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Quiz about Ancient Greece via Socrates Plato and Aristotle
Quiz about Ancient Greece via Socrates Plato and Aristotle

Ancient Greece via Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle Quiz


This quiz is designed to test your knowledge about some basic facts of Ancient Greek history--via the lives of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

A multiple-choice quiz by bernie73. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
bernie73
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
378,297
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
466
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 73 (2/10), daveguth (10/10), kstyle53 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Socrates the philosopher had a day job--as a stonemason and sculptor. Some of his work (according to tradition) is said to have included statues of the Three Graces. Near which landmark in ancient Athens did these statues stand? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Science was an area of interest to many of the Greek philosophers--even though some of their conclusions were incorrect. Which one, in his "History of Animals", said that human men had more teeth than human women. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Socrates, in addition to being a philosopher, was also a war veteran. In which war or wars did he fight on the side of the Athenian army? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Much of what we know about Socrates was written by his pupil and friend, Plato. Plato wrote many dialogues that featured Socrates as the main speaker. Which dialogue, that included the allegory of the cave, was Plato's description of the ideal government? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In one of his dialogues, Plato discusses different forms of government: the aristocracy (rule by the best), timocracy (rule by honorable warriors), oligarchy (rule by the few), democracy (rule by the many), and tyranny (rule by one). Which city-state would provide the best example of a timocracy? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Plato the philosopher was heavily influenced by the philosophy of this man (no, not Socrates), who today is best known for his theorem about right-angled triangles. Who was he? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The Greeks established colonies in many places outside the boundaries of modern Greece. The philosopher Plato visited the court of Dion to tutor the future ruler Dionysus II. Of which city was Dion the ruler? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. A famous ruler often has a good teacher. Which famous ruler was tutored as a teenager by Aristotle? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Aristotle studied many areas of science. In one instance, he added to the ideas of Empedocles, who felt that all matter was made up of four elements. Which was NOT one of Empedocles's four elements? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. On his deathbed, Socrates is supposed to have said, "Crito, we owe a rooster to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt." Asclepius is one of the lesser known gods of Greek mythology. Of what was he the god? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Socrates the philosopher had a day job--as a stonemason and sculptor. Some of his work (according to tradition) is said to have included statues of the Three Graces. Near which landmark in ancient Athens did these statues stand?

Answer: Acropolis

Socrates probably learned his craft from his father Sophroniscus, who was also a stonemason. The Acropolis was an area of high ground in Athens that included the Parthenon. The Colosseum (or Flavian Amphitheater) is in Rome. The Colossus was a large statue in the harbor for the island of Rhodes. The Mausoleum was a famous tomb in Halicarnassus in modern Turkey.
2. Science was an area of interest to many of the Greek philosophers--even though some of their conclusions were incorrect. Which one, in his "History of Animals", said that human men had more teeth than human women.

Answer: Aristotle

Aristotle seems to have fallen short in his recording of data with this one. A simple observation of the mouth of several men and several women might have shown him this was false. He did, however, have some good ideas, such as discussing differences between individual animals and groups of animals. For instance, he said that birds could be identified by having feathers, wings, and beaks.
3. Socrates, in addition to being a philosopher, was also a war veteran. In which war or wars did he fight on the side of the Athenian army?

Answer: The Peloponnesian War

Socrates probably fought as a hoplite (a citizen soldier armed with a spear and a shield). Free citizens of Athens were expected to provide their own equipment.

The Peloponnesian War lasted from 431-404 BC and involved Athens and its allies against Sparta and its allies. The Punic Wars were between Rome and Carthage. The Greco-Persian Wars involved those two sides. The Social War was between Rome and its Italian allies.
4. Much of what we know about Socrates was written by his pupil and friend, Plato. Plato wrote many dialogues that featured Socrates as the main speaker. Which dialogue, that included the allegory of the cave, was Plato's description of the ideal government?

Answer: The Republic

In "The Republic", Plato describes how specially-trained philosopher-kings would provide the best guidance for a small to medium-sized city-state. "The Prince" is by Niccolo Machiavelli. "The Spirit of the Laws" is by Baron de Montesquieu. "The City of God" is St. Augustine of Hippo.
5. In one of his dialogues, Plato discusses different forms of government: the aristocracy (rule by the best), timocracy (rule by honorable warriors), oligarchy (rule by the few), democracy (rule by the many), and tyranny (rule by one). Which city-state would provide the best example of a timocracy?

Answer: Sparta

This discussion takes place in "The Republic". Although Sparta had two kings, it was really the army who ran the show. About 90% of the people were helots (serfs or slaves) and the rest were the citizens who either were soldiers in the army or gave birth to soldiers in the army. Young men in training were purposely underfed and then expected to steal food to make up the difference. If caught, they were severely punished--not for stealing, but for being caught.
6. Plato the philosopher was heavily influenced by the philosophy of this man (no, not Socrates), who today is best known for his theorem about right-angled triangles. Who was he?

Answer: Pythagoras

Pythagoras's ideas were very much influenced by mathematics and music. The Pythagorean Theorem says that the square of the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two legs of a right triangle. Or simply, a squared + b squared = c squared. The other three men all lived after Plato's death.
7. The Greeks established colonies in many places outside the boundaries of modern Greece. The philosopher Plato visited the court of Dion to tutor the future ruler Dionysus II. Of which city was Dion the ruler?

Answer: Syracuse

Syracuse was and is on the island of Sicily. Plato hoped to guide Dionysus towards being a philosopher-king. Plato was ill-treated by Dion and Dionysus, being sold into slavery and imprisoned at different times.
8. A famous ruler often has a good teacher. Which famous ruler was tutored as a teenager by Aristotle?

Answer: Alexander III

Philip II of Macedon hired Aristotle as tutor to his son, Alexander III, or the Great, (356-323 BC). As tutor, Aristotle had access to resources and opportunities that only a kingdom could provide. Alexander's conquests included much of what had been part of the Persian Empire. Aristotle actually outlived Alexander by a year, which would have given him the opportunity to study Alexander's career in total. Pericles was a famous leader of the city-state of Athens who died several decades before Aristotle was born. Julius Caesar was a leader in 1st century BC Rome who lived centuries after Aristotle died. Caesar, however, did use Alexander's life as a measuring stick with which to compare his own success.
9. Aristotle studied many areas of science. In one instance, he added to the ideas of Empedocles, who felt that all matter was made up of four elements. Which was NOT one of Empedocles's four elements?

Answer: Flesh

Empedocles felt that all matter was made up four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. These can be equated with the combinations of hot/cold and dry/wet as well as the four states of matter: solid, liquid, plasma, and gas. Aristotle added "aether", a "divine substance" that connects the heavenly bodies.
10. On his deathbed, Socrates is supposed to have said, "Crito, we owe a rooster to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt." Asclepius is one of the lesser known gods of Greek mythology. Of what was he the god?

Answer: Healing

Asclepius,son of Apollo, was the god of healing. The other three ideas were connected with three better known deities. Hera was the goddess of the family. Hermes was the god of eloquence and wits. Ares was the god of war and violence.
Source: Author bernie73

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