For many centuries, ancient Greece played an important role in the ancient world with great politicians, artists, athletes, writers, warriors, and thinkers. In fact, their heritage is still existing today in a variety of fields.
The following 40 ancient Greek quiz questions and answers will provide you with interesting facts about the history and mythology of this wondrous civilisation.
So have your pen and paper ready and let’s get started!
1: What is the king of all gods in the Greek mythology?
A. Apollo
B. Zeus
C. Homer
2: What were tunics called in Ancient Greece?
A. Togas
B. Loincloths
C. Chitons
3: Which is the last letter in the Greek alphabet?
A. Zeta
B. Rho
C. Omega
4: Who was the Oracle?
A. A philosopher
B. A priestess
C. A monster
5: Who was the author of The Odyssey?
A. Homer
B. Odysseus
C. Herodotus
6: In Greek mythology, who was the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft?
A. Artemis
B. Athena
C. Aphrodite
7: What were the two most powerful city-states in Ancient Greece?
A. Sparta and Athens
B. Olympia and Athens
C. Thebes and Athens
8: The gods in Greek mythology lived on which mountain?
A. Troodos
B. Olympus
C. Delphi
9: Which Persian king was defeated by the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon?
A. Cyrus
B. Xerxes
C. Darius
10: Which philosopher was the teacher of Alexander the Great?
A. Plato
B. Ptolemy
C. Aristotle
11: Which distinguished historian is well-known for chronicling the Peloponnesian War?
A. Thucydides
B. Herodotus
C. Xenophon
12: Who was Alexander the Great’s father?
A: Hector
B. Achilles
C. Philip II
13: Which Christian saint was shipwrecked off Cyprus?
A: Paul
B. John
C. George
14: Which city-state in Ancient Greece is known as the birthplace of democracy?
A. Sparta
B. Athens
C. Corinth
15: How did Socrates the philosopher die?
A. Poison
B. Old age
C. Hanging
16: When did Cyprus became a Roman province?
A. 158 BC
B. 58 BC
C. 58 AD
17: The Peloponnesian War was between?
A. Sicily and Athens
B. Sparta and Syracuse
C. Athens and Sparta
18: Which major civilization was significantly influenced by Greek culture?
A. Egyptian
B. Roman
C. Persian
19: Where was Alexander the Great was born?
A. Athens
B. Pella
C. Sparta
20: What did the ancient Greeks call themselves?
A. Greeks
B. Hellenes
C. Macedonians
21: The ancient Greek warships were called?
A. Triremes
B. Quadriremes
C. Bireme
22: Which English King was married in Cyprus?
A. Richard I
B. Henry VIII
C. William II
23: What is a phalanx?
A. A monetary unit
B. A market place
C. A military formation
24: Which city-state in Ancient Greece was best known for their military culture?
A. Athens
B. Thebes
C. Sparta
25: What was the name of the main city of Cyprus in ancient times?
A. Amathus
B. Kition
C. Salamis
26: Which monster had a lion’s body, bird’s wings and a female head?
A. Oedipus
B. Sphinx
C. Delphi
27: Name Alexanders the Great’s horse?
A. Marengo
B. Bucephalus
C. Warrior
28: Who were the ancestors of the ancient Greeks?
A. The Romans
B. The Olympians
C. The Mycenaeans
29: Who had the right to vote in ancient Athens?
A. All noblemen over 25 years old
B. All free men over 18 years old
C. All men and women over 18 years old
30: Which goddess is said to have been born off the coast of Cyprus?
A. Artemis
B. Aphrodite
C. Demeter
31: What is Spartan leader Leonidas meant to have said when the Persians ordered his forces to give up their weapons at Thermopylae?
A. Come and get them
B. Spartans die before they surrender
C. For Sparta!
32: What animals did the Greeks use against the Romans for the first time in the Pyrrhic War?
A. Elephants
B. Horses
C. Camels
33: What was Hephaestus the god of?
A. God of Agriculture
B. God of Fire and Craftsmen
C. God of Logic and Reason
34: What was the name of the Cyclops that Odysseus blinded?
A. Tiresias
B. Cicones
C. Polyphemus
35: Which Gorgon could turn anyone into stone just by looking into their eyes?
A. Stheno
B. Euryale
C. Medusa
36: Alexander the Great becomes king at age?
A. 20
B. 25
C. 30
37: Who stood guard at the Gates of the Underworld?
A. Cerberus
B. Lernaean Hydra
C. Stymphalian Birds
38: Who was the god of the Underworld?
A. Hades
B. Croesus
C. Zeno
39: Who was called the Father of History?
A. Orpheus
B. Diogenes
C. Herodotus
40: Pythagoras is famous for?
A. Science
B. Mathematics
C. Philosophy
Answers:
1: Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus
2: A chiton is a form of tunic that fastens at the shoulder, worn by men and women of ancient Greece and Rome
3: Omega is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet
4: An oracle is a priestess considered to provide prophetic predictions
5: Homer is the legendary author to whom the authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey is attributed
6: Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens
7: Sparta and Athens
8: Mount Olympus was the name of the home of the Twelve Olympian gods
9: The Battle of Marathon was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece
10: Under Aristotle’s tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer. Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns.
11: Thucydides (c. 460 – c. 400 BC) was an Athenian historian and general and is generally regarded as one of the first true historians
12: Philip II of Macedon[ was the king of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC
13: Paul and Barnabas visited Cyprus, as part of the saint’s First Missionary Journey
14: Democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state of Athens
15: The death of Socrates in 399 BC, is usually attributed to poisoning with common hemlock
16: Roman involvement in Cypriot affairs began as early as 168 BC, although Cyprus became a Roman province only in 58 BC
17: The Peloponnesian War was a war fought between Athens and Sparta (431 to 405 BC)
18: Ancient Greek civilizations played a major role in the history and development of the ancient Rome civilization
19: Alexander III was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon (20/21 July 356 BC)
20: Hellenes. The name Greeks (Latin: Graeci) was used by the ancient Romans and gradually entered the European languages through its use in Latin
21: The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars
22: Berengaria married Richard the Lionheart on 12 May 1191 in the Chapel of St. George in Limassol Cyprus
23: The phalanx was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears
24: Around 650 BC, Sparta rose to become the dominant military land-power in Ancient Greece
25: Salamis, principal city of ancient Cyprus, located north of modern Famagusta
26: The Sphinx was sent by the gods to plague the town of Thebes devouring all who failed to solve her riddle
27: Bucephalus served Alexander in numerous battles, and died in what is now Punjab, Pakistan
28: The Mycenaean civilization was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC
29: Only free adult men who were citizens could vote in Athens’ limited democracy. Women, children, slaves, and foreigners were excluded
30: Aphrodite ancient Greek goddess associated with love, beauty, pleasure, passion and procreation
31: ‘Come and take them’ is a classical expression of defiance
32: Pyrrhus of Epirus during his campaigns in southern Italy and Sicily fortified his army with war elephants which the Romans were not experienced in facing
33: As god of fire, Hephaestus became the divine smith and patron of craftsmen
34: Polyphemus is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer’s Odyssey
35: All three – as they were sisters. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus
36: The precocious Alexander was already a seasoned commander in the Macedonian army when he became king at the age of 20 in 336 BC, after his father’s assassination
37: Cerberus often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a three headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld
38: Hades is the god of the dead and the king of the Underworld
39: Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus
40: Pythagoras was credited with many mathematical and scientific discoveries, including the Pythagorean theorem and was the first man to call himself a philosopher (lover of wisdom)