Q 01/05

Which mythological monster's face is carved on two reused blocks beneath columns in Istanbul's Basilica Cistern?

A) Cerberus

B) Medusa

C) Cyclops

D) Minotaur

Answer · why

B) Medusa

Medusa stares out from both blocks, and nobody knows which older building the two heads were taken from.

Q 02/05

The Blues and Greens, whose fans set Constantinople ablaze in the Nika riots of 532, were rival teams in which sport?

A) Gladiator combat

B) Foot racing

C) Chariot racing

D) Horse archery

Answer · why

C) Chariot racing

Chariot racing stirred loyalties so fierce that a week of rioting by the two fan clubs burned nearly half the city and left tens of thousands dead.

Q 03/05

Two monks broke China's monopoly on which luxury good by smuggling its secret to Constantinople inside hollow canes?

A) Silk

B) Paper

C) Jade

D) Tea

Answer · why

A) Silk

Silk workshops opened in Constantinople soon after the monks carried silkworm eggs west, hidden in their bamboo canes.

Q 04/05

Which Italian city displays four bronze horses that crusaders looted from Constantinople's Hippodrome in 1204?

A) Florence

B) Ravenna

C) Milan

D) Venice

Answer · why

D) Venice

Venice set the horses on the front of St Mark's Basilica, where they stayed until Napoleon hauled them off to Paris in 1797; they came home in 1815.

Q 05/05

Greek fire, the secret weapon Byzantine ships sprayed at fleets attacking Constantinople, had which alarming property?

A) It burned on water

B) It exploded on impact

C) It gave off poison smoke

D) It melted stone walls

Answer · why

A) It burned on water

It burned on water, and writers of the time said only sand, strong vinegar or old urine could put it out.