Cupid is Stupid Trivia Quiz

Answer: Io

Zeus raised a dark cloud so as to hide his attempts to court the priestess Io from wife Hera. He also took the measure of placing Io under the disguise of a heifer. However, Hera was not fooled by this and she requested that Zeus give her the heifer as a gift - a gesture which Zeus felt obliged to fulfil.

Hera then placed Io under the watch of hundred-eyed giant, Argus, who never allowed more than two of his eyes to sleep at any one time.

Zeus wanted Io to be freed and so sent Hermes, who charmed Argus and then slit his throat, killing him. Hera, outraged at the fact that Io had been allowed to escape, pursued Io all around the world. Io was forced to travel across land and water during this chase - the Ionian Sea gained its name from this mythological figure, as did the Bosphorus (ox passage).

Answer: A merman

The reason for Glaucus' transformation was that he ate a herb which he had discovered had the power to revive fish.

However, Scylla's reaction to Glaucus seemed rather odd, as most accounts tell us that the merman which Glaucus became was not a hideous monster, but rather a dashing and handsome being.

Following Scylla's rejection of him, Glaucus visited the goddess, Circe, to ask if she could intervene. Although Glaucus was thinking more along the lines of removing his love for the nymph, Circe turned Scylla into a disgusting sea monster.

Answer: Leander

Leander was a youth from the town of Abydos. On the opposite shore to Abydos was the town of Sestos and in Sestos lived the maiden, Hero. Leander would swim to Sestos every night to be with Hero, until a tempest caused him to drown. Hero saw his lifeless body wash ashore and so took her own life.

Answer: Pirithous and Hippodamia

The positive attributes of the centaurs are most likely a result of the amicable and respectful relationship between horses and men in ancient Greece. The fact that centaurs were even invited to attend the wedding of a human couple is a fine justification of this.

It is written that the centaur, Eurytion, became drunk at the wedding celebrations and turned violent. The other centaurs followed mindlessly and a riot broke out. This scene has been depicted in several works of art.

Answer: Ariadne

Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, the king whom Theseus and 15 other Athenians were presented to before being sacrificed to the Minotaur, or so it was intended. In fact, Theseus had no intention of being sacrificed, but rather wanted to prove his status as a hero by killing the half-bull monster. This, he believed, would give him the glorious status enjoyed by Hercules after his 12 labours.

Although Ariadne was essential to Theseus' survival, the hero had no interest in returning the love which she had for him. Instead, he left her on the island of Naxos while she slept and he sailed away to continue on his travels.

Answer: Phaedra

The Amazonian queen, Antiope, was stolen by Theseus who made her his bride. This was made much easier due to the attack on the Amazons carried out by Hercules shortly before.

After the death of Antiope, Theseus married Phaedra. Phaedra did love Theseus, but also saw all of the qualities she loved in his son, Hippolytus. Coupled with his youth, Hippolytus came to be adored by his step-mother, who did not take his rejection lightly, as she had him killed. The boy was later revived by Aesculapius.

Answer: Medea

Medea was essential to Jason's survival when facing fire-breathing bulls and skeleton soldiers - two tasks he had to complete in order to obtain the Golden Fleece.

Medea was also able to grant Jason's wish of making his father, Aeson, more youthful so that he could come and celebrate with his son after Jason obtained the fleece. Upon seeing the success of this ritual, the daughters of Jason's usurping uncle, Pelias, asked Medea if she could do the same for their father. Medea pretended to consent, but used the opportunity to kill Pelias.

Answer: A huge wild boar

Melleager was an Argonaut and son of Oeneus and Althea. After his father forgot to make a sacrifice in the name of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt sent a wild boar to the land where the family lived - Calydon.

It had been declared at his birth that if the brand above the fire in the family home were to be consumed by flames, then Melleager would die.

After successfully hunting the enormous boar with the help of Atalanta and several of his fellow Argonauts, Melleager became infuriated after his two uncles tried to prevent him from giving Atalanta the head of the boar. In this rage, Melleager killed his two uncles; the news of this caused his mother to take revenge on him by throwing the brand into the fire, killing him.

Answer: King Minos

Despite having the same name, this Scylla is different from the one mentioned in question 2.

King Minos' affiliation with the Minotaur is due the fact that he was king of Crete - home of the monster.

Despite the power of Minos, Megara did not fall immediately. The reason for this was that to take the city, Minos must possess the purple lock which was kept by Nisus.

Often watching Minos, Scylla fell in love with him and surrendered the purple lock so that she could be with him. Minos, however, saw Scylla as a traitor to her own father and, in disgust, sailed away without the lock. In desperation, Scylla grabbed onto Minos' boat before being struck down by her father, who had taken the form of an eagle.

Answer: Pomona

At first, Pomona's love seemed unattainable as she would not allow a male presence in her gardens.

Vertumnus transformed himself into an elderly lady and so was able to enter the gardens of Pomona. In his disguise, Vertumnus told Pomona about the love he had for her (talking about himself in the third person so as to keep up his disguise). He highlighted how her gardens showed that things depended on each other to live, such as the tree and the vine. Furthermore, he talked about how Venus hated spinsters and eventually convinced the nymph that she should find a partner. At that moment, Vertumnus dropped his disguise and they embraced each other lovingly.