Roman Egypt Quiz!

Caroline and fans at the Petrie 18 Feb 2015

I have just returned from the fabulous Petrie Museum in London, where I was doing a family event about Roman Egypt. The museum put on a Treasure Trail (and everybody got a signed book) but I made a more challenging quiz which I handed out at the end. One of the things I wanted to emphasise was that the Romans thought of Egypt as upside down (from our modern perspective). So here is my ROMAN EGYPT QUIZ, along with the answers (right at the bottom). Bona fortuna! Good luck! 

In Roman times, people though of Egypt as being upside down. In other words you went UP the Nile to go to Nubia, which is in the south! Also, the wind usually blew from north to south and the current flowed from south to north. Those tricky facts (and my map) will help you answer some – but not all – of the following multiple choice questions. But be careful... thinking about upside down Egypt too much might do your head in!

1. In Roman Egypt, during the first century AD, most people spoke: 

a Roman

b Latin

c Greek

d Egyptian

2. The mouth of the Nile resembled 

a the Latin capital letter V

b the Greek capital letter delta (a triangle)

c the hieroglyphic for an eye

d the Latin capital letter O

3. As you travelled upriver in Roman times, the country on the left was known as

a Scotland

b Arabia

c Libya

d Nubia

4. When you see a picture or model of an Egyptian ship with the sail up, it is probably travelling

a upriver

b downriver

c to Rome

d to Alexandria

5. When you see a picture or model of an Egyptian ship with the sail down, it is probably travelling

a upriver

b downriver

c to Rome

d to Nubia

6. In the early Roman Empire (first century AD) the greatest city in Egypt was

a Cairo

b Crocodilopolis

c Aswan (Syene)

d Alexandria 

7. A cataract is a place where the river changes level. How many cataracts would a Roman have found travelling from Alexandria to Nubia? 

a 7

b 70

c 700

d only one, but it marked the border of Egypt and Nubia.

8. In ancient times, the great Pyramids of Giza were covered with 

a dazzling gold leaf

b thin sheets of white limestone

c sticky pitch to discourage climbing

d colourful paintings of the pharaohs

9. In Egyptian wall paintings, which three things show that a figure is meant to be a child?

a wearing nappy, dummy in mouth, no hair

b wearing kilt, open mouth, short hair

c wearing nothing, finger at mouth, one lock of hair over ear

d wearing amulet, sticking out tongue, no hair

10. Which hieroglyph was considered very bad luck:

a the crocodile king

b the anubis dog

c the ankh

d the seth animal

11. Cleopatra VII (the one who liked Caesar and Mark Antony) was not actually Egyptian by background. Her ethnic background was mainly

a Arabian

b Roman

c Greek

d American

12. Speaking of Mark Antony, his actual Roman name was:

a Marcus Antonius

b Marcus Antonius Postumus

c Marcus Antonius Superbus

d Marcus Antonius Ptolomeus

If this post has whetted your appetite for more, check out The Scribes from Alexandria, my Roman Mystery set in 1st century AD Egypt. It's available in paperback, Kindle and abridged audiobook. You might also enjoy my blog posts called Ugly Cleopatra and one called Upside Down Egypt. 

Answers to Roman Egypt Quiz: 1c; 2b; 3b; 4a; 5b; 6d; 7d; 8b; 9c; 10d; 11c; 12a

Upside Down Egypt

by Caroline Lawrence (author of the Roman Mysteries)

The ancient Romans thought of Egypt quite differently than we do today. (Click the map on the right to get a bigger image of upside down Egypt)

The Delta was the fertile triangular area where the Nile branched out to flow into the sea. When you look at Egypt upside down, this triangle resembles the capital letter delta from the Greek alphabet. (In Roman Egypt most people spoke Greek, the lingua franca of the early Roman Empire.)

To a first century Roman, the Delta was Lower Egypt and the Nile Valley was Upper Egypt. If you went 'upriver' you were travelling south and 'downriver' was north.

To an ancient traveller everything on the right bank travelling upriver was 'Libya' and everything on the left bank (the eastern bank) was 'Arabia'.

The current always flowed downriver, from Aswan to Alexandria, but the wind conveniently blew upriver or south. Wherever a ship is shown in Egyptian wall paintings and carvings – or as a model – you can tell which direction it's travelling. If its sail is up, it's probably travelling upriver. If there is no sail, it's probably going with the current, downriver towards Alexandria.

A 'cataract' is the place where a river changes level. It can be anything from some fast water to an enormous waterfall. Traveling from Alexandria upriver, you could sail for over 700 miles before coming to a cataract. The first cataract marked the southern border of Egypt. It was located at Syene (modern Aswan). Beyond the first cataract was Nubia, the Land of Gold.

P.S. To see 12 Fun Facts I learned at Giza, go HERE. And A Day in Old Cairo caused me to come across a sharp-nosed fish, but miss out on seeing a Seth animal. And we visited a Pharaonic Village, too.

Want to read an exciting mystery set in Roman Egypt? The Scribes from Alexandria is out in a new paperback edition now. You can also get it in Kindle format and as an abridged audiobook! (Perfect for primary schools studying Egypt in Key Stage 2.)