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Quiz about Noble Steeds V Literature and Legend
Quiz about Noble Steeds V Literature and Legend

Noble Steeds V: Literature and Legend Quiz


Horses and riders from fiction and mythology. Questions range from 'everyone ought to know it' to somewhat obscure... in my estimation there is a pretty even spread across that spectrum.

A multiple-choice quiz by xaosdog. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
xaosdog
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
75,232
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
10 / 20
Plays
559
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Question 1 of 20
1. Hector, Prince of Ilium, was famous as a breaker of horses. According to Homer, what horses drew his chariot in the battle for Troy? Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. According to Homer, which of the following was the horse who berated Achilles and reminded him that he would soon be dead, through no fault of his horses? Hint


Question 3 of 20
3. Slight thematic stretch here, but let us pass gently on from that troubling fact. Who, according to Homer, was the first man to 'dismount' from the hollow wooden horse which was the centerpiece of the stratagem by which the Akhaian host invaded the city of Troy? Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. According to Hesiod, which of the following was NOT among the horses that drew the chariot of Helios? Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. According to Snorri, what horse was ridden by Nott, Norse personification of 'Night'? Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. According to tradition, what favorite horse of Prince Siddhartha accompanied him when he set out upon his 'Great Renunciation'? Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Which of the following was the more important of the two horses of Cuchulainn? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. According to the Persian epic-poem 'Shah-namah' (the 'Book of Kings'), what faithful steed bore the hero Rustam through so many battles and adventures? Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. According to the Q'ran, which of the following was the warhorse of the archangel Gabriel? Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. What faithful steed bore Spanish hero El Cid into so many battles? Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. On what horse did Sigurd Sigmundsson (called Siegfried in Wagner's 'Ring' operas) ride through the fire to reach Brynhild? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. In the splendid poem 'Gawain and the Green Knight', what horse bore Gawain on his quest to have his head lopped off by the magical knight? Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. What faithful steed bore Orlando through his many adventures? Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. What horse did Tolkien's creation Gandalf ride during the period of the War of the Rings? Hint


Question 15 of 20
15. What horse bore Tolkien's creation Frodo Baggins when he escaped the Ring-Wraiths at Rivendell? Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. What equine invention of C.S. Lewis was the companion and mount of the boy-hero Shasta? Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. What noble beast was the steed of Cervantes' creation 'Don Quixote de la Mancha'? Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. What (in English) was the name of the steed of Cervantes' creation Sancho Panza? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. What horse is the mount and faithful companion of Lucky Luke (a character created by Morris)? Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. According to Christian eschatology, which of the following is a correct list of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the colors of their mounts? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Hector, Prince of Ilium, was famous as a breaker of horses. According to Homer, what horses drew his chariot in the battle for Troy?

Answer: Xanthos, Podargos, Aithos, Lampos

According to Hector, when he urged his team on, his wife Andromache not only fed them sweet grain and wine (whenever they desired), she cared for them more solicitously than she cared for Hector himself. (Each of the wrong answers contains a human character from the Iliad; Nestor and Patroclus are each important characters, for example. Admetus is not such an important character, but I didn't want to make that wrong answer so easy to eliminate, since I noticed some misinformation out there on the web, listing 'Galathe' and 'Ethon' as Hector's horses.)
2. According to Homer, which of the following was the horse who berated Achilles and reminded him that he would soon be dead, through no fault of his horses?

Answer: Xanthos

Xanthos, an immortal horse, was the offspring of the west wind (Zephyros) and of a harpy (Podarge). Balios, his brother, was likewise immortal, but did not get a speaking role in the 'Iliad'.
3. Slight thematic stretch here, but let us pass gently on from that troubling fact. Who, according to Homer, was the first man to 'dismount' from the hollow wooden horse which was the centerpiece of the stratagem by which the Akhaian host invaded the city of Troy?

Answer: Odysseus

The whole stratagem was Odysseus' idea, so it was only fitting that Odysseus got out of the hollow wooden horse first. Sinon was the man who convinced the Trojans he had been kicked out by the Akhaians, and that the horse was safe; Palamedes was a man Sinon claimed had been slain by the Akhaians for being against continuation of the siege of Troy; Neoptolemos was Achilles' son.
4. According to Hesiod, which of the following was NOT among the horses that drew the chariot of Helios?

Answer: Abatos

Abatos (inaccessible) was one of the horses that drew the chariot of Hades. Helios' son Phaethon died as a result of driving his father's sun-chariot and being unable to control the horses.
5. According to Snorri, what horse was ridden by Nott, Norse personification of 'Night'?

Answer: Hrimfaxi

Hrimfaxi means 'rime-mane' or 'frost-mane.' Dagr, personification of 'Day,' rode Skinfaxi, or 'shine-mane.'
6. According to tradition, what favorite horse of Prince Siddhartha accompanied him when he set out upon his 'Great Renunciation'?

Answer: Kanthaka

Siddhartha Gautama, often called 'the Buddha,' renounced his life of riches and set out with his servant and his horse from Kapilavatthu until he had crossed the Anoma River. Then he sent the horse and servant back to his father and became a wandering ascetic.
7. Which of the following was the more important of the two horses of Cuchulainn?

Answer: Grey of Macha

The Grey is called, in some translations, the Roan of {Macha;} Cuchulainn's second horse was Black Sainglend. In any event, the animal was said to have had a 'human' spirit, and remained by the hero's side until the bitter end. Indeed, the Grey was intimately bound up in the prophecies that foretold the hero's death. One of the prophecies was that his three javelins would each slay a king. Exhausted and wounded, Cuchulainn cast the first of the javelins and with it slew ten men.

