World History & Great Civilizations: Ultimate Face-Off

The Genoese explorer whose 1492 transatlantic voyage opened the Americas to European contact.

Answer:Christopher Columbus

Note:Sailed under the Spanish Catholic Monarchs.

The Portuguese explorer whose expedition completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth (1519-1522).

Answer:Ferdinand Magellan (and Juan Sebastián Elcano)

Note:Elcano brought the Victoria home after Magellan died in the Philippines.

The Portuguese navigator who was the first European to reach India by sea in 1498, rounding the Cape of Good Hope.

Answer:Vasco da Gama

Note:Landed in Calicut (Kozhikode), India.

The Norwegian explorer who led the first successful expedition to reach the South Pole in December 1911.

Answer:Roald Amundsen

Note:Reached the pole 34 days ahead of Robert Falcon Scott.

The Venetian merchant whose 24-year travels across the Silk Road to China and Kublai Khan inspired Europe.

Answer:Marco Polo

Note:Dictated 'The Travels of Marco Polo' in a Genoese prison.

The first Emperor of the Roman Empire, who ruled following the fall of the Republic in 27 BC.

Answer:Augustus (Octavian)

Note:Born Gaius Octavius, great-nephew of Julius Caesar.

The Roman general famously assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15) in 44 BC.

Answer:Julius Caesar

Note:Killed by a conspiracy of senators led by Brutus and Cassius.

The iconic Roman amphitheatre inaugurated in 80 AD by Emperor Titus for gladiatorial combat.

Answer:The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre)

Note:Could hold over 50,000 spectators.

The legendary volcano that erupted in 79 AD, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash.

Answer:Mount Vesuvius

Note:Documented famously by Pliny the Younger.

The Carthaginian general who famously marched war elephants across the Alps to invade Rome in 218 BC.

Answer:Hannibal Barca

Note:Won historic victories at Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae.

The only surviving ancient Wonder of the World, built on the Giza plateau as a tomb for Khufu.

Answer:The Great Pyramid of Giza

Note:Built around 2560 BC, standing over 138 meters tall.

The young pharaoh whose nearly intact golden tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.

Answer:Tutankhamun (King Tut)

Note:Discovered in the Valley of the Kings.

The last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, famous for her relationships with Caesar and Antony.

Answer:Cleopatra VII

Note:Reigned until 30 BC.

The ancient stone slab discovered in 1799 that allowed Jean-François Champollion to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Answer:The Rosetta Stone

Note:Carved with the same text in hieroglyphs, Demotic, and ancient Greek.

The ancient Egyptian god of the underworld and judge of the dead, usually depicted with green skin.

Answer:Osiris

Note:Husband and brother of Isis, father of Horus.

The hilltop citadel overlooking Athens, home to the Parthenon temple dedicated to Athena.

Answer:The Acropolis of Athens

Note:Built largely under the leadership of Pericles in the 5th century BC.

The Macedonian king who conquered the Persian Empire and created an empire stretching to India by age 30.

Answer:Alexander the Great

Note:Student of Aristotle, undefeated in battle.

The legendary Greek philosopher who drank hemlock poison after being condemned to death in Athens in 399 BC.

Answer:Socrates

Note:Teacher of Plato, pioneer of Western ethics.

The Greek warrior city-state famous for its 300 soldiers who held off the Persian army at Thermopylae.

Answer:Sparta

Note:Led by King Leonidas in 480 BC.

The ancient blind poet traditionally credited with composing the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Answer:Homer

Note:Foundational texts of classical Greek literature.

The Florentine genius who painted the Mona Lisa and designed early concepts for helicopters.

Answer:Leonardo da Vinci

Note:Born in Vinci in 1452, the quintessential 'Renaissance Man'.

The master sculptor and painter who sculpted the marble David and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Answer:Michelangelo Buonarroti

Note:Completed the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512.

The Italian city regarded as the birthplace of the Renaissance, ruled by the wealthy Medici banking family.

Answer:Florence (Firenze)

Note:Home to Brunelleschi, Botticelli, and Machiavelli.

The German craftsman who revolutionized the world around 1440 with the movable-type printing press.

Answer:Johannes Gutenberg

Note:The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed in the West.

The political philosopher from Florence who authored 'The Prince' in 1513.

Answer:Niccolò Machiavelli

Note:Examined the acquisition and maintenance of political power.