Down In The Dumps! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tutankhamun

Upon the discovery of Tut's tomb, the condition of his skull led scientists to believe that he died from a blow to the head. The truth of the matter is that Tut's body was severely damaged by the unwrapping of the mummy and study by Howard Carter and colleagues, so they may well have caused the damage to the skull.

Modern scientists agree that the condition of the skull is not connected to the cause of death. A recent scan of the mummy shows the probable cause of death to be infection from a broken leg. Of course, no one will ever know for sure, but this seems to be the most plausible explanation.

Answer: Marc Antony

Imagine Octavian's dilemma. At eighteen years of age, he had just inherited Caesar's vast wealth, power, and army. He needed help, and Caesar's best friend, Marc Anthony, seemed to be the best choice. Marc Antony and Octavian joined with Lepidus to form the Second Triumverate. Together they defeated the forces of the conspirators; they then divided the empire into spheres of influence. Having married Octavia, Octavian's sister (as was so common when making alliances), Marc Antony found that Egypt was included in his sphere of influence; he fell in love with Cleopatra, and married her.

He did finally divorce Octavia, but not before marrying Cleopatra, having a family with her, and proclaiming Caesar's son, Caesarion, the heir to the empire. Big mistake! It took some doing, but Octavian was able to discredit Marc Antony before the Senate, and was given permission to declare war.

He was not very forgiving!

Answer: Socrates

Very little is known of Xanthippe. Some sources say she was Socrates' second wife, and that she was about forty years younger than he was. Together they had three sons. Because the oldest son was named after her father, Lamprocles, it is believed that her family was of a higher social status than Socrates. Xenophon quotes Socrates as saying about his wife: "... if I can tolerate her spirit, I can with ease attach myself to every human being ..."

Answer: Pompey

So Caesar crossed the Rubicon, violating Roman law, and Pompey fled Italy. The two generals chased each other around for several months, before Pompey was defeated in Thessaly at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey had strength in numbers, and so expected to win that Caesar found a victory banquet laid out in Pompey's camp after the battle.

He also found indications of spies and moles in Pompey's camp, which he refused to acknowledge, having all evidence burned. Pompey fled to Egypt, looking for asylum.

The Egyptians weren't sure what to do with this man, so obviously the loser with Caesar in pursuit. Plutarch says that while the Egyptians pretended to accept Pompey, they brutally murdered him on the beach as his wife watched helpless from a trireme on the Nile. Caesar was offered Pompey's head on a platter, and openly wept.

He made sure that Cornelia received her husband's ashes for proper veneration, and took revenge on Pompey's killers.

Answer: Richard the Lionhearted

One of the causes of dissension between Eleanor and her husband, Henry II, was which of their sons should be the future king after their oldest son, Henry the Young King, died. Henry II's favorite son was John; Eleanor favored Richard. Upon his return from the Third Crusade, Richard was taken prisoner by Duke Leopold of Austria.

It is said that Eleanor petitioned all of England for her son's expensive ransom, and that all paid one-fourth of their annual wage to ensure Richard's safe return. Richard died in 1199 in Eleanor's arms; during his ten year reign of England, he was actually there for less than six months.

Answer: Arthur

The Treaty of Medina del Campo sealed the deal for the the marriage of Arthur, the Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Spain. He was two years old; she was three. It does appear the couple wrote letters. However, the first time they actually met was shortly before their marriage. Within five months, they were both critically ill with some mysterious sickness. Catherine survived, but Arthur died.

Henry VII, Arthur's father, was faced with the decision to send Catherine home and return the dowry, or keep her in England. Seven years after the death of Arthur, Catherine, now twenty-three, was the new bride of the second son, Henry, who would become Henry VIII.

Henry's "guilt" over the marriage to his sister-in-law would eventually spark the Reformation in England.

Answer: David Rizzio

The rumors were that Mary's child, the future James I of England and James VI of Scotland, was the son of Rizzio, and not her husband, Lord Darnley. Sources say the cause of Rizzio's demise was Darnley's intense jealousy. He was present when a group of conspirators entered the queen's chambers and attacked Rizzio, who was stabbed fifty-six times. Darnley's victory was short lived, however, he was found dead less a year later. Was Mary involved? Who was the father of James? The truth was never found.

Answer: Horatio Nelson

Nelson was a known womanizer. However, he was such a hero in Britain after the Battle of the Nile, that his faults were easily overlooked. His wife, Frances, once wrote to a friend, "I can only say that no woman can feel the least attention from a husband more than I do." Lady Emma was married to one of Nelson's closest friends, Sir William Hamilton, and sources say that she and Nelson openly lived together in her husband's household.

It appears that Sir William enjoyed the notoriety of being associated with Nelson, even if that meant that he had a blatantly unfaithful wife. Sir William died in 1803, and after Nelson's death in 1805, Lady Emma fell into debt. Nelson had left directives to the British government that she be supported, but they were ignored.

As far Nelson's wife, Fanny, is concerned, she was left with money and a broken heart.

Answer: George Washington

Many doctors today believe that George Washington was terminally ill with acute epiglottitis. This disease would have made it difficult for Washington to breathe, talk, and swallow, and these symptoms were all documented as being afflictions that he had. According to Dr. White McKenzie Wallenborn, "death from this disorder is caused by the obstruction of the patient's airway and is very painful." Dr. Wallenborn theorizes that Washington's attending doctors might have performed a new procedure called a tracheostomy, but it might not have helped.

He estimates that during the two bleedings, about five pints of blood were removed in less than sixteen hours. Who would be able to survive that?

Answer: Alexander the Great

Alexander's cause of death is debated to this very day. Was it the drinking and hard partying that was constant in his entourage? Was it exhaustion? Malaria? And old wound? Poison? Roxane gave birth to a son, Alexander IV, after Alexander died, but she was unable to assert the baby's claim to power. Finally, as Alexander IV grew older, it was too dangerous to have him and his mother around.

They were assassinated in 310 B.C.