber pot over his head, to which he philosophically retorted, "After the thunder, the rain." Today we would call that "tough love." She bore him three sons and surely did not spoil them.
2. Our next tip of the hat goes to another well-known woman of Athens, one who is said to have influenced Socrates. Born in Ionia, she emigrated to Athens and greatly impressed Plato with her intelligence and wit. However, her greatest influence was on the Athenian ruler Pericles, with whom she had a romantic attachment. Who was this powerful figure, who was probably a courtesan?

Answer: Aspasia of Miletus

Aspasia was well known for her beauty and intelligence, as well as for her skill as a conversationalist. Plutarch, writing 500 years later, maintained that men would bring their wives to hear Aspasia converse. She belonged to an Athenian class known as hetaerae, high-class entertainers. As an hetaera, Aspasia probably also ran a brothel.
3. My next tip of the hat goes to a 10th century Jewish Ethiopian queen who destroyed the ancient Axumite kingdom and set up her own, ruling for 40 years. Described by some websites as "semi-legendary," this powerful figure is referred to in several historical accounts both within and outside of Ethiopia. Can you pick out her name, which is often confused with a Biblical woman who has her own book, but not in Protestant Bibles?

Answer: Gudit

Historical information about Gudit is inconsistent, but there are enough resources and references to establish her as an historical figure. Whether or not she was Jewish is one controversy surrounding her. Some accounts make her a member of "Beta Israel," or Ethiopian Jews. Another account places her among the southern Ethiopian Sidamo peoples and say she ruled the Kingdom of Damot.
4. I will take my whole hat off to the first Roman lady on the quiz, although she is generally seen as quite a villainess. But she was also strong-minded and decisive, killing two husbands, one of whom was the Emperor Claudius (who was also her uncle), as well as at least eight other people to ensure her son's rise to the throne. Who was this great-granddaughter of Caesar Augustus, sister of Emperor Caligula, and mother of Emperor Nero?

Answer: Agrippina the Younger

Julia Agrippina was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She married Claudius in an attempt to obtain the throne for her son Nero, which she accomplished, despite the fact that Claudius had a son named Britannicus. But Agrippina neatly cut Britannicus out of the succession. Ironically, when a power struggle developed between Nero and his mother after he became emperor, he had her murdered. Aurelia was the mother of Julius Caesar. Cornelia was the daughter of Scipio Africanus and mother of the Gracchi. Porcia was the daughter of Cato the Younger and wife of Marcus Junius Brutus.
5. Our next honoree was Queen of Georgia, ruling from the time her father, George III, named her co-ruler in 1178 and until her death in 1213. She expanded Georgia's size and power and ruled over its golden age. The Georgian Orthodox Church canonized her with the title of "Holy Righteous King." Due to the link seen by the Georgian monarchy between them and the House of David, she may have been named after the Biblical mother of Perez and Zerah, two sons of Judah. What was her name?

Answer: Tamar

Also known as Tamar the Great, her position as the first queen to rule Georgia in her own right earned for her the title of king in Georgian culture. She is greatly revered in Georgian culture, but the actual location of her grave is now a mystery.
6. Not to be confused with a famous 17th century Italian woman artist of the same name, our next lady was Queen of Ionia, a subject state in the Persian Empire of Xerxes in the 5th Century BC. She commanded five ships in Xerxes' fleet at the Battle of Salamis, and later consulted with the Persian emperor, persuading him to abandon his invasion of Greece. Can you pick out her name?

Answer: Artemisia I of Caria

Following her courageous actions in the Battle of Salamis, Xerxes is quoted as saying, "My men have become women and my women have become men." Also referred to as Artemisia of Halicarnassus, she is not to be confused with a figure of the same name about 200 years earlier, who had the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus erected in honor of her husband, Mausolus. Artemisia Gentileschi was the artist referred to in the question.
7. We head to Rome in the first century BC for my next honoree. This lady exercised great influence in Rome, particularly as the wife of Mark Antony. He was her third husband, having been widowed twice. All three of her husbands were tribunes and supporters of Julius Caesar. Aside from her political activities, she was the first non-mythical woman to appear on Roman coins. Who was this woman, known as "Lioness among Romans"?

Answer: Fulvia

No Roman woman before Fulvia was politically as active. Also, her daughter from her first marriage was wed to Octavian. Lucilla was wife to Marcus Aurelius. Hortensia was an orator and contemporary with Fulvia, who gave a speech before the First Triumvirate in defense of the rights of Rome's wealthy wives and widows. Julia Domna was the wife of Emperor Septimius. Two of her sons, Caracalla and Geta, also ascended the throne.
8. For my next tip of the cap, I'm going to leave the comforts of Western Civilization and venture into less familiar territory. Picture a warrior queen waging war from the back of an elephant. She's wearing gold armor and wielding a sword in each hand. She raised an army of over 1,000 men and women and took on the mighty Eastern Wu Kingdom of China, defeating them in over 30 battles. Who has been called the "Vietnamese Joan of Arc"?

Answer: Trieu Thi Trinh

Treated as a slave by her own brother, Lady Trieu, as she became known later, escaped into the jungle at the age of 20 and raised an army to fight against the Wu, one of China's Three Kingdoms in the third century. Also known as Ba Trieu, all information about her comes from Vietnamese sources. Fu Hao was a priestess and general from China's Shang dynasty. Tin Hinan was a legendary queen of the Tuaregs of North Africa. Taytu Betul was an empress of Ethiopia at the turn of the Twentieth Century. During her 14-year rule she founded and named the modern capital of Addis Ababa.
9. What name is generally ascribed in Ethiopian sources to the Queen of Sheba?

Answer: Makeda

Legends and stories about the Queen of Sheba and her relationship with King Solomon abound in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. Her son, Menelik I, was the product of her union with the King of Israel, according to official Ethiopian history. All three incorrect answers are modern queens of sub-Saharan Africa between the 17th and 19th centuries who fought against the European slave trade and colonization of Africa. Llinga was a Congo queen, Kaipkire was from the Herero people of Southwest Africa, and Nandi of the Zulu, was mother of Shaka Zulu.
10. Our final tip of the cap goes to the famous queen of Palmyra who conquered Roman-held Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Who was this queen who claimed descent from Cleopatra, but who was eventually defeated by Rome?

Answer: Zenobia

After the death of her husband, Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia declared herself Augusta, and her son Augustus. She then set out to confront the Roman Empire, which eventually led to her defeat at the hands of Emperor Aurelian. Tomyris was an Iranian empress who defeated the Persian army of Cyrus the Great, resulting in the death of the Persian emperor. Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian or Babylonian queen. Candace was the name of a series of Kushite queens.
Source: Author shvdotr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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