Get app
Step back into the ancient Mediterranean and test your knowledge of Cleopatra VII. Separate the historical facts from the Hollywood myths surrounding Egypt's legendary last queen.
Papyrus Novice 0–4 · Palace Scholar 5–8 · Nile Sovereign 9–10
Tap the right answer
Elizabeth Taylor starred in the 1963 epic, which became famous for its incredible budget that nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. Her lavish costumes and off-screen romance with co-star Richard Burton made global headlines.
Photo: After Howard Terpning, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Tap the right answer
Cleopatra spent her life in the glittering capital of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great. Today, much of her royal palace complex lies submerged underwater in the city's eastern harbor due to ancient earthquakes and tsunamis.
Photo: TheEgyptian, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Tap the right answer
Legend says Cleopatra committed suicide by letting an asp, a type of Egyptian cobra, bite her. Modern historians suggest she may have actually used a lethal toxic ointment or carried poison in a hollow hair comb.
Photo: Ancient Roman painter(s), Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Tap the right answer
The Battle of Actium was the critical engagement where Octavian's forces crushed the joint fleet of Cleopatra and Antony. This defeat marked the end of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and initiated the rise of the Roman Empire.
Photo: Mark Landon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Tap the right answer
Cleopatra belonged to the Ptolemaic dynasty, founded by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Great. Interestingly, she was the first member of her dynasty who actually bothered to learn the Egyptian language, whereas her ancestors spoke only Greek.
Photo: Unknown, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tap the right answer
Cleopatra belonged to the Ptolemaic dynasty, a royal family of Macedonian Greek origin founded by Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Despite her heritage, she was the first ruler of her dynasty to actually learn the native Egyptian language.
Photo: Louis le Grand, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Tap the right answer
Following royal tradition to preserve the dynasty's divine bloodline, Cleopatra married her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. Their relationship quickly turned hostile, sparking a bitter civil war that ended with his defeat and death in the Nile.
Photo: Tangopaso, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Tap the right answer
Despite their popular name, the red granite obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles were created centuries before her reign. One was gifted to London, and the other stands in New York's Central Park, having survived thousands of years of weathering.
Photo: MrsEllacott, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Tap the right answer
Mark Antony presented Cleopatra with 200,000 scrolls from the Library of Pergamum, a major rival to Alexandria's collection. This grand gesture was meant to restock the royal libraries after they suffered fire damage during Julius Caesar's campaigns.
Photo: O. Von Corven, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Tap the right answer
The Uraeus crown featured the Egyptian cobra (or asp), symbolizing sovereignty and divine authority. This sacred serpent is also the species traditionally believed to have caused Cleopatra's death.
Want to make a quiz like this yourself? Do it on Votur, it's free.
Paste the code into your page. The player fits itself in, and every vote counts in Votur.
On WordPress, Ghost or Squarespace? Just paste the link of this page into your post.
This is how it looks
Also fun
