Who's Who: More Mythological Pairs Quiz

Answer: Isis

In Egyptian mythology, Osiris and Isis were both brother and sister and husband and wife; the worship of the deities goes all the way back to the Old Kingdom. Osiris was originally connected to agriculture and Isis appears to have been associated with women and marriage.

But something happened to Osiris which changed the pairs' status. According to the story, Osiris was murdered by his evil brother, Set, who chopped his body into pieces and spread them all over the earth. Isis collected the pieces of Osiris' body and brought Osiris back to life, after which Osiris became the judge of the dead, deciding by weighing the heart against a feather if the deceased was able to go to the afterlife. Isis became known for her magical power, the protector of the dead, and healer of the sick.

Answer: Frigg

Odin and Frigg were the power couple in Norse mythology. The god of wisdom, Odin had many other domains, such as war, battle, poetry, and even healing. He was pictured as being an old man with long white hair and one eye, and was typically accompanied by his wolves, Geri and Freki, or his ravens, Huginn and Muninn.

He also rode his horse, Sleipnir, across the sky. Frigg was the goddess of marriage and motherhood. Friday, or Frigg's Day, was named for her, and many believed it was the best day of the week to marry. Of course, Odin's Day is Wednesday.

Answer: Sita

The story of Rama and Sita is found in the "Ramayana" of ancient India. This, of course, is a brief synopsis. Rama was a brave, handsome prince and Sita was such a beautiful princess that many men wanted to marry her. Her father decreed that any man who could bend Shiva's bow could have his daughter's hand in marriage.

Not only could Rama bend Shiva's bow, he also broke it into pieces! It was love at first sight, and the couple married. When Sita was kidnapped by an evil demon king, Rama searched for her all over the world, and Sita stayed true to her husband until he was able to save her.

Answer: Proserpina

The story of Pluto and Proserpina explained the reason for the seasons of the year for ancient Romans. There is more than one version of the story, but all versions give the same general information. The god Pluto abducted Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, and took her to the underworld. Ceres was so angry that she prevented all the plants from growing and Jupiter had to eventually step in to negotiate a deal.

It was agreed that if Proserpina hadn't eaten anything while she was in the underworld that she would be released.

But wait! As it turned out, Pluto had shared part of a pomegranate with her. Consequently, she could not be entirely freed, but she would spend half of the year with Pluto (during the winter) and half of the year with her mother (during the summer).

Answer: Echo

The story of Narcissus and Echo comes from Roman mythology. Narcissus was a beautiful young man who enjoyed hunting. Echo was a lovely nymph who saw him in the woods and fell in love with him. She followed him and eventually revealed herself to Narcissus, only to be cruelly rejected. Devastated, Echo spent the remainder of her life wasting away until all that was left was the sound of her voice. Narcissus was punished for his thoughtless behavior by the goddess Nemesis, who caused him to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to fall in love with anything else, he also wasted away and became a flower.

Answer: Iztaccíhuatl

While there are many versions of the story from Aztec mythology, they carry the same basic theme. Iztaccíhuatl was a princess who fell in love with Popocatépetl, one of her father's warriors. The two were promised that they could marry after Popocatépetl returned from battle; however, Iztaccíhuatl was led to believe that he had been killed.

She was so filled with grief that she died. When Popocatépetl returned, he was also grief-stricken. While kneeling at her grave, the gods transformed them both into mountains that were covered with snow. Popocatépetl, known as the Smoking Mountain, was a volcano that raged with anger over what had happened. Iztaccíhuatl, known to the Spanish as Sleeping Woman, remained covered in snow.

Answer: Penelope

Odysseus was the wily King of Ithaca who came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, which, of course, finally ended the ten year war between the Greeks and Trojans that was fought over the beautiful Helen. After being away from Ithaca during the ten years of fighting, it took him another ten years to come home to his faithful, patient wife, Penelope.

Many men wanted to marry her as they thought her husband dead; Penelope agreed that after she finished the burial shroud for her husband's father, she would choose one of the suitors.

She worked on it every day and unraveled part of it every night. After her plan was discovered, she said that she would marry the person who could string her absent husband's bow. No one could - except Odysseus, who had returned to Ithaca in disguise. Penelope was overjoyed that her husband was alive, but still felt like there might be some sort of ruse going on. Was this a god in disguise perhaps? She finally believed that Odysseus was her husband when he revealed that part of their bed was a living tree.

Answer: Juno

Jupiter and Juno were originally the Greek gods Zeus and Hera. They were adopted by the Etruscans, who then passed the belief on to the Romans. Jupiter was king of the gods, lord of sky and thunder; Juno was queen of the gods, guardian of women and marriage. Also brother and sister, their relationship was pretty stormy as Jupiter was not particularly faithful and Juno was exceptionally jealous. Together they had four children - Vulcan, Mars, Bellona, and Juventas.

Answer: Brunhild

In Norse mythology, Brunhild was a princess who was both a Valkyrie and a shield maiden. Punished by Odin because she disobeyed, she fell into an eternal sleep and was surrounded by a wall of fire. Sigurd was the hero who rescued her; he kissed her and she awoke from the sleep.

They were set to be married, but Sigurd went on travels, eventually drinking a magic potion which made him forget all about Brunhild, who married another man, Gudrun. Imagine how furious she was when Sigurd, disguised as Gudrun, tricked her into being unfaithful to her husband! She was so angry that she had him murdered.

After realizing that she had caused the death of the one she loved, she threw himself on his funeral fire.

Answer: Nut

In Egyptian mythology Geb and Nut were twins; Geb was the earth god and Nut was the sky goddess. Yes! That is correct! Most mythologies do have the male as the sky god, but not ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians believed the sky was a star-covered woman - Nut - who enclosed the earth - Geb - at night. Because the sun god Ra had decreed that Nut could not have any children during the 360 day calendar year, the couple had children during the five day festival which was at the end of the year. Together they had four (some sources say five) children, including Osiris, Set, and Isis.