Q 01/05

The Ides of March, the day Julius Caesar was assassinated, falls on which date of the month?

A) The 1st

B) The 13th

C) The 15th

D) The 31st

Answer · why

C) The 15th

The 15th was the Ides only in March, May, July and October; in every other Roman month the Ides came two days sooner.

Q 02/05

The Rome ruins where Julius Caesar was killed now host a sanctuary for which animals?

A) Cats

B) Dogs

C) Foxes

D) Owls

Answer · why

A) Cats

Cats have had a no-kill shelter among the temple ruins of Largo di Torre Argentina since 1993, despite archaeologists' calls to move it.

Q 03/05

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, who calls from the crowd to warn Caesar about the Ides of March?

A) A senator

B) A soothsayer

C) A centurion

D) A schoolmaster

Answer · why

B) A soothsayer

A soothsayer gives the warning on stage, and ancient writers tell a similar story: Suetonius names the seer as Spurinna, a reader of animal entrails.

Q 04/05

Which assassin of Julius Caesar was the son of Servilia, Caesar's long-time mistress?

A) Crassus

B) Lepidus

C) Catiline

D) Brutus

Answer · why

D) Brutus

Brutus inspired ancient gossip that Caesar was his real father, though Caesar was only a teenager when he was born.

Q 05/05

Which foreign queen was staying at Julius Caesar's villa in Rome when he was killed on the Ides of March?

A) Boudica

B) Cleopatra

C) Zenobia

D) Nefertiti

Answer · why

B) Cleopatra

Cleopatra stayed on in Rome for about a month after the murder, hoping in vain that her young son Caesarion would be recognised as Caesar's heir.