The Nymphs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Greek

Nymph-like creatures exist in the mythology of many other cultures. However, popular opinion is that they originated with the Greeks. An integral part of Greek mythology, nymphs were mentioned in relation to Zeus, Helios, Hera, Apollo and most of the other Gods, as well as mere men. They were always female, and if they were not inhabiting a particular location, such as a river or forest, they were attendant upon more important deities, such as Artemis, Demeter or Dionysus.

Answer: desert

Other habitats in which nymphs were said to dwell include land and underworld. The five types of nymphs were further divided by their particular function or location.
And, while all nymphs were exceptionally long-lived, they were not immortal, and could be either changed, or killed. In one instance, siding with her father Poseidon in his ongoing feud with Zeus, the naiad Charybdis enraged Zeus to the point that he changed her into a sea monster. As another example, Hamadryads, who lived in and bonded with a particular tree, would die if their tree died.

Answer: blindness

Fortunately, human/nymph encounters were infrequent, as the nymphs inhabited unpopulated areas deep in nature. They could, however, be happened upon by unwary travelers who could be enthralled by their charms. Unpredictable, slightly scary and dangerous, at least part of a nymph's allure was her wildness and sexual freedom.

While nymphs were highly sexual creatures, they also exhibited very playful behavior. When not pursuing their carnal pleasures, they spent much of their time dancing and frolicking with one another. Hylas, a companion of Hercules, was abducted by water nymphs in Mysia, and despite Hercules' search, the young man was never found.

Answer: gods

In Greek mythology there are countless records of gods mating with nymphs. Beginning with the Titans Okeanos (Oceanus) and Tethys, who gave birth to the Naiades, fresh-water nymphs who inhabited the rivers, streams, lakes, marshes, fountains and springs of the earth, gods such as Zeus were tempted to mate with nymphs. One such instance involved Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo and Hermes, and the abduction of the nymph daughters of Asopus.
While not all issue of such unions were immortals, many were, including Pan.

Answer: he spurned her love

Echo was an Oread - a mountain nymph - who sometimes distracted Hera so Zeus could misbehave with the other nymphs. Caught in her trickery, Hera took away Echo's voice, leaving her with only the ability to echo what was said by others. Narcissus was the son of a nymph - Liriope of Thespia. Liriope was told by a seer that her son would live to a good age, so long as he did not know himself.

Unfortunately, he came to know himself all too well when Echo led him to a pool, where he fell in love with his own reflection.

He became so smitten that he couldn't leave it, and died there.

Answer: Early 20th century

While mythology was central to everyday life in ancient Greece, with the advances made in philosophy, education, communication, anthropology and other sciences, myths became more of a cultural heritage than a cultural guide.
By the early 20th century, nymphs had become known as nereids. Originally the classification for sea nymphs, in modern folklore the term 'nereids' came to encompass mermaids, fairies and nymphs.

Answer: satyrs

Satyrs were beings that represented the vitality and power of nature. With the tails of horses or goats, flat or pug noses, goat-ish ears and full beards, satyrs were different from fauns - although later Roman works tend to combine the two beings. Satyrs were closely associated with Dionysus, and usually spent their days in revelry - dancing, drinking and seducing nymphs. Satyrs loved women and wine, and were unfailingly ready for any physical pleasure.

Answer: cyclops

Depending upon whom they mated with, nymph offspring varied widely, from human to giant beasts to immortals. One such being was Polyphemus, the cyclops son of Poseidon and the nereid Thoosa. Polyphemus was the cyclops blinded by Odysseus during Odysseus' journey home following the Trojan War. Cyclopes were single-eyed giants - sons of Uranus and Gaia. Legend has it that Uranus, fearing he might be overthrown by his sons, cast the cyclopes into Tatarus, which was located beneath the underworld. Set free by Zeus, the cyclopes provided Zeus, Hades and Poseidon the weapons they used to defeat the Titans.

Answer: sexually precocious young girls

The first known usage of the term 'nymphet' is the 1612 poem "Poly-Olbion", written by Michael Drayton. In 1955's "Lolita", by Vladimir Nabokov, the protagonist Humbert Humbert describes nymphets as bewitching young girls, between the ages of 9 and 14, whose natures are nymphic (demonic).

The word nymph is the basis for several sexually-related words, including nymphet, nympholept (a man enthralled by a nymphet) and nymphomania.

Answer: No

Nymphomania is a term to describe compulsive hyper-sexuality. While nymphomania was once treated as a mental illness, restricted to the female populace, it has come to be a medically accepted condition in either sex. And, while many people jokingly regard nymphomania as a desired trait in a partner, it is a behavioral disorder in humans. It is best reserved for nymphs!