Unnatural Selection Trivia Quiz

Answer: A bear

The interest Zeus had shown in Callisto developed and she became pregnant with his child. In order to escape the view of his wife, Zeus disguised himself as Artemis, to whom Callisto belonged.

When noticeably pregnant, Callisto was both expelled by Artemis and punished by Hera, who turned Callisto into a bear. When Callisto's son (named Arcas) had grown up, he encountered his mother during a hunt and, unknowingly, killed her.

The sadness of Zeus after this series of events caused him to take Callisto and her son and place them in the sky as the Great and Little Bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor).

Answer: Leto

Leto (or Latona, as she was known in Roman mythology) was forced by Hera to wander thirsty with her newborn twins, Apollo and Artemis. The reason for this was anger on Hera's part, that Zeus had once again had sexual relations with another woman.

The reason for Leto's anger with the men of Lycia was that they refused to let her drink their water. When Leto tried to drink, they stirred up the mud so as to make it undrinkable. Leto exclaimed to the heavens, "may they never quit that pool, but pass their lives there!" and so, they were turned to frogs.

Answer: Birds

Despite the warnings from his wife, Ceyx decided to sail to Claros in order to consult the oracle, Apollo. His wife, Halcyone, was right to try and warn her husband not to go, as his ship was consumed by the sea during a storm and he was killed. It was said that the boat was destroyed by Zeus, who disliked the fact that Ceyx often compared himself to the father of the gods.

It was judged, by Hera, that it was better to deliver the sad news to Halcyone rather than to keep her in the dark as to the fate of her husband. The news was delivered in a dream by Morpheus, son of Hypnos.

Halcyone's grief was so extreme that the gods had pity and allowed both to live as halcyon birds (tree kingfishers). It was said that Aeolus, ruler of the winds and father of Halcyone, would calm the winds of the sea for seven days a year to allow Halcyone to brood over her nest. This gave rise to the expression, "halcyon days".

Answer: Ants

The reason for the fall of Aeacus' kingdom was that its people were struck down with a plague, as a result of Hera's anger over the island (Aegina) being named after one of her rivals.

King Aeacus prayed to Zeus to either let him die with his men or replenish his island. Zeus responded and transformed myrmex ants into what became known as the Myrmidons. The Myrmidons were as hard-working as the ants and so helped rebuild the island.

The men were later offered to Aeacus' ally, King Cephalus, during his war with King Minos of Crete.

Answer: Hercules

Achelous, although a god, was beaten in a fight by the hero, Hercules. The contest was held after Achelous claimed to be a more eligible suitor for the maiden, Dejanira. Knowing that he was not as strong as the demi-god, Achelous changed his form first to a snake and next to a bull. This did not put Hercules off, as he ripped the horn from Achelous' head. This horn became known as "Cornucopia" (the horn of plenty).

Achelous, although proud, was willing to admit that he was bested by Hercules and later told the story to Theseus.

Answer: Golden apples

At a young age, an oracle told Atalanta that marriage would be the ruin of her and so she declared that she would only marry someone who could beat her in a race. Hippomenes was the judge of these contests and, after watching Atalanta, fell in love with her.

The punishment of failing to beat Atalanta in a race was death. Hippomenes knew that he could not beat her under normal circumstances and so asked for help from Aphrodite. Aphrodite gave Hippomenes three golden apples, which he dropped during the race. Atalanta stopped to pick up the golden fruit and so was surpassed by Hippomenes, who won the race and won Atalanta as his bride.

After forgetting to pay tribute to Aphrodite for her help, the goddess turned them into lions. They are often seen in their beastly representations in paintings of Rhea (mother of Zeus).

Answer: Why he had lost his bees

Aristaeus was a beekeeper and son of the water nymph, Cyrene.

He asked his mother what he should do after his swarm of bees had suddenly died. He was told to go to Proteus, who was very wise and would be able to tell him why his bees had died. However, Proteus would not give up information willingly and so would have to be restricted by chains and not released until he spoke. This would be challenging as Proteus, whilst restricted, was likely to transform into terrifying beasts in an attempt to escape.

Aristaeus did this and found that his bees were killed by nymphs who were angry over the death of their companion, Eurydice. He was also told that he should build four altars for the nymphs and should sacrifice four bulls and four cows in their name. He did this and returned nine days later to find a new swarm of bees occupying the carcasses of the dead animals.

Answer: A partridge

Daedalus was originally the teacher of Perdix, who showed great skill by inventing the saw and a set of compasses. Dadalus was well known for his skill and so did not want to be rivalled by anyone. He therefore tried to kill Perdix, who was turned to a partridge by Athena (a goddess who encouraged ingenuity).

The partridge's quality of building its nest fairly close to the ground, thus preventing dangerous falls, is seen to be the link to this myth.

Answer: Leda

Zeus' disguise of a swan was, again, an attempt to sleep with a woman whilst keeping his wife in the dark.

Leda did not give birth to Castor and Pollux live, but laid an egg, from which the twins hatched. Their sister was Helen (of Troy).

Castor was known for his skill with horses and Pollux with boxing. After their travels on the Argo, they entered a war with the brothers Idas and Lynceus - a war which claimed the life of Castor. Pollux later gave his own life to be with his brother. Zeus placed them in the night sky as the constellation, Gemini.

Answer: A grasshopper

Tithonus was son of Laomedon, King of Troy. He was very beautiful and caught the eye of the goddess of the dawn, Eos (or Aurora in Roman mythology). Eos was able to convince Zeus to grant Tithonus immortality, but as he did not have everlasting youth, his hair became white and he became lame. Distraught, Eos locked him away in a cellar. It is thought that his wails can still be heard, even though he cannot be seen.

Their son, Memnon, fought in the Trojan War and was killed by Achilles. It is said that morning dew is the tears of Eos over the loss of her son.