Tales of the Grand Tour 5 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Forum

The founding of the Roman Forum goes all the way back to the legendary King Romulus. Remember the story, the Rape of the Sabine Women, that tells about how Romulus found wives for his group of men? Of course, kidnapping the daughters of his potential allies caused a war which continued until the women themselves ran out on the battlefield, pleading to their husbands and father to quit fighting. Romulus and his people lived on the Palatine Hill, and his opponent, Titus Tatius, lived on the Capitoline Hill; the area between the two hills became their meeting place, called the Forum, after the Cloaca Maxima, the great sewer system, was built and the swampy land was drained. Eventually political meetings, speeches, and other public affairs became the main activity of the Forum. Even though some markets remained, others were established in additional areas of the city.

Answer: Servian Wall

Romulus and Remus had quite a difference of opinion regarding where the new city they were building should be placed and who should be its leader. There are several versions of what happened in the end; one says that one of Romulus' men killed Remus, while another says that when Remus jumped over the wall to attack his brother, Remus simply died - a sure sign from the gods concerning who should rule.

Another story says that while the brothers were building the wall of their new city, Remus became so enraged by Romulus that he jumped over the wall and attacked him. Romulus, defending himself, killed his brother, saying, "So perish every one that shall hereafter leap over my wall". That was not the case in 390 BC when Rome was attacked by the Gauls.

They sacked and looted the city, and the devastation was so wide-spread that for a time the people considered abandoning the site of Rome and moving elsewhere. In the end the Gauls were paid 1000 pounds in gold to leave, and the Servian Wall was constructed. Made of large blocks of volcanic rock called tuff, this wall was so well built that it withstood Hannibal's siege of Rome during the Second Punic War.

By the time of Augustus, however, the population of the city well exceeded the circumference of the wall. Rome was instead protected by the strength of its army.

Answer: Castel Sant'Angelo

In its original state Castel Sant'Angelo looked very different from the way it does today. First built to house the remains of Emperor Hadrian, his wife, and son, the building featured a rooftop garden and a golden quadriga, which is a chariot that is drawn by four horses standing abreast.

After the internment of the ashes of Hadrian's family, it became a common practice for other emperors to have their urns placed there too. It was the transformation of the building into a fortress in 401 that led to its demise as a burial place.

When the Vandals attacked Rome in 410 they emptied the contents of the urns; in 437 the Goths damaged many of the decorations in the building. It has since been used as a papal residence and a prison. Today the building houses a museum.

Answer: Arch of Constantine

Romans built arches to celebrate great military victories and the Arch of Constantine is the largest one ever made. Prior to the creation of the monument, Rome had been going through some political changes. Diocletian (285-305) had decided that the Roman Empire was too large for one person to control, so he began the practice of having two emperors - one in the West and one in the East.

In addition, each emperor, who was given the title of Augustus, was to choose an emperor-in-training, called a Caesar, to help make changes of rulers become less chaotic.

The Augustus would rule for twenty years while the Caesar trained. He would then resign and his Caesar would be promoted to an Augustus. Sound confusing? Constantine was chosen to be the Caesar for his father, Augustus Consantius, however, Consantius died shortly after taking office. Constantine became involved in a conflict between six others who tried to claim his father's office.

At the subsequent Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine was able to defeat his strongest opponent, Maxentius, and became an Augustus.

It was at this battle that Constantine received the vision from God which led to his conversion to Christianity.

Answer: Pantheon

It is important to note that the Pantheon that stands today was not the original temple that was built at the site - that one burned down. The original temple, constructed by Marcus Agrippa, was supposed to serve as a private temple. Everything was destroyed except for the facade, which is seen today on the new Pantheon that was completed in 126. Even though its name means "temple of all gods", historians continue to debate as to whether the building was meant to house statues, or if the dome was reminiscent of heaven. One of the oldest continuously used buildings in Rome, the Pantheon was able to convert from a pagan temple to Christian Church without the usual uprising and destruction that occurred. During the Renaissance it was also used as the burial site of important people, such as Raphael Sanzio.

Answer: Appian Way

Okay! Enough with the legends! Well, almost! The story is that Rome was ruled by the Seven Legendary Kings, who were either Latin, Etruscan, or Sabine, after its founding in 753 BC. The last Etruscan tarquin, or king, was overthrown by the Latins in 509 BC.

They became Romans that year and created a new type of government for the city - a republic! As Rome grew in power, alliances were made with some neighbors, while other were simply conquered. The Appian Road, called the "the queen of the long roads", strategically connected Rome with Brindisi, all the way to the heel of the boot in southern Italy, a total of 353 miles or 568 kilometers.

The road was the first built in Rome to specifically transport troops during the Samnite Wars.

Answer: Tiber River

According to legend, Remus and Romulus were the twin sons of the god Mars and the Vestal Virgin, Rhea Silvia. Because their mother had broken her vow of chastity, it was ordered that she be imprisoned and the two boys were to be killed. Rather than being killed outright, the twins were abandoned on the banks of the flooding Tiber River.

It was there that they were rescued by a mother wolf who fed and took care of them until they were found by a shepherd and taken into his home. It was on this site where it is believed the city of Rome was founded by the two boys in 753 BC.

A cave was found in 2007 near the restoration of the palace of Emperor Augustus that is believed to have been the Lupercal, the cave where the wolf tended to the boys.

Answer: Trajan's Column

Historians today continue to debate the exact purpose of Trajan's Column, even though most sources claim that it was constructed to celebrate Rome's victory in the Dacian Wars. Some believe that it could have been a propaganda tool that was used to assuage the fear the common people felt toward Roman soldiers. Rather than showing the typical carnage of war, many of the scenes are peaceful.

In addition, Trajan's Column was the burial place of Emperor Trajan, whose ashes were placed in urns in a chamber in the base of the column.

The column was part of an area that was called Trajan's Forum, which was constructed to serve as a marketplace.

Answer: Circus Maximus

The "Largest Circus" was originally the site of rich farmland that was situated between the Aventine and Palatine Hills. It was an area that was probably flooded whenever the river would rise and events that were held there were held without any pomp and grandeur. All things considered, there probably wasn't even seating built there. According to legend, the second legendary King of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, began constructing seating there for Roman patricians, while his grandson, Tarquinius Superbus, added areas to accommodate plebeians.

This was an important locale for all Romans, since it was used not only for chariot racing, a popular sport, but also for public events, religious holidays, and the like. Eventually the site was expanded to include enough room for 150,000 spectators.

Answer: Colosseum

The Flavian Amphitheater was constructed after the death of Nero by members of the Flavian Dynasty of emperors - Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. A variety of events could be seen there, including gladiator contests, mock naval battles, animal hunts, plays, and public executions.

At its largest capacity, the Colosseum could hold 80,000 people. Why is it called the Colosseum? Historians believe that originally there was a COLOSSAL bronze statue of Nero that stood outside the structure. As time went on, the appearance of the statue - especially the head - changed to show the image of the ruler who was in charge. Eventually the statue was taken down and the bronze was reused. Throughout its history, the Flavian Amphitheater has been used for housing, a rock quarry, and a Christian Church.