History trivia
Name an ancient Greek city-state (polis)
Everyone has a first answer to “Name an ancient Greek city-state (polis)”. The game is about the second, the third and the tenth: 107 answers are accepted, ranked by how rarely people think of them.
The obvious answers
These are the answers most people give first. They count, but they barely move you: 10 points each.
- Athens
- Sparta
- Thebes
- Corinth
- Argos
The next answers people reach for
These 15 are known, but not the first thing people say. 25 points each:
- Syracuse
- Megara
- Miletus
- Ephesus
- Rhodes
- Aegina
- Eretria
- Chalcis
- Plataea
- Samos
- Cyrene
- Byzantium
- Massalia
- Tarentum
- Elis
How deep does “Name an ancient Greek city-state (polis)” go?
- The Tip5 answers · 10 ptsAthens · Sparta · Thebes
- Below the Surface15 answers · 25 ptsSyracuse · Megara · Miletus …
- The Deep35 answers · 50 ptsHidden until you play
- The Abyss51 answers · 85 ptsHidden until you play
- Below the Iceberg1 answer · 100 ptsOne legendary answer, waiting in the game
The Deep holds 35 answers starting with A, C, E, G, H, L, M, O, P, R, S and T. The Abyss has 51 more, and one legendary answer waits below them all.
Inside the answer list
- 107 answers in total, 1 of them longer than one word.
- Shortest: “Kos”. Longest: “Apollonia Pontica”.
- C, P and T are the most common first letters; together they start 38% of the answers.
- 16 answers can be typed more than one way: “Marseille” counts as Massalia.
Getting below the surface
- Start with C: 17 of the answers begin with it.
- Athens, Sparta and Thebes are safe but shallow. Aim past them.
- Walk a dynasty in order: the rulers in the middle are rarely named.
Play history trivia nowSee all 107 answers A–Z
Quick answers
- What do most people say for “Name an ancient Greek city-state (polis)”?
- The usual first answers are Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Corinth and Argos. In Icillion they are worth 10 points each, the least of any level.
- How many answers are there to “Name an ancient Greek city-state (polis)”?
- 107 in all: 5 on The Tip, 15 Below the Surface, 35 in The Deep, 51 in The Abyss, and a single legendary answer Below the Iceberg.
- Which answers to “Name an ancient Greek city-state (polis)” are the shortest and the longest?
- The shortest accepted answer is “Kos” and the longest is “Apollonia Pontica”.
- How hard is “Name an ancient Greek city-state (polis)”?
- Hard. It rewards people who know the subject well. It comes up in Free play on Hard and Mixed.
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How deep does your knowledge go?
Seven prompts a day, twenty seconds each. Obvious answers float on the tip of the iceberg; rare ones sink all the way to the trench.
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