Q 01/05

Ancient busts of the Athenian statesman Pericles almost always show him wearing what on his head?

A) A laurel wreath

B) A diadem

C) A helmet

D) A felt cap

Answer · why

C) A helmet

A helmet appears on nearly every bust of him. An ancient story claimed it hid his oddly long skull, which comic poets mocked as 'squill-head'.

Q 02/05

Which temple, the largest on the Athenian Acropolis, was the centrepiece of Pericles' building programme?

A) Parthenon

B) Pantheon

C) Erechtheion

D) Theseion

Answer · why

A) Parthenon

Parthenon construction began in 447 BC, replacing a temple that invaders had razed a generation earlier. The project also gave paid work to the city's...

Q 03/05

What killed Pericles in 429 BC, about two and a half years into the war with Sparta?

A) A battle wound

B) Poisoned wine

C) A shipwreck

D) A plague

Answer · why

D) A plague

A plague struck the overcrowded city in 430 BC and also killed Pericles' sister and both of his legitimate sons. Its exact identity is still debated.

Q 04/05

According to Herodotus, Pericles' mother dreamed days before his birth that she had given birth to what animal?

A) A lion

B) An eagle

C) A bull

D) A serpent

Answer · why

A) A lion

A lion stood for greatness in Greek lore. A similar dream was later told of Philip II of Macedon before the birth of Alexander the Great.

Q 05/05

Which Abraham Lincoln speech is often compared to Pericles' Funeral Oration?

A) Second Inaugural Address

B) Gettysburg Address

C) House Divided Speech

D) Cooper Union Address

Answer · why

B) Gettysburg Address

Gettysburg Address parallels include opening with revered ancestors, praising a democratic ideal and urging the living to finish the work. Scholars st...