IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME
This Athenian philosopher, scholar, and teacher was sentenced to death in 399 BCE for his affiliation with some politically questionable characters, supposed impiety, and corruption of the youth.
Who is Socrates?
This day (actual date AND Roman name) in 44 BCE saw the assassination of Julius Caesar at the hands of Gaius Longinus Cassius, Marcus Junius Brutus, and all their pals.
What were the Ides of March / 15 March?
From the Ionian to the Arabian Sea, the conquests of Alexander reached from Greece to the Indus River and created the world’s largest empire at the time, under the name of this kingdom/empire.
What is Macedon / the Macedonian Empire?
The son of Daedalus, this boy should’ve packed wings a bit more suited to the hot Cretan sun.
Who is Icarus?
This collection of Ancient Greek sculptures, removed from Ottoman Greece in the early 19th century, now reside in the British Museum.
What are the the Parthenon Marbles / Elgin Marbles?
This author, often called the Father of History, is known for his ripping yarn of a inquiry into the rise of Persia and the Greco-Persian Wars which begins: "ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις ἥδε..."
Who is Herodotos?
Yikes! This lad was killed by his twin brother, the mythical founder of Rome, after treading over the sacred wall that his brother was building around the Palatine Hill.
Who is Remus?
Originally colonized by Greeks, this region was known to the Romans as Magna Graecia.
What is Sicily/Southern Italy?
The happiest man in the underworld, this man captured Death in order to prolong his life and was sentenced to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity.
Who is Sisyphus?
This Italian term describes the natural standing pose seen in this 480 BC Greek statue known as the Kritios Boy.
What is contrapposto?
Following a period of natural disaster, war, and barbarian raids, the Greek peninsula experienced this period of stagnation and strife starting around 1200 BCE.
What were The Greek Dark Ages?
Quousque tandem abutere patientia nostra? This politician was utterly excoriated by Marcus Tullius Cicero in 63 BCE after allegedly trying to destroy the republic – for a second time!
Who is Lucius Sergius Catilina/Catiline?
In the farthest northern reaches of the Roman Empire, Hadrian's wall divided the province of Britannia from the region of Caledonia, which is this modern country.
What is Scotland?
The wife of the lauded lyre-player, Orpheus led this woman up from the depth of Hades to its mouth, before turning around, letting her be whisked back down to the bottom.
Who is Eurydice?
The dark green color in this Roman glass bowl would’ve been achieved by adding what toxic element?
What is lead?
Keep it in the family! This poem by the Greek writer Hesiod chronicles the origins and genealogies of the Greek Gods.
What is Theogony?
In hoc signo vinces! This emperor, patron of beloved fraternity Sigma Chi, was visited by a vision of a cross in the sky before his decisive victory at the Milvian Bridge, attributed his victory to Christ and introduced Christian toleration into the Roman Empire for the first time.
Who is Constantine?
Despite some serious ribbing from Pompey the Great, this empire in the Caucasus gave trouble to the Roman Empire for well over a century under their Mithridatic dynasty.
What is Parthia?
Should have seen that coming! Name this advisor to Oedipus who, in one version of the myth, saw Athena bathing as a boy and was cursed with blindness and also gifted with prophecy.
Who is Tiresias?
One of the few remaining Greek bronze sculptures left, this sculpture is a rare example of defeat and loss in an athletic contest captured in classical art.
What is the Seated Boxer / the Boxer at Rest?
ὀτοτοτοῖ πόποι δᾶ! Considered to be the father of tragedy, this playwright is known for his trilogy, called the Oresteia, following the tragic effects of the curse of Atreus on one unfortunate family.
Who is Aeschylus?
After his no-good son Sextus assaulted Lucretia, this seventh and final king of Rome was, according to Livy, slain by Lucius Iunius Brutus.
Tarquin Superbus (Lucius Tarquinius Superbus)
Renowned for its marble, this small island in the Aegean produced the material for the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace.
What is Paros?
According to Ovid’s Fasti, this Roman deity was conceived after his mother pricked her finger on a flower to spite her husband.
Who is Mars?
These small rectangular pieces of glass, stone, or ceramic were arranged in the creation of Roman mosaics.
What are tesserae?