Madge's Magic Places Trivia Quiz

Answer: Olympus

Madge experienced a perilous landing. The peak of Mount Olympus, Greece's tallest mountain, was covered by cloud as she made her descent. Luckily, none of the gods that call Olympus their home had noticed her incoming. She sneakily took a seat on Zeus' throne and what a view it was!

Parnassus was also an important mountain in Ancient Greece. It was linked to Apollo and the Corycian nymphs, and was thought to be the home of the Muses.

Answer: King Arthur

As Madge wandered through the ruins of Tintagel Castle, the ghosts of medieval England were going about their business. According to legend, Uther Pendragon was in love with a woman named Igerna. Unfortunately, she was already married. Her husband sent her to an impenetrable fortress on the island of Tintagel where Uther wouldn't be able to reach her. Merlin, however, used a potion to transform him. Magically disguised as her husband, Uther visited Igerna and the future King Arthur was conceived.

Answer: Asia

British author James Hilton wrote about Shangri-La in his novel 'Lost Horizon'. Stories about the mystical place go back a lot further, though. Madge wanted to stay forever, and it's no wonder! Shangri-La (one of many of its names) was believed to be a utopia in the Himalayan mountains. The place is steeped in Hindu and Buddhist tradition.

Answer: A rock formation

According to legend, Fionn Mac Cumhail built a causeway from Northern Ireland to the Scottish island of Staffa across the sea. Fionn (a giant) wanted to fight his rival, Benandonner. Fionn used the causeway to reach Benandonner, but when he arrived, he realised that his rival was a much larger giant. Benandonner was asleep, so Fionn went home. When Benandonner awoke, he found the causeway and travelled along it to fight Fionn. Before the giant arrived, Fionn's wife dressed Fionn as a baby. Benandonner saw the 'baby' and fled. If that was the baby, how big must Fionn be?!

Benadonner destroyed the causeway as he ran home. All that was left were the unusual stone structures that Madge wanted to see.

Answer: Volcano

Pele is the goddess of fire in Hawaiian tradition. Kilauea, a volcano in southern Hawaii, was one of the world's most active volcanoes through the 20th and 21st century. According to legend, Pele lives in a crater within the volcano, known as Halema'uma'u.

Madge loves taking trips to see old friends, but next time she visits Pele she'll remember to wear fewer layers. It was hot!

Answer: Uluru

Many local Australian Aboriginal people consider Uluru to be an extremely sacred site. There are lots of stories that explain how it came to appear the way it does, and Old Madge spent time examining the monolith's nooks and crannies. Some of the stones are thought to be the burned remains of Lungkata's body, a greedy lizard who stole a hunter's kill and lied about it.

The hunter started a fire that killed the lizard as it tried to climb Uluru's steep sides. Lungkata's burning body left permanent marks on the slopes of the monolith as it rolled down.

The lizard's burned body was preserved as a rock at its base.

Answer: Nessie

Loch Ness is the real lake in Scotland purported to be the home of Nessie: the Loch Ness monster. Madge has read St. Columba's biography (565 AD), which details the case of a swimmer being bitten by a creature from the lake. The buzz around the Loch Ness monster began to grow in the 20th century as photos claiming to feature the monster were published in newspapers.

Many of the pictures showing Nessie or her footprints have been dismissed as hoaxes, but if she's real, Old Madge will find her.

Answer: Carpathian Mountains

Tales of undead blood-suckers have been passed down for centuries. They exist all around the world, but the place capturing Madge's interest is Romania. The concept of aristocratic vampires living in castles emerged in the nineteenth century with 'Dracula' and other similar stories. Armed with garlic and an array of other anti-vampire items, Madge is taking a trip through the Carpathian Mountains.

Answer: Islam and Hinduism

According to Hindu tradition, Rama created the tombolo in order to rescue his wife, Sita. She had been abducted by Ravana, a king of demons, and Rama followed their trail to get her back. With the help of an army of apes, he constructed a causeway to reach the island where Sita was being held.

Muslim tradition suggests that the tombolo leads to Adam's Peak, where the first man fell to Earth. In some cases, the bridge between India and Sri Lanka is named after him.

Adam's Bridge, or Rama's Bridge if you prefer, was once wholly above sea level. Now it's mostly under water, yet shallow enough to walk along... as long as Madge doesn't mind getting her skirt wet.

Answer: It's a mythical underwater palace off the coast of Japan.

Old Madge spent days scouring Japanese beaches for a turtle that knew the way to the Dragon King's palace. The legend tells of a man called Urashima Taro. He was a fisher who rescued a turtle from a gang of children. In return for his kindness, the turtle offered to take Taro to Ryugu-jo.

The man sat on the turtle's back and they ventured down to the bottom of the ocean where an extravagant palace stood. Taro didn't realise that one day spent in Ryugu-jo was equal to once century passing on land.