D is For Daedalus Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dike

Dikč (I've added here the accent to indicate the correct pronunciation) was born to Themis. Her father was Zeus (no surprise here: Zeus constantly went after any beauty to procreate). Dikč had two sisters: Eunomia (good legislation) and Eirčnč (peace).

Most depictions of Dikč show her as a young woman, carrying a pair of scales on which she would weigh the deeds of men against the commonly accepted morals.

Answer: Danae

Danae was the only child of king Acrisius of Argos. As an oracle prophesied that Acrisius would die at the hands of Danae's son, Acrisius decided to imprison Danae in a (richly furnished) tower. But as usual in such stories, a divine intervention thwarted the efforts of men and the prophecy would come true. In this specific story, Zeus became aware of Danae's beauty. Zeus transformed into a shower of gold, striking through the roof window into Danae's lap. She conceived a son and the prophecy was eventually fulfilled.

Many Renaissance and Baroque painters have eternalised this scene, with a nude Danae receiving a shower of gold. But Titian (1490-1576) added a cunning detail. In his 1553-1554 painting, Danae's servant tries to collect the shower in a piece of cloth.

Answer: Daphne

Daphne was a naiad (river nymph) tending her riparian business, when her beauty caught the attention of Apollo. Apollo started haunting her for a kiss (and more...), but Daphne kept running away. When she was exhausted, she prayed to her father Peneus, and he rescued Daphne's virginity by transforming her into a laurel tree.

Henceforth Apollo would consider the laurel his sacred plant, and that's why many athletic contests had a laurel wreath as first prize.

Answer: Deimos

Ares was the god of war. Out of his marriage to Aphrodite (goddess of love), a pair of twins was born: Phobos (fear) and Deimos (terror). There are not many myths that mention Deimos. According to Hesiod, Phobos and Deimos were the twin drivers of Ares' chariot.

Answer: Demeter

Demeter was one of the twelve Olympian deities, and she was responsible for agriculture. Her daughter was Persephone, whom Hades once abducted on a ride to the Underworld. As Persephone there ate some fruits of the Underworld, she had to stay there eternally.

But Demeter's mourning over Persephone caused all of nature to wither, and so the gods came to a compromise: during the winter months Persephone would dwell in the Underworld and nature would mourn, but the rest of the year she would be on Olympus with her mother Demeter, and nature would rejoice.

Answer: Daedalus

King Minos of Crete is the key figure to the ensuing myth of Daedalus. Minos was married to Pasiphae, and Pasiphae fell in love with a white bull. To Minos' horror, Pasiphae gave birth to a monster half man half bull - the Minotaur. In order to contain the wild Minotaur, Minos called upon Daedalus and requested him to build a large enclosure with many intertwined narrow paths - the famous Labyrinth. But for some reason or another Minos and Daedalus had an altercation, and Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus.

Daedalus was creative enough to escape: he gleaned a number of bird feathers, made four giant wings out of them (two for himself, two for his son Icarus), and glued all together with wax. Daedalus and Icarus took flight and thus escaped King Minos. But when Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax holding together Icarus' wings melted and Icarus fell to his death in the Aegean sea.

Answer: Dysnomia

Dysnomia is a minor character in Greek myth. Those of you who speak Greek, have certainly recognised the words dys ("not", as in dysfunction) and nomos ("norm, law").

Dysnomia was the daughter of Eris (the goddess of discord) and was occasionally seen in the bad company of Lethe (forgetