General knowledge · 12 questions

Ancient Greece

Think like an ancient. Politics, power and painted marble. Twelve questions, with a few convincing wrong turns along the way.

Play it here

Nothing is saved and there is no sign-up - your score stays on this page.

Question 1 of 12

After Cleisthenes' reforms, how many members sat on Athens' Boule?

Run this live with your team

Everyone answers on their phone, you control each question, live scores and a podium. £5 includes five rounds; add up to five more for £1 each.

Host it live - £5

Show all questions and answers

Hidden so nobody spots the answers before playing. Quizmasters, this is for you.

1. After Cleisthenes' reforms, how many members sat on Athens' Boule?
- A. 100
- B. 300
- C. 500 (answer)
- D. 1,000
The reformed council had 500 members, replacing the earlier council traditionally attributed to Solon.
2. How were members of Athens' democratic Boule normally selected?
- A. Hereditary succession
- B. Appointment by kings
- C. Election by generals
- D. Drawing lots (answer)
Annual selection by lot was central to the council, unlike modern parliamentary elections.
3. In classical Athens, what was a metic?
- A. Resident foreigner (answer)
- B. Hereditary priest
- C. Naval commander
- D. Council chairman
Metics lived in the community but did not automatically possess Athenian citizenship.
4. How many kings normally ruled Sparta at the same time?
- A. One
- B. Two (answer)
- C. Three
- D. Five
Sparta had a dual kingship rather than a single royal ruler.
5. Who were Sparta's helots?
- A. Foreign ambassadors
- B. Full citizen soldiers
- C. Royal family members
- D. An unfree agricultural population (answer)
Helots worked land assigned to Spartans and were not full Spartan citizens.
6. Which city led the Delian League, founded in 478 BCE?
- A. Athens (answer)
- B. Corinth
- C. Thebes
- D. Sparta
Athens led the Delian League. Sparta did not lead this alliance.
7. Where was the Delian League's treasury originally kept?
- A. Delphi
- B. Delos (answer)
- C. Olympia
- D. Samos
The treasury began in Apollo's temple on Delos, which gave the league its name.
8. What best describes the original appearance of the Parthenon sculptures?
- A. Entirely gold-covered
- B. Deliberately uncoloured
- C. They included painted colour (answer)
- D. Coated in black bronze
Scientific analysis has identified pigment traces. Today's pale marble is not the complete original appearance.
9. To which goddess was the Parthenon dedicated?
- A. Hera
- B. Athena (answer)
- C. Artemis
- D. Demeter
The Parthenon housed the great image of Athena Parthenos.
10. Which materials chiefly formed Pheidias's great Athena statue?
- A. Bronze and silver
- B. Marble and terracotta
- C. Gold and ivory (answer)
- D. Limestone and iron
The colossal cult image was gold and ivory, unlike the temple's marble architectural sculptures.
11. What does tri- in the Athenian trireme refer to?
- A. Three masts
- B. Three fighting decks
- C. Three steering rudders
- D. Three tiers of rowers (answer)
Rowers were arranged in three tiers on each side, not three fighting decks.
12. A hoplite was principally what kind of soldier?
- A. Heavily armed infantryman (answer)
- B. Mounted archer
- C. Light cavalry scout
- D. Shipboard helmsman
Hoplites were heavily equipped foot soldiers associated with close-order phalanx fighting.

Make the learning count

Quizzes are a good warm-up. When your team needs the real thing, our compliance courses start at £9.59 a learner including VAT, and the CPD log is free for everyone.

Start a free CPD log Browse compliance courses