Ten Myths from Ancient Greece

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Who taught viticulture (the cultivation of grapes) and viniculture (the secrets of winemaking) to ancient Athenians? Icarius, an Athenean aristocrat, father of Erigone Erigone, daughter of Icarius Pandion, son of Erichthonius, King of Athens Staphylus, son of Erigone

2. Who "bought" Priam (the well-known King of Troy) from Hercules? Telamon, friend of Hercules, King of Salamis Hesione, daughter of Laomedon Podarces, son of Laomedon Poseidon, god of the Sea

3. What kind of bird was Tereus, King of Thrace, transformed into? A nightingale A hoopoe A swallow A crow

4. Zeus, wanting to punish Phineas, King of Thrace, tortured him using which vicious winged women? Harpies Boreads Argonauts Amazons

5. Palamedes, son of Nauplius, was among other things a famous sculptor. True False

6. There is a well-known myth, concerning Achilles' heel. Achilles was immortal, but his heel was his only vulnerable spot because his mother, Thetis, was holding him by the heel when she submerged him as an infant in the waters of the Styx to immortalize him. Achilles was killed in Troy by an arrow, fired by Paris and guided by Apollo, that struck him at that spot. Many people don't know, though, that there is a second myth concerning Achilles' feet, namely one of his ankles. According to the second myth, Achilles' legendary speed was attributed to his ankle which came from the body of a Gigantas (Giant). Which one? Alkyoneus Damysus Eurytus Enceladus

7. Melampodas (or Melampus) was a famous seer from Pylos. He was the first of a line of seers, who were later called Melampodides. Where did his name come from? His black feet His black chiton (toga) The "black" road he was treading as a seer He was born under a black lamp

8. Deianira was Hercules' wife and she caused the hero's death. Hercules threw himself on a funeral pyre and died, being unable to endure the terrible pain caused by a toxic potion (containing Centaur Nessus' blood) which his wife had poured on a chiton she gave him to wear (which has been known as "the shirt of Nessus"). Which lover of Hercules was Deianira jealous of? Hebe, goddess of Youth Omphale, daughter of Iardanus, Queen of Lydia Iole, daughter of Eurytus, Princess of Oechalia Megara, daughter of Creon, Princess of Thebes

9. Since we're at the topic of lovers, let's talk about one of the most famous mistresses of Greek Myth, the Goddess of Dawn, Eos. The myth states that Eos was a very beautiful and charismatic woman, who soon attracted the attention of Ares, with whom she slept. Upon learning that, Aphrodite jealously cursed Eos, saying that she would live a life full of erotic affairs, but would never find true contentment and happiness. Indeed, the stories about Eos' erotic life are endless. Which of the following was NOT a lover of Eos? Cephalus, the Aeolian Tithonus, son of Laomedon the King of Troy (see Q.2) Memnon, hero and King of Ethiopia Orion, the famous hunter

10. Our final myth concerns Philoctetes, son of Poeas, famous archer and hero of ancient Greece. Philoctetes was the one who lighted the funeral pyre Hercules had built for himself (see Q.8), because nobody else wanted to. Hercules rewarded him by giving him his famous bow and poisoned arrows. Much later, before the start of the Trojan War, Philoctetes was stranded on the island of Lemnos, where he received a wound on his foot. The wound festered and started smelling terribly. He was abandoned on Lemnos for ten years, alone and tortured by his wound. Who eventually healed him? Asclepius, god of Medicine and Healing Apollon, god of Light and the Sun Amphiaraus, King of Argos, famous seer and healer Podaleirius, son of Asclepius