Mastermind Club
Quiz 2023
Number 3
Mythology
Set by Mel Kinsey
Answers
1/ In Arthurian legend, which knight of the Round Table is usually associated with the tale of the Green Knight?
Gawain
2/ In Hinduism, which deity is known to have ten avatars (forms that he takes to descend to earth to restore the cosmic order), including Varaha the boar, Kurma the tortoise, Rama the prince and Krishna (a deity himself)?
Vishnu
3/ Which god in Norse mythology was invulnerable to every object in every realm, except the mistletoe, which of course killed him subsequently when his brother was tricked by Loki into throwing one at him?
Baldr (Balder/ Baldur)
4/ In mythology, who was the Greek god that granted King Midas the power to turn everything he touched into gold, and who also told the latter to wash his hands in the Pactolus River when he wanted to be rid of the gift?
Dionysus
5/In the classic German legend of Faust, what is the name of the demon sent by the Devil to tempt Faust into exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures?
Mephistopheles
6/ In Greek mythology, who is the Aethiopian princess who was saved by Perseus from the monstrous Cetus?
Andromeda
7/ In Egyptian mythology, the goddess known as Tawaret (Taurt, Taouris etc) is commonly regarded as a benevolent protectress of fertility and childbirth and the inundation of the Nile. As such, it is not surprising that she is usually depicted as having the head of which animal?
Hippopotamus
8/ What is the name of the three-headed dog who guards the entrance to the Underworld in Greek myth?
Cerberus
9/ In Nordic myth. Which goddess of winter married the sea god Njörd (Njörðr), but in the end had to split up because he couldn’t bear to be away from the seas, while she was happier in her mountain home in Thrymheim?
Skadi (Skaði/ Skade/ Skathi)
10/ In Greek and Berber mythology, what is the name of half-giant son of Poseidon and Gaia, who had superhuman strength and was undefeatable as long as he remained in contact with the ground? He was eventually killed when Heracles held him aloft in the air and crushed him with a bear-hug.
Antaeus
11/ The temple that was once located in Ephesus (in present-day Turkey, and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was dedicated to which Greek goddess of hunting?
Artemis
12/ In Norse mythology, what name is given to the group of shield-maidens who served the god Odin and were sent by him to the battlefields to choose the slain who were worthy of a place in Valhalla?
Valkyries
13/ First mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ‘Historia regum Britanniae’ and described as ‘the island of apples called fortunate’, it is the island to which Britain’s legendary King Arthur sailed after his final battle. Name this island.
Avalon
14/ In Greek mythology, which Giant offspring of Uranus and Gaia fought Athena during the Gigantomachy, and was buried under Mt. Etna when she threw Sicily at him? He gives his name to the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, which possesses geyser-like jets at its southern pole as revealed by the Cassini flybys in 2005.
Enceladus
15/ Jupiter’s largest moon Ganymede is named after a cupbearer for the Olympian gods in Greek mythology, but he only got the job after which goddess (a daughter of Zeus and Hera) gave up her duties after she married Heracles?
Hebe
16/ Which deity of Norse mythology wields the hammer known as Mjolnir?
Thor
17/ In Arthurian legend, which knight was the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine, and the only one predestined to achieve the Holy Grail?
Galahad
18/ In Hindu mythology, who is the demon-king of Lanka who has ten heads? The antagonist in the Ramayana, he abducted Rama’s consort Sita, and was ultimately defeated by Rama with the aid of the monkey god Hanuman.
Ravana
19/ Which legendary hero of Norse mythology slew the dragon Fafnir with his sword Gram, and also married the shieldmaiden Brynhildr?
Sigurd/ Siegfried
20/ Sin (in Mesopotamian mythology), Tsukuyomi (Japanese), Chang’e (Chinese), Metztli (Aztec) and Igaluk (Inuit) are all gods/ deities closely associated with what particular aspect of the natural world?
The Moon
21/ In the folklore of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, into which river did the Pied Piper lead the rats and thus drowning them?
Weser
22/ A legendary people of Greek history, the Myrmidons were brave warriors trained and commanded by which mythological hero?
Achilles
23/ In Greek myth, which centaur mentor of young Achilles shares his name with a minor planet, discovered in 1977 orbiting between Saturn and Uranus?
Chiron
24/ In Greek myth, Talos was a bronze automaton created by the god Hephaestus. Circling the island of Crete three times a day, he would hurl rocks and even parts of his own body at any ships that dared to venture near – in order to protect which princess, the mother of King Minos?
Europa
25/ Who was the wife of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae?
Clytemnestra