Question 1

True or false: Pompey was assassinated by Egyptian officials as he stepped ashore in Egypt.

Accepted Answer

True. After fleeing Pharsalus, Pompey landed in Egypt in 48 BCE and was murdered on orders of Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII to curry favor with Caesar.

Question 2

True or false: Pompey once commanded a fleet that cleared the Mediterranean of pirates in just three months.

Accepted Answer

True. In 67 BCE, Pompey was given extraordinary powers and crushed the Cilician pirates in a swift, well-organized campaign.

Question 3

True or false: Pompey’s full name included the title 'Magnus,' meaning 'the Great,' which he inherited from his father.

Accepted Answer

False. Pompey adopted 'Magnus' himself after his African campaigns, possibly inspired by Alexander the Great; his father was not called Magnus.

Question 4

True or false: Pompey’s third wife was Caesar’s daughter, Julia, who died in childbirth.

Accepted Answer

True. Julia was married to Pompey in 59 BCE to seal the First Triumvirate; her death in 54 BCE helped unravel the alliance.

Question 5

True or false: Pompey was the only Roman general to defeat Julius Caesar in a major pitched battle.

Accepted Answer

False. Caesar decisively defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE; Pompey never beat Caesar in a major engagement.

Question 6

True or false: Pompey was originally a close ally of Julius Caesar and served as his chief financial backer.

Accepted Answer

False. Pompey was a political ally in the First Triumvirate, but Caesar was independently wealthy and not financially dependent on Pompey.

Question 7

True or false: Pompey founded the city of Pompeii in southern Italy.

Accepted Answer

False. Pompeii existed long before Pompey; its name likely derives from the Oscan word for 'five,' not from the general.

Question 8

True or false: Pompey was granted a triumph at age 25, before he was legally old enough to hold high office.

Accepted Answer

True. In 81 BCE, the Senate awarded Pompey a triumph for victories in Africa, though he was not a senator—an unprecedented honor.

Pompey Trivia Questions