Potent Potables and Mythology Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wine

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, grape cultivation, winemaking, fertility, and more. He was known as Bacchus in Roman mythology. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Semele and was raised by nymphs after her death. When he was grown, he learned to grow grapes and became the first person to turn them into wine and traveled the world teaching men about this art. Wine soon became a popular drink in those ancient times and was drunk at banquets, festivals, and symposiums. Dionysus, representing the effects of wine, was usually genial and happy but then could become wild and almost dangerous.

Answer: Wine

Yidi is the god of wine in Chinese mythology. He was the brewer who was credited with the invention of wine around 2200 BC, during the reign of Yu the Great. It said that Emperor Yu's daughter wanted to give her father an unparalleled gift and asked Yidi for help.

He experimented with fermentation and created a spicy and delicious drink that is today called wine. When Yidi gave it to Emperor Yu, the ruler did not like the potency of it and Yidi was forbidden to brew again. However, his mark to the world had already been made and he would forever be associated with wine making.

Answer: Wine

Varuni is the Hindu goddess of wine and is also known as Jaladevi. She is the consort of Lord Varuna, who is the deity associated with the sky and the sea. Varuni was formed during the churning of the divine ocean and soon thereafter married Varuna. She lives with him in the Varuna Loka, which is found at the bottom of the sea. Those who worship Varuni will get, for their reward, relief from certain diseases and rains during times of drought.

Her name is also associated with a beverage the gods drank that was a mixture of honey and curd and was highly intoxicating.

Answer: Beer/Ale

A Biersal is a house spirit of German mythology. The stories of the Biersal are rooted from the myths in the Saxony region of that area. The Biersal lives in breweries, inns, and pubs. There it will clean things like mugs, steins, casks, and kegs. However, in return for this work, it must be given its OWN jug of beer. If the Biersal does not get this reward, it will act mischievous and hide important tools of the trade.

Answer: Beer/Ale

Beer was known as the drink of the Sumerian gods and Ninkasi (the goddess of grains and scholarship) became the goddess of brewers and the beer itself. It was said her very spirit infused the beer and her priestesses were among the first brewers. This practice of making beer in Mesopotamia dates back to around 3500 BC and was brewed in "pubs" along the Silk Road.

There is even a hymn to Ninkasi and her recipe that was chanted by the brewers and passed down to their apprentices.

Answer: Beer/Ale

Aegir was mostly known as the Norse God of the Sea, but was also the brewer to the Gods of Asgard and became known as the Norse God of beer and ale. He and his numerous daughters, known as the billow maidens, brewed ale in a huge pot that was given to him by Thor.

It is said that he was linked to brewing because the Norse noted that the foam on the ocean waves looked like the foam on a glass of beer. It is said Aergir is a fun host at parties because the mugs in his home refill themselves automatically.

Answer: Beer/Ale

Mbaba Mwana Waresa is the Zulu goddess of rain, agriculture, fertility, and beer. She lives in the sky in a house full of rainbow colors. It is said that at one time she wanted to find a husband and could not find the right one in the heavens so she came to Africa to find a mortal man.

When he proved himself worthy of her love, she married a man named Thandiwe. However, the other gods were upset she looked to the mortals, so Mbaba invented beer to help bring a strong bond between the two groups of gods and mortals. To ensure the bond stays, she shared the brewing knowledge with humans. Even today, in the Zulu culture, the woman who brews beer skims off part of the froth and offers it to the gods.

Answer: Spirits

Mayahuel is the goddess associated with the maguey plant (also known as agave) and goddess of pulque, which is the alcoholic drink made from it. Mayahuel, it is said, was killed and her bones buried by Quetzalcoatl. In the spot her bones were laid, the first agave plant soon sprouted.

She was known as a goddess of fertility and was called "the woman of the 400 breasts" due to the sprouts on an agave plant and the milky juice the plant produces. She was often seen with many rabbits, who were the gods associated with effects of excessive drinking.

Answer: Spirits

Ogun is a West African spirit of iron and is the patron of metalworkers and of the distillation of rum. He helped the spirits come to Earth and was able to cut through jungles and thickets with his machete. He taught people agriculture and how to make rum from sugarcane. Ogun manifests himself as a big powerful human with fiery eyes and sometimes rides a spotted hyena and carries a cobra.

Answer: Spirits

Inari is a Japanese goddess with influence over rice, tea, foxes, and sake. The most common association with Inari is her relationship with agriculture and the growing of rice. She provides blessing for every rice harvest and her importance flows over to sake, the Japanese alcohol produced from fermented rice, and to rice balls.

Inari is most often seen as female, but is sometimes depicted as an old man carrying rice or of a snow white fox. Inari continues to be a popular deity and even in the mid 1980s there were over 32,000 shrines dedicated to this figure.