Culture Questions Flashcards
What garment was the symbol of citizenship in ancient Rome?
Toga
What toga was worn by boys?
Toga praetexta
What road ran from Rome to Brundisium?
Via Appia
What was the port city of ancient Rome?
Ostia
What was the main street of the Forum Romanum?
Via Sacra
By what device did the Romans bring water into the city?
Aqueducts
What mountains cap Italy?
Alps
What official was the chief magistrate of the Roman Republic?
Consul
Give the Latin for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
ientaculum, prandium, et
cena
What was the function of a praetor?
Judge
From what port would one leave to sail to Greece?
Brundisium
Upon entering manhood what toga did a young put on?
Toga virilis
Give the Latin and the English for the abbreviation SPQR:
Senatus Populusque Romanus
What were the bundle of rods wrapped around an ax called?
Fasces
What were the ludi circenses?
Chariot races
What good luck charm was worn to ward off the evil eye?
Bulla
What was a woman’s dress called?
Stola
Where would one go to see gladiatorial combats?
Colosseum
What did the Romans call the Mediterranean Sea?
Mare Nostrum
By what river was Rome founded?
Tiber
What temple in ancient Rome was dedicated to all gods?
Pantheon
What was the field of Mars on which the army trained and assembled?
Campus Martius
Name two of the seven hills of Rome:
Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine,
Caelian, Quirinal, Esquiline, Viminal
What sea was to the east of Greece?
Aegean
Name two cities buried by Mt. Vesuvius.
Pompeii, Herculaneum
What was Gaius Iulius Caesar’s praenomen?
Gaius
How is Gaius abbreviated in Latin?
C. (original spelling Caius, from the period before the letters “C” and “G” were differentiated)
What praenomen is abbreviated Ti.?
Tiberius
What December festival provided a model for Christmas?
Saturnalia
What is another name for the Coliseum?
Flavian Amphitheatre
What Roman official built roads, assessed taxes and enforced morality?
Censors
What did the Romans call dessert?
Secunda mensa
What part of the Roman meal was called the antecena?
Appetizer
What part of the Roman house was the triclinium?
Dining room
What toga did a candidate for office wear?
Toga candida
Out of what material was a toga made?
Wool (lana)
Distinguish between mulsa and mulsum:
honeyed water and honeyed
wine
What was the master’s study called?
Tablinum
What were the baths called?
Thermae
In the thermae, what did one do in the apodyterium?
Change clothes
What slave accompanied a boy to school?
Paedagogus
What was the patrician form of marriage called?
Confarreatio
What was the morning call hour when the client met with his patron?
Salutatio
What was the first day of every month?
Kalends
What was the curia?
The senate house
From what civilization to the north of Rome, did the Romans borrow the toga, the arch, and gladiatorial games?
Etruscans
What was the reception room of a Roman house called?
Atrium
What was the courtyard called?
Peristylium
What modern country did the Romans call Hispania.
Spain
What were pictures made from tiny pieces of glass called?
Mosaics
