Greek Mythology

Question 1

Apollo and Daphne

Answer 1

Apollo falls in love with Daphne, but she wishes to remain a maiden. As Apollo chases her, Daphne’s father, a river god, takes pity on her and turns her into a laurel tree.

Question 2

Prometheus (life, death and Punishment)

Answer 2

Prometheus steals fire from the gods for mankind. Zeus is furious and has him chained to the Caucasus mountains where an eagle tears out his liver each day and it regenerates each night. Eventually, Hercules frees him.

Question 3

Persophone and Demeter

Answer 3

Persephone, daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest), is kidnapped by Hades to the Underworld. Her mother mourns her absence by making the earth cold and barren. Persephone is eventually released, but each year she must return to Hades for one month for each pomegranate seed she ate. During this time the Earth suffers through winter.

Question 4

Cupid and Psyche

Answer 4

Cupid and Psyche fall in love and marry, but he will only visit her at night, and she is not allowed to see him. One night, she drips candle wax on him while trying to peek. Psyche is sent away, but eventually they are reunited.

Question 5

Theseus slays the Minotaur

Answer 5

Theseus, in order to prove himself, convinces his father to let him fight the Minotaur, a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull. He kills it with the help of Ariadne. Theseus forgets to hoist the white sail of victory on his journey home, so his father kills himself.

Question 6

Daedalus and the flight of Icarus

Answer 6

Icarus and his father, Daedalus, try to escape King Minos’s labyrinth on the island of Crete by constructing wings made of feathers and wax. Despite his father’s warnings, Icarus flies too close to the sun, causing his wax to melt. He plummets to his watery death. (Icarian Sea)

Question 7

Echo and Narcissus

Answer 7

Echo, a nymph who angered Hera, can only repeat the last words someone utters. She falls in love with Narcissus, a beautiful man who also falls in love with himself. Echo wastes away except for her voice . Narcissus wastes away staring at his own reflection in a pool and becomes a white and purple flower. (narcissistic)

Question 8

King Midas and the Golden Touch

Answer 8

As a reward for a good deed, King Midas requests the golden touch. He immediately regrets this destructive gift when he can’t eat, sleep, or hug his daughter. He begs to be returned to normal, and he is after a visit to the River Pactolus.

Question 9

Medus (early life, punishment, death)

Answer 9

Athena transforms Medusa into a gorgon, a woman with snakes for hair who can turn men into stone with a glance. Medusa is later killed by Perseus who is aided by winged sandals from Hermes and a shield, invisible helmet, and bag from Athena.

Question 10

The contest between Athena and Arachne

Answer 10

Arachne is a skilled but vain weaver who claims to be superior to Athena. They begin a weaving competition during which Arachne mocks the gods. Athena turns Arachne into a creature able to spin thread forever - the first spider! (Arachnid)

Question 11

Io and Zeus

Answer 11

Zeus changes Io, his faithful lover, into a heifer in an attempt to hide her from his jealous wife, Hera. Hera imprisons Io and assigns Argus, a monster with a hundred eyes, to guard her. Io is later chased by a gadfly until finally returned to her original form in Egypt.

Question 12

The Fall of Phaeton

Answer 12

Phaeton begs for permission from Helios, his father, to drive his sun chariot across the sky. Helios reluctantly agrees. Phaeton careens out of control and Zeus must strike him down with a thunderbolt to save the Earth

Question 13

Artemis and Actaeon

Answer 13

Actaeon witnesses Diana (Artemis) - the goddess of hunting, the moon and virginity - bathing in the woods. She is so upset that she turns him into a stag, and his own dogs devour him as punishment.

Question 14

Death of Achilles

Answer 14

Achilles’ mother dipped her baby in the waters of immortality, but she held him by his heel. No arrow or weapon could harm him until Paris shoots him in the heel during the Trojan War.

Question 15

Sin and Labors of Hercules

Answer 15

In a fit of insanity caused by Hera, Hercules kills his family and must perform 12 labors to earn the forgiveness of the gods. These seemingly impossible tasks take him many years to complete, but he succeeds with the aid of Hermes and Athena. His success earns him the reputation of a great hero.

Question 16

Medea and Jason

Answer 16

A vengeful sorceress, Princess Medea helps her husband, Jason of the Argonauts, capture the golden fleece. When Jason leaves her and marries another, Medea gives his new wife a cloak that sets her on fire. Medea is sent to live in exile and loses her powers.

Question 17

Orpheus and Eurydice

Answer 17

Orpheus, the son of Apollo and Caliope, ventured down to the Underworld to retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice. Hades agreed to free Euriydice on one condition – Orpheus was not to look back at his wife on the walk to Earth. When they were almost home, Orpheus looked back and lost his wife forever.

Question 18

Tantalus

Answer 18

Because Tantalus abuses his privilege of sharing the food of the gods, Zeus punishes him in Hades. Although parched and famished, Tantalus is not allowed to reach the fruit or water that surround him. (Tantalizing)

Question 19

Bellerophon and Pegasus

Answer 19

Bellerophon, a demigod that tames Pegasus, is sent to kill the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion, dragon and goat. Later, Bellerophon flies Pegasus to Mt. Olympus to visit the gods. They are angered and send a gadfly to sting Pegasus causing Bellerophon to endure a crippling fall.

Question 20

Perseus and Andromeda

Answer 20

On his way home from beheading Medusa (with the help of Athena and Hermes’ gifts), Perseus spots Andromeda chained to a rock awaiting a gruesome death by a sea monster. Perseus rescues Andromeda and is rewarded with her hand in marriage.

Question 21

Pygmalion and Galatea

Answer 21

Pygmalion fashions a statue of a woman out of ivory which he then falls in love with and names her Galatea. She eventually comes to life and they marry.

Question 22

Atalanta and Hippomenes

Answer 22

Atalanta challenges her suitors to a footrace and vows to marry the one who defeats her. Hippomenes throws golden apples during the race to distract Atalanta. It works, and he wins the race.

Question 23

Pandora

Answer 23

Pandora is sent to Earth as a punishment because Prometheus stole fire from the gods for mankind. Pandora opens her box and man is plagued with the evils held inside. She quickly closes the box and the only thing left inside is hope.

Question 24

Hephaestos and Aphrodite

Answer 24

Hephaestus, the god of fire and forge and the only disabled god, marries Aphrodite, the goddess of love. She cheats on him with Ares, but Hephaestus catches them in a net and let all of the gods witness their shame.