Question 1

True or false: Cato the Elder was assassinated by a slave he had mistreated for years.

Accepted Answer

False. Cato died of natural causes around 149 BCE at age 85; his harsh treatment of slaves was a fact, but it didn't lead to his murder.

Question 2

True or false: Cato the Elder once wrestled a bear to prove Roman superiority over Greeks.

Accepted Answer

False. No such event is recorded; Cato despised Greek culture, but his opposition was intellectual, not physical—he mocked Greek philosophers.

Question 3

True or false: Cato the Elder ended every speech in the Senate with 'Carthage must be destroyed.'

Accepted Answer

True. Cato famously concluded every Senate speech with 'Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam,' advocating for the total destruction of Carthage.

Question 4

True or false: Cato the Elder once forced a political rival to drink poison in the Senate.

Accepted Answer

False. This never happened; Cato was known for harsh rhetoric, not direct violence—his rival Scipio Africanus died peacefully in exile.

Question 5

True or false: Cato the Elder was a strict father who taught his son everything from farming to oratory himself.

Accepted Answer

True. Cato personally educated his son, writing textbooks on agriculture, medicine, and rhetoric—a rare hands-on approach for a Roman noble.

Question 6

True or false: Cato the Elder argued against the repeal of the Lex Oppia, a Roman law that restricted women from wearing purple.

Accepted Answer

True. In 195 BCE, Cato the Elder, as consul, famously opposed the repeal of the Lex Oppia, a sumptuary law from 215 BCE that limited women's display of wealth, including purple attire. The repeal passed despite his efforts.

Question 7

True or false: Cato the Elder famously ended many of his speeches with the phrase 'Carthage must be destroyed.'

Accepted Answer

True. Cato the Elder was a Roman senator known for his insistence that Carthage posed a threat, routinely concluding speeches with 'Carthago delenda est,' meaning 'Carthage must be destroyed.' This phrase became emblematic of his relentless campaign.

Question 8

True or false: Cato the Elder wrote the first comprehensive history of Rome in Latin.

Accepted Answer

True. His 'Origines' was the first Latin historical work covering Rome's early days, though only fragments survive today.

Cato the Elder Trivia Questions