Nines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hercules, Samson and Constantine

The 'Nine Worthies', as they first appeared in print in Jean de Longuyon's 'Voeux de Paon', include: Hector of Troy, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great from ancient times, Joshua, King David, and Judas Maccabaeus of the Bible, and the romantic figures King Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillion.

The Nine Worthies first appeared in English print in William Caxton's preface of Malory's 'Le Morte D'Arthur'. Many references were made to the Worthies thereafter, including incorrect listings, as in Shakespeare's inclusion of Hercules and Pompey in 'Love's Labour's Lost'. I wonder who our three modern 'Worthies' would be, if we had to choose?

Answer: Richard Johnson

In 1592, Richard Johnson assembled his 'Nine Worthies of London', to accompany his 'Seven Champions of Christendom'. The Worthies include: Sir William Walworth, Sir Henry Pritchard, Sir William Sevenoke, Sir Thomas White, Sir John Bonham, Christopher Croker, Sir John Hawkwood, Sir Hugh Caverley and Sir Henry Maleverer. Of course, most of us have never even heard of most of these chaps today...but apparently in their day they were bigger than the Beatles.

This website gives a few more details of their accomplishments: http://www.bartleby.com/81/17626.html

Answer: Baha'i

The nine-pointed star of the Baha'i faith symbolizes the nine great world religions (and/or the nine prophets of those religions). Sometimes there are different versions of the list, but the most common one includes: Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Babi and Baha'i. Sometimes a nine-pedaled lotus flower is used in place of the star, and if you see either one that's a sure sign that you have entered the realm of the all-inclusive Baha'i.

Answer: Vulcan

Based on observations by some astronomers of some slight deviations in Mercury's orbit, it was theorized that an inter-Mercurial planet might exist. However, no planet has ever been discovered within that vicinity despite rigorous searching. Astronomers have not given up on the search for a 10th planet, sometimes referred to as 'Planet X'.

Some scientists speculate that a very large, but nearly invisible object might revolve around the sun at a distance double that of Pluto's orbit. Irregularities in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune have led to this speculation.

The object could very well be a brown dwarf star, a smaller companion of our sun which failed to ignite. In October of 2002 an object half the size of Pluto, called Quaoar, was discovered...but it has yet to achieve 'planet' status.

The search continues...

Answer: Naenadianae

The three correct names (Aganippides, Mnemonides and Castaliae) were applied to the Muses as a result of their association with various places or individuals of Greek myth (Aganippe Fountain, Mnemosyne (their mother), Castalian Spring). A complete list of their epithets can be found at: http://www.bo.astro.it/~biblio/Vultus-Uraniae/attributes.html

Answer: Eunomia, Dike and Eirene

The incorrect trio, Eunomia, Dike and Eirene, were the three Horai (Hours), sisters of the Fates. As for the Muses, if you are further interested in the topic, please try my a'muse'ing quiz, located here: http://www.funtrivia.com/quizdetails.cfm?id=65649

Answer: Valkyries

The name 'Valkyrie' comes from the Norse term 'valkyrja', meaning 'choosers of the slain'. The job of the Valkyries, of whom there were a great number but typically appearing in groups of nine (my list comes from the Wagner opera 'Die Walküre'), was to retrieve the souls of the most worthy warriors who had fallen in battle. The spirits of these warriors would then be escorted to Valhalla...the hall of the dead.

Answer: Idiot

Lewis Terman was the developer of the Stanford-Binet IQ test (an improvement on the Binet test) in 1916. Along with the IQ test, Terman also developed nine levels of IQ based on test scores. They were as follows: genius (140+), very superior (120-140), superior (110-120), average (90-110), dull (80-90), borderline (70-80), moron (50-70), imbecile (25-50) and idiot (0-25). During Terman's time, and for several subsequent decades, the IQ test was used to promote a controversial and societal-wide 'mental meritocracy' (in the full spirit of eugenics) that sadly led to some intellectual stratification.

The Stanford-Binet test has declined in prominence as a credible method of sub-dividing members of society, though modified forms of the test are still used to determine the elusive 'intelligence quotient'. Happily, the nine IQ levels have also declined in usage, particularly the lower echelon terms that seem quite embarrassing in the modern day!

Answer: Plutarch

Plutarch's 'Lives' stands out as one of the fantastic works of ancient historical literature. Plutarch includes biographies on five Greeks (Themistocles, Pericles, Aristides, Demosthenes and Alcibiades) and four Romans (Cariolanus, Cicero, Caesar and Antony), along with several critical comparative chapters. Plutarch's work serves as a significant source for several Shakespeare plays...can you guess which ones?

Answer: The Childrens' Crusade

In chronological order, 'The Childrens' Crusade' would be listed as fifth, and in many modern works of history this is indeed so. Estimates place the number of deaths during The Childrens' Crusade (aka 'The Slaughter of the Innocents') at between 40 and 50 thousand.

Many of the children died in shipwrecks, of disease, of starvation, while a number of others were sold into slavery once they reached the 'holy land'. On that happy note, I leave you...thank you for having tried this quiz, I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please have a look at my other 'by the numbers' quizzes!