Q 01/05

In 2007 a worldwide vote named the Colosseum one of the New 7 Wonders of the World alongside which landmark?

A) The Eiffel Tower

B) The Taj Mahal

C) Stonehenge

D) The Statue of Liberty

Answer · why

B) The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal made the list of seven with it, but Egypt's pyramids stayed above the contest: after the country's antiquities chief objected to an onli...

Q 02/05

Which emperor began building the Colosseum in the early 70s AD?

A) Caligula

B) Augustus

C) Hadrian

D) Vespasian

Answer · why

D) Vespasian

Vespasian died in 79 with the top level still unbuilt, so the arena he began as a gift to the city was finished and opened with its first great games ...

Q 03/05

By what other name is the Colosseum known, after the imperial dynasty that built it?

A) Flavian Amphitheatre

B) Severan Amphitheatre

C) Antonine Amphitheatre

D) Julian Amphitheatre

Answer · why

A) Flavian Amphitheatre

Flavian Amphitheatre is the name historians use; the nickname Colosseum came centuries later and is thought to come from a giant statue that stood bes...

Q 04/05

The name "Colosseum" is believed to derive from a colossal statue of which emperor that stood nearby?

A) Constantine

B) Nero

C) Vespasian

D) Trajan

Answer · why

B) Nero

Nero had the bronze giant made in his own likeness for the entrance of his new palace; after his death it was given a crown of sun rays and rededicate...

Q 05/05

What did the Colosseum's site hold before construction, as part of the Domus Aurea palace grounds?

A) An artificial lake

B) A racetrack

C) A temple to Apollo

D) A military parade ground

Answer · why

A) An artificial lake

An artificial lake ringed by porticoes and gardens had been laid out on land seized after the great fire of 64; draining it for a public arena handed ...