It was then returned, slaying Laeg, King of Charioteers.

The second javelin was thrown, slaying ten men, and returned, mortally wounding the Grey, King of Horses. Finally the third javelin was cast, slaying ten, and when it was returned it slew Cuchulainn, King of Champions. Black Sainglend took off, but the Grey remained, and defended the hero's body from his enemies until the Battle-goddess Morrigan came to claim him.

The Grey then went to find Conall of the victories, and led him to his master's corpse, where the noble beast finally expired.
8. According to the Persian epic-poem 'Shah-namah' (the 'Book of Kings'), what faithful steed bore the hero Rustam through so many battles and adventures?

Answer: Rakush

The huge spotted horse Rakush was characterized as the strongest war-horse in the world. The horse was an important character in its own right; as just one example: The episode where Rustam unwittingly slept in a lion's den. When the lion returned, Rakush had a long battle with it, eventually killing it.

Then Rustam woke up, and berated his steed for fighting the lion without waking him first.
9. According to the Q'ran, which of the following was the warhorse of the archangel Gabriel?

Answer: Haiz'um

Gabriel rode Haiz'um when he led a squadron of 3,000 angels in the Battle of Badr, said to have been the first important battle in the 'history' of Islam.
10. What faithful steed bore Spanish hero El Cid into so many battles?

Answer: Babieca

According to legend, Ruy Diaz (El Cid) was given the gift of the horse of his choosing from his godfather's stables. The future hero selected an ugly, immature beast, prompting his godfather to expostulate 'Babieca' or 'Simpleton.' The youth selected the insult as the name of his mount, which bore him faithfully until his own death in 1099 at Valencia.

After El Cid's death, pursuant to his final instructions, he was placed upon Babieca's back and his corpse sent charging at the Moors with sword upraised, prompting a mass retreat by the Moors, who thought the hero returned from the dead.
11. On what horse did Sigurd Sigmundsson (called Siegfried in Wagner's 'Ring' operas) ride through the fire to reach Brynhild?

Answer: Grani

(Wagner called Grani 'Grane.') Sigurd had Grani from King Hjalprek. Sigurd's foster-father goaded Sigurd into requesting a horse, which he did. When the request was granted, Odin came disguised to Sigurd and counseled him on how to choose a horse. The method selected was to drive the king's herd into a deep river, so that all but one panicked and returned to shore. Sigurd chose that one untamed horse, after which Odin revealed himself, and told Sigurd that his mount was of the blood of Sleipnir, his own faithful steed.
12. In the splendid poem 'Gawain and the Green Knight', what horse bore Gawain on his quest to have his head lopped off by the magical knight?

Answer: Gryngolet

Gryngolet also appeared in other Arthurian legends. For example, the 'Prose Merlin' related how Gawain acquired the magnificent beast from a Saxon foe in a tourney.
13. What faithful steed bore Orlando through his many adventures?

Answer: Brigliadoro

The name Brigliadoro means 'golden bridle.' The horse was reputed to be swifter than any nonmagical horse in France. Brigliadoro bore Orlando through countless adventures, as related in 'Orlando Furioso' and other legends of Charlemagne and his court.
14. What horse did Tolkien's creation Gandalf ride during the period of the War of the Rings?

Answer: Shadowfax

Shadowfax was a reluctant gift of Theoden of the Rohirrim, broken by Gandalf himself. According to hints in Tolkien's collected and published letters, Shadowfax most likely accompanied Gandalf into the West on the White Ship when the ring-bearers left Middle-Earth, bringing an end to the Third Age.
15. What horse bore Tolkien's creation Frodo Baggins when he escaped the Ring-Wraiths at Rivendell?

Answer: Asfaloth

Asfaloth was the steed of Glorfindel, and was lent to Frodo just for the leg of his long journey that led him to Elrond's home at Rivendell.
16. What equine invention of C.S. Lewis was the companion and mount of the boy-hero Shasta?

Answer: Bree

Bree, or, more properly, Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah, was the Narnian (talking) horse who escaped back to Narnia from Calormen (and enslavement to a Tarkaan lord) with the youth Shasta (who turned out to be an Archenlander prince). Hwin-Hwin was another Narnian horse enslaved to a Tarkaan, but she was the companion and mount of Aravis, a Tarkaan princess. Clover was from 'Animal Farm' and Houyhnhnm was the race of talking horses encountered by Gulliver.
17. What noble beast was the steed of Cervantes' creation 'Don Quixote de la Mancha'?

Answer: Rocinante

Rocinante, a gaunt, skeletal, barely animate horse, was the perfect match for her master.
18. What (in English) was the name of the steed of Cervantes' creation Sancho Panza?

Answer: Dapple

Sancho's donkey Dapple bore him faithfully, if ludicrously, throughout Cervantes' sprawling 'Don Quixote de la Mancha'.
19. What horse is the mount and faithful companion of Lucky Luke (a character created by Morris)?

Answer: Jolly Jumper

From the world-renowned comic book by Morris (Maurice de Bevere). Jolly Jumper is not just the fastest horse in the West, he is also the smartest. Luke would be nowhere without him.
20. According to Christian eschatology, which of the following is a correct list of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the colors of their mounts?

Answer: Conquest (white horse), War (fire-red horse), Famine (black horse), Death (pale horse)

The Greek word usually translated in this context into English as 'pale' is 'chloras.' The Horsemen and their steeds are described in Revelation 6:1-8 of the New Testament or Christian bible.
Source: Author xaosdog

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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