Ancient Greece -- Odd One Out Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aeneas

Aeneas was a Trojan prince, the son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. He survives the Trojan War and his subsequent story is best known from Vergil's epic poem "The Aeneid".

Answer: Pandora

In some myths Pandora was the first woman, created by Zeus to punish men for their acquisition of fire through Prometheus. In one version of the story she was told not to open a sealed jar, but disobeyed and let all sorts of evils loose on mankind. The oldest versions of the myth are found in Hesiod (7th c. BC). Polyhymnia is the Muse of sacred songs, Terpsichore the Muse of the dance, and Calliope the Muse of epic poetry.

Answer: Theseus

Theseus is the son of the sea-god Poseidon and Aithra, a princess of Troizen, although in alternative versions of the myth Theseus' father is Aigeus, king of Athens. The other three are all sons of Zeus.

Answer: Chaironeia

The Persian Wars took place from 490 until 479, when the Persian Empire invaded Greece on three occasions. The key battles were Marathon (490), Thermopylae and Salamis (480), and Plataea (479). Chaironeia took place in 338 and was the battle at which Philip of Macedon defeated the united Greek forces.

Answer: Aristophanes

The great age of Greek drama was the fifth century BC at Athens. The "Big Three" of tragedy were Aeschylus (career: 498-456), Sophocles (468-406), and Euripides (455-407). Aristophanes (career: 427-385), on the other hand, was the best-known comic poet of ancient Greece.

Answer: Poetics

"Poetics" is a treatise by Plato's pupil, Aristotle (lived 384-322 BC), on the nature of poetry, particularly tragedy and epic. "Republic" is Plato's best-known work and describes Plato's thoughts on the ideal society, "Gorgias" a spirited attack on current sophistic thinking, and "Phaedrus" a treatise about the nature of Love.

Answer: Panathenaia

While the Panathenaia was a major competition held every year four years at Athens and featured contests in both athletics and music, it was not considered as one of the canonical Four Panhellenic games: the Olympic Games founded by Heracles at Olympia, the Pythian Games for Apollo at Delphi, the Nemean Games in honour of Zeus at Nemea, and the Isthmian games near Corinth in honour of Poseidon.

Answer: Thermopylae

Thermopylae, a battle of the Persian Wars (480), was a delaying tactic led by Leonidas of Sparta to hold up the Persian land forces while the Athenians attempted to take out the Persian navy. Delion was a Theban victory over Athens in 424, Amphipolis a Spartan victory in 422, and Aigos Potamoi (405) the final decisive victory by Sparta which led to the surrender of Athens the next year.

Answer: Demosthenes

"Companion" was a term given to Macedonian young men who has studied with Alexander under Aristotle and later applied to those who accompanied him on his military conquests. Hephaistion was Alexander's dearest friend and his death, a few months before Alexander's, was a blow from which Alexander never recovered. Ptolemy was allegedly Alexander's half-brother who later became ruler of Egypt. Seleucus after Alaxander's death assumed command of most of the eastern empire. Demosthenes was an Athenian politician violently hostile to Philip and Alexander.

Answer: Apuleius

Apuleius was a 2nd-c. AD writer and philosopher from North Africa and wrote only in Latin. His best-known work is his "Metamorphoses" or "Golden Ass", where the 'hero' Lucius is changed into an ass for much of the story. Lucian was a 2nd-c. AD writer of essays and fantasy, Plutarch a biographer and popular philosopher, and Pausanias a traveller and geographer.