P Is for Poseidon - Not for Phobos nor Psyche Quiz

Answer: Pandora

The first mortal woman in Greek myth was Pandora (translated "the all-giving" or, in a later misconception, "the all-gifted"). Hesiod relates how Hephaestus created Pandora, and all Olympians gave her something. In that way, she earned the title "all-gifted".
The best known of her possessions was a lidded jar (in later translations a lidded box), which she was strictly told never to open. Alas, her curiosity led her to disobey. As she opened the container, various plagues escaped - death, pain, illness, whatever. Only hope remained inside.
Moral of the story? Don't let your curiosity get the better of yourself - and always obey strict orders.
Praxidike was the goddess responsible for exacting justice. Her daughters were Arete (Virtue) and Homonoia (Concord).
Ptocheia was the (female) personification of beggars.
Podarge (literally "fleet-footed") was one of the Harpies, creatures that mix a bird's body with a woman's face. Originally the Harpies were personifications of storm winds, but later they evolved to companions of the Erinyes (avenging spirits).

Answer: Polydeuces

Leda was a mortal woman, married to king Tyndareus of Sparta. Once Zeus desired her (as he did so many other women), disguised himself as a swan and seduced Leda. Leda then produced two eggs, from which four people were born: Helen (daughter of Zeus), Clytemnestra (daughter of Tyndareus), Castor (the mortal son of Tyndareus) and Polydeuces (the immortal son of Zeus). Polydeuces' name was shortened to Pollux by the Romans, and his Roman name is better known as the Greek one. However, as I discuss Greek myth in this quiz, I'll stick to his Greek name.
Helen and Clytemnestra would marry the two most powerful Greek kings: Helen married Menelaus, king of Sparta, while Clytemnestra married Menelaus' brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.
Castor and Polydeuces were excellent horse riders and boxers. They helped Jason and the Argonauts to find the Golden fleece.
Roughly at the time when Paris kidnapped Helen (and thus gave the motive for the Trojan war), Castor and Polydeuces became involved in a fight with their cousins Lynceus and Idas. All but Polydeuces were killed, and Zeus offered him the option to retrocede half of his immortality to his deceased half-brother Castor. Polydeuces consented, and since then the half-brothers alternate between heaven (the Olympus) and hell (the Hades).
Prophasis was the female personification of excuses.
Pelias was the king of Iolcus and sent Jason on his search for the Golden Fleece.
Pirithoos was the king of the Lapiths. When the Centaurs abducted Pirithoos' wife, he tried to marry Persephone - a reckless desire which cost him his life.

Answer: Penelope

When Paris, prince of Troy, kidnapped Helen, wife of Menelaus, a large number of Greek heroes answered the battle call by Agamemnon, Menelaus' brother. So a great host of Greeks left home and landed on the Trojan shores, starting a siege that lasted ten years. Many fine souls were thrown into hell (as Homer described in one of the first verses of the Iliad), and the survivors went home. Odysseus was one of the survivors, but because of a quarrel with Poseidon and Hera, Odysseus and his men roamed the seas for ten more years.
Meanwhile at Odysseus' home (Ithaca) rumours sprang that Odysseus was dead, and over one hundred young men invited themselves into the castle where Odysseus' supposed widow Penelope lived. The many suitors tried to convince her to remarry one of them, but Penelope (convinced that her husband was still alive) stalled them in a cunning way. One of her tricks was to declare that she would announce her choice after finishing a burial gown for Odysseus' father, but at night she undid all the stitches.
When finally Odysseus returned (disguised as a beggar), Penelope challenged the drunken suitors for an archery contest. None but the apparent beggar succeeded in stringing Odysseus' bow, and then the slaughter began. Odysseus with the help of his son, two farmers and the goddess Athena killed all the suitors, revealed his true identity, and they happily lived ever after.
Polyxena was the youngest daughter of King Priam. Pistis was the deity representing faith, trust and honesty. Peitharchia personified obedience. She was married to Soter (the Saviour) and gave birth to Eupraxia (usually translated as "success", although the name literally indicates "good deeds").

Answer: Polyphemus

Polyphemus was one of the Cyclopes. He was the giant son of Poseidon and a sea nymph named Thoosa. Polyphemus lived on an unnamed island, tending his sheep, when Odysseus and his companions stranded there. Instead of extending hospitality to the uninvited guests, Polyphemus started eating some of Odysseus' sailors. Odysseus prepared a sharp stick and gouged Polyphemus' eye, thus escaping with some sailors. Palioxis was the male personification of ebb. Pyrrhichus was one of Zeus' bodyguards, known for a war dance with shield and spear. Periphas was a quite common name in Greek myth: no less than eleven people were thus named. I'll mention just one of them: one of the many people called Periphas wooed Penelope while Odysseus was still at sea.

Answer: Persephone

Persephone was the handsome daughter of Demeter, goddess of harvest. Hades, ruler of the Underworld, desired her as wife, and he abducted her to his realm. Overwhelmed by grief for the vanishing of her daughter, Demeter did no longer tend the plants, and winter came over the land.

The other Olympians decided this was not a healthy situation, so they persuaded Hades to let go of Persephone. Alas, meanwhile Persephone had partaken of the food of the underworld (some pomegranate seeds), and thus she had to return each year for a while to Hades.

The compromise explained the coming and going of the seasons: when Persephone descended to the Underworld, winter set in, but as she returned spring broke and the plants blossomed. Pyroeis was the star associated with the plant Mars. Pasithea was the wife of Hypnos (sleep) and probably protected rest and relaxation. Polymatheia (literally: "many knowledges") was according to one ancient author one of the three Muses. Most sources state there were nine Muses, and Polymatheia would then be an alternate name for Polyhymnia, the protector of sacred poetry.

Answer: Poseidon

Poseidon is indeed the one we're looking for. Neptune is his Roman name and so does not qualify. As he was one of the major gods, Poseidon was the protagonist in many stories. Here are two of them.
When the inhabitants of Attica founded the city of Athens, they were unsure which of the gods should be their domestic protector. Poseidon tried to win votes by offering a spring, while Athena gave the people an olive tree. Alas, the spring created by Poseidon held brackish water, and thus the Atticans chose Athena - not only as their city deity, but even as the name for their city.
Poseidon created the horse or taught men to tame and bridle the horse - sources differ. Anyway, besides his role as sea god, Poseidon also was the god of horses and horse riding. He used to ride the waves in a horse-drawn chariot.

Answer: Pegasus

When the hero Perseus beheaded the monster Medusa, the monster's blood fell on the ground and was transformed into Pegasus and his brother Chrysaor - one being a white horse with wings, the other represented either as a giant with a golden sickle or as a winged boar.
Pegasus thus was one of a kind: a flying horse. Pegasus roamed the earth freely and was never caught, until Bellerophon arrived. With the divine intervention of Athena and Poseidon, Bellerophon succeeded in taming Pegasus, and seated on this flying horse Bellerophon killed the Chimaera - a dreaded monster consisting of lion, goat and snake.
Later on Bellerophon wanted to visit Mount Olympus. Pegasus carried him almost there, but then bucked and threw off his rider.
Polemos was the personification of war. Polybotes was a giant who fought against the Olympian gods. Poseidon picked up the island of Kos and crushed Polybotes under it. Several Greek mythical characters were named Pandion, among others two legendary kings of Athens.

Answer: Peleus

Achilles was the son of Peleus and Thetis. The events leading up to the Trojan war, started at the wedding party celebrating the union of Peleus and Thetis: the goddess of discord was not invited and in revenge she threw a golden apple engraved with the mention "for the fairest" - enough to enrage most of the goddesses present at the party.
Thetis was not Peleus' first wife. He first married Antigone (not Oedipus' daughter but Eurytion's daughter). After having killed Eurytion by accident, Peleus fled to Iolcus, where Astydameia (wife of the local king Acastus) fell in love with Peleus. Peleus refused Astydameia's advances, and she spread some lies leading up to the death of Antigone, Astydameia and Acastus.
With Thetis, Peleus produced seven sons - but only Achilles survived childhood.
Palaemon was a young minor sea-god, portrayed as a child riding on a dolphin's back. Porphyrion was the king of the Giants. When Porphyrion tried to seduce Hera, her husband Zeus killed the giant with a lightning flash. Proioxis was the personification of a fierce attack on the battlefield.

Answer: Panacea

Panacea was one of the daughters of Asclepius, the god of medicine. Panacea was worshiped as the goddess of universal health, while her four sisters dealt with aspects of healing: Hygiaia stressed cleanliness, Iaso protected the recovery from illness, Aceso favoured the healing process, and Aglaea was the goddess of lustre - the result of a fine health.
Panacea also had several brothers, one of them (Podaleirus) skilled in diagnostics, another one a famous surgeon (Machaon).
Panacea used a potent potion to heal the sick. In medieval times alchemists tried to re-create this potion (of which the recipe was not recovered), and they named their concoctions "panacea" - something to cure all.
Penthesilea was one of the queens of the Amazons (female warriors). Pallas was a Libyan companion of Athena, accidentally killed and then replaced by a statue placed in one of Athens' most important temples. Pepromene was one of the many minor beings involved with fate.

Answer: Paris

At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, all the gods were invited - but one, the goddess of discord (Eris). Eris then threw a golden apple on the wedding banquet table, and three of the present goddesses quarreled about who should win this prize (engraved "for the fairest"). After a while, the quarreling goddesses chose Paris as an arbiter. At first, Paris tried to make up his mind between the nude goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, but to no avail. Only when each of the goddesses promised to bribe Paris, he chose Aphrodite - for she promised him the love of the most beautiful mortal woman, Helen.
Alas Helen was already married to king Menelaus of Sparta, and when Paris abducted his prize, Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon rallied the Greeks for revenge on the city of Troy.
During the ten year siege of Troy, Paris was not really a great warrior. He shot an arrow to wound the Greek hero Diomedes, and he fatally wounded Achilles with a poisoned arrow in the heel.
Paris happens also to be the name of the French capital, but the city's name is not derived from the mythological character.