The Mythology of Volcanoes Trivia Quiz

Answer: vulcan

Vulcan was the Roman god of fire. Depending on which source you read, his forge was located either on the island of Vulcano (off the coast of Sicily), in Mt Etna (on Sicily itself) or in Mt Vesuvius (mainland Italy). As the mythical inventor of smithing and metalworking, Vulcan was said to have made weapons for the other gods on his forge. Ancient Romans believed that when a volcano erupted, it was Vulcan working at his forge.

Answer: Hephaestus

The Greek counterpart to Vulcan, Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera. In one story, it was said that Hera threw him off the top of Mt Olympus in a rage because he was born lame. Despite this, Hephaestus was a superb craftsman and made many wonderful things for his fellow gods including beautiful palaces on the top of Mt Olympus.

Answer: Pele

Legend has it that Pele has a fearsome temper, and when she gets angry, volcanic eruptions result! Another tale tells the story of a quarrel between Pele and her older sister Namakaokahai, which led to the creation of the volcanic Hawaiian islands.

Answer: Mount St. Helens

The name Louwala-Clough means "smoking mountain" and legend has it that the mountain was once a pretty maiden called Loowit. Loowit had two suitors, Wyeast and Klickitat, and she could not decide between them. The two men fought over her, burning forests as they did so.

This angered the Great Spirit Sahale - he smote all three of them and created a mountain where each of them fell. Because Loowit was beautiful, her mountain (Mount St. Helens) was beautiful and snow-covered; the mountain of Wyeast (Mount Hood) stands tall and proud, but the mountain of Klickitat (Mount Adams) seems to bend its head, as if sorrowing over seeing the beautiful maiden covered in snow.

Answer: fuji

The name "Fuji" most likely derives from an Ainu word meaning "fire" or "deity of fire". The Japanese believed that the god was very powerful, so it needed to be placated. A shrine was built at the foot of the volcano in AD 806 in order to keep the mountain from erupting, although it seems that the priests in charge of the shrine didn't do their job terribly well, as Mt Fuji erupted in 864. Over time, the fierce god of Mt Fuji has metamorphosed into the gentler Shinto goddess of Flowering Trees - Konohana Sakuya Hime.

Answer: Popocatapetl

Popocatapetl was a warrior who fell in love with Iztaccihuatl. Iztaccihuatl's father, however, did not favour the match and sent Popocatapetl to war, promising Iztaccihuatl as his bride when he returned. Iztaccihuatl's father lied to her and told her that Popocatapetl was dead, and she died from grief.

When Popocatapetl returned to find his love dead, he carried her up to the top of a mountain and climbed to the top of an adjacent mountain, carrying a torch to keep watch over her. As time passed, snow covered the lovers and formed the two mountains Iztaccihuatl (which resembles a woman lying on her side) and Popocatapetl. Popocatepetl's torch smokes to this day.

Answer: Norse

The Norse god/giant of fire, Surtur, is ruler of a region called Muspell. This region is full of sparks and light and is where all the stars and planets originated. Off the mythology track for a minute, the island of Surtsey (off the coast of Iceland) is an example of an undersea volcano building itself up in layers until it finally breaks through the surface.

Answer: Atlantis

To date, no evidence has ever been found to prove the existence of Atlantis. However, the volcanic Greek island of Santorini erupted violently in 1650 BC, completely destroying the town on the island. This huge eruption mirrors the legend of Atlantis and is possibly the source of the legend. The volcano on Santorini is still active today.

Answer: Kamchatka peninsula

The Kamchatka peninsula is one of the easternmost parts of Russia. Kamchatka natives believed that at night the gomuls hunted whales and returned to the mountain tops with one impaled on each finger. The gomuls then roasted the whales, which was why the volcanoes lit up.

Answer: Pinatubo

Filipino legend has it that the moon god, Apung Mallari, angered the sun god, Apung Suku. Apung Suku flung boulders at Apung Mallari's home, Mt Pinatubo. Apung Mallari's daughter tried to stop her uncle from destroying her home, but was struck down by a boulder.

In grief and despair, Apung Mallari hid himself deep inside Mt Pinatubo, never to be heard from again until the day of June 15, 1991, when Mt Pinatubo erupted catastrophically. Thanks for playing this quiz; I hope you had fun!