Study Guide 1

Question 1

Put in chronological order:
Age of the 5 Good Emperors, Barracks Emperors, Constantine, Diocletian, the Fall of the Roman Empire, the Flavian Dynasty, the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, Octavian Augustus, the Severan Dynasty, the fall of the roman republic

Answer 1

1. Octavian Augustus
2. The Fall of the Roman Republic
3. Julio-Claudian Dynasty
4. The Flavian Dynasty
5. The Age of the Five Good Emperors
6. The Severan Dynasty
7. The Age of the Barracks Emperors
8. Diocletian
9. Constantine
10. The Fall of the Roman Empire

Question 2

What famous epic poem did Virgil write?

Answer 2

The Aeneid

Question 3

What Ovid and Catallus famous for?

Answer 3

Poetry

Question 4

Which of Ovid’s famous books used Greek myths of transformation as its foundation?

Answer 4

Metamorphoses

Question 5

What was Livy famous for, and what did he consider to be the cure for a sick mind?

Answer 5

Prose history of Rome

The study of history - cure for a sick mind

Question 6

Who was the most famous Roman city planner, architect, and landscape designer?

Answer 6

Vitruvius

Question 7

What is the name of the Roman dynasty that followed Octavian Augustus?

Answer 7

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Question 8

What was the Praetorian Guard?

Answer 8

Bodyguard of the Emperor
Established by Octavian Augustus
5,000-10,000 soldiers
Disbanded by Emperor Constantine

Question 9

Which Emperor made his horse a priest?

Answer 9

Caligula (little soldier’s boots)

Question 10

Who was the first young man to be made Emperor by the Praetorian Guard?

Answer 10

Claudius

Question 11

Which Empress became an avatar for corruption?

Answer 11

Messalina, third wife of Claudius (who murdered her when she was 22)

Question 12

Which Graeco-Roman historian did Shakespeare use to write about Julius Caesar and Mark Antony?

Answer 12

Plutarch (45-120 AD)

Question 13

What did the term “imperator” mean to the Romans? What does its derivative form “emperor” mean to us today?

Answer 13

Commander in chief.

King over kings.

Question 14

Which Emperor ruled during Jesus of Nazareth’s ministry and at his execution?

Answer 14

Tiberius

Question 15

Into which two religions did Judaism split after the execution of Jesus of Nazareth?

Answer 15

Jews (ethnic),

Christians (universalist)

Question 16

Who was Nero’s mother?

Answer 16

Agrippina

Question 17

Who was Nero’s most famous advisor, and what kind of philosopher was he? Name two dramas which he wrote.

Answer 17

Seneca
Stoic philosopher
Oedipus, Phaedra

Question 18

When did the most terrible fire in Rome occur? What did Romans suspect about its origins?

Answer 18

64 AD

Suspected Nero of having it set

Question 19

What famous saying comes from this fire, and what does it mean today?

Answer 19

“Nero fiddles while Rome burns.”

A leader does nothing while that which he is supposed to be leading falls to pieces.

Question 20

Why did Nero order sweeping executions of the Christians?

Answer 20

He was using them as a scapegoat for the Great Fire

Question 21

What two Christian leaders were executed under Nero?

Answer 21

St. Peter (crucified upside down)

St. Paul (beheaded)