The Ancient Civilizations Quiz

Cats were extremely important to ancient Egyptians. One reason for their high importance comes from the fact that ancient Egyptians worshiped a goddess that was part cat. Known as Bastet, she was a highly respected goddess within the civilization, which made cats just as sacred.

In ancient China, the king of the empire was known as an "emperor." Did you know that at one time, the Forbidden City lived up to its name so closely, that if you saw the emperor on the grounds, you would be killed? Thankfully, the rules around it are much more relaxed nowadays.

The people of ancient Mesopotamia relied on the two rivers to survive. They were used heavily for fishing and irrigation of crops. Both of these elements were very important to the survival of their civilization as a whole.

While there weren't any of the modern board games that we know today in ancient Egypt, the people of this civilization enjoyed their own versions of board games. One game that they played was known as "Hounds and Jackals."

One of the oldest religions in the world is Zoroastrianism. It was practiced in ancient Persia, which was known for being quite accepting under the rule of Cyrus the Great. Despite the many religions within Persia, Cyrus the Great was a follower of this specific religion.

Ancient Greece was ahead of its time in creating a democratic civilization. Unfortunately, this was relatively short-lived as democracy fell just short of lasting almost 200 years. With changes in power brought changes in government.

Kites weren't a toy in ancient China and instead were used for scaring enemies away from the area. One thing you may not have known about them is that the people of ancient China invented them!

The ancient Mayans were extremely smart and had their own calendar system. You may remember the day of Dec. 21, 2012 as the day that the world was thought to end. This was because the Mayan calendar ended on that day, but it turned out to be untrue.

Ancient Greece was known for many unique things, and public baths are one of them. While many of us would rather bathe in the privacy in our own homes, the baths were more than just a place to get clean. They were a common place to meet with others around the area as well.

Once a woman was married in ancient Greece, she could not have anything to do with the Olympic Games. The punishment if they were ever caught watching them was death. Despite this, unmarried women were allowed to attend and watch the historic games.

As in any ancient civilization, many gods were worshiped in Egypt. One important god is known as "Ra" who was recognized as the Sun God. With every sun god comes a moon god, which to the Ancient Egyptians was known as Khonshu.

The ancient Mayans had much different beauty standards, which included modifying their children's skulls. In fact, there is more than just one way that Mayans would change their skulls. To fit the standard, the main goal was to make the skull longer.

The city of Rome had an eternal flame that had to keep burning for the city's sake. To ensure that it kept burning, it was entrusted in the care of the vestal virgins. The Vestal Virgins were brought to the temple that they lived in as children and did their mandatory 30 years of service within.

Inca emperors were picky about what they wore but were especially picky about how many times they wore it. After they wore an outfit, it would be disposed of. It would be safe to assume that the clothing makers were able to stay in business!

Lying was looked down upon heavily by everyone in Ancient Persia and it was possible to be punished for it. If caught lying, your sentence could be as severe as execution as it was thought to be a serious offense.

The Pyramid of Khufu is part of the three pyramids at Giza. It's the largest of the three and was built specifically to house the tomb of Khufu. There was a chamber for the king as well as the queen at different levels of the pyramid.

The city of Tenochtitlan was much more advanced than we might think. They were able to leverage the use of aqueducts to provide themselves clean water, and they even established a mayor within their city.

The Aztecs were a group of intelligent people who were unfortunately called by the wrong name. The civilization called themselves the "Mexica," but the name was changed due to Alexander von Humboldt creating his own name for them. This is how their name came to be the Aztecs.

The highest mountain in Greece is definitely fit for the gods! But only 12 of the Greek gods and goddesses are in power at any one time. Of course, there are many more of them, which make up a total of over 3,000.

The Aztecs realized the importance of education and made sure to enforce it within their civilization. In fact, home schooling was very common for kids until they were about 14 years old.

Saturnalia was similar to Christmas in many ways, but it also spanned six days rather than just one. It was mainly a treat for slaves who got to live for a short time similarly to their masters. Everyone was allowed to celebrate on this special occasion.

Polygamy was a regular occurrence, but the Aztecs only cared about the first wife's wedding ceremony. It wasn't necessarily a money issue, but rather just the custom of marriage at the time.

Sargon of Akkad was a famed ruler in Mesopotamia that created the city of Akkad. Many interesting things came out of the city under Sargon's rule. For example, you were able to get your mail thanks to an established service.

Mesopotamia was a civilization of many firsts, and one of the first laws ever created was one of them. The entire tablet had over 200 laws written on it and its purpose was to eliminate all criminals within the civilization.

Salt doubles as both food and money in ancient Greece and Rome. The two countries had no trouble doing deals with their salt bags. The most common instance of it being used as currency was regarding slaves.

Ancient Mesopotamia was ahead of its time in many ways, such as the forms of communication that it developed. The writing was much different than we know it to be today but overall was used for the same purpose. The Mesopotamian system can be considered a foundation of our modern day writing.

The Incan civilization was known to speak Quechua. The language was spoken, rather than written, and the Incas had other methods of "writing." For example, they used knots as a substitute, which proved to be very effective.

The Mayans were talented dentists who would complete detailed dental procedures that were both medical and cosmetic in nature. Many ancient Mayan skulls have teeth with jade embedded within them. Unfortunately, the freezing we have these days was not available.

What we now know as Iran was once known as Persia and was founded under Cyrus the Great. Despite fighting for territory, he was known to be a great leader who had incredible tolerance, especially when it came to religion.

While many kids today might envy an Ancient Roman for this luxury, it was normal to them. Though they ate on couches, they were located around a table as well. It's important to note that this was usually reserved for the upper class.

Thinking back to "Mulan," you might remember that she had a pet named "Cri-kee," who was a cricket. Many kids in ancient China kept crickets as pets in real life. If you lived during this time period, you may have even participated in your share of cricket fights.

What many may view as witchcraft was something that was highly practiced and celebrated by the ancient Persians. They weren't the only people to practice it, however. Many other ancient civilizations found value in the practice.

Saunas were a large part of the ancient Mayan civilization, but they weren't just used for relaxation as they are today. The most common reason for use was to heal from something, mostly physical ailments.

The Oracle Bone is an important artifact from the ancient Chinese civilization. It shows some of the oldest Chinese writing ever discovered in the world. The writing is actually written on a real animal bone.

Raymi is the name of December in the Inca calendar, which is also a month full of celebration. One of the traditional holidays that was celebrated was called "Inti Raymi," which celebrated one of the civilization's gods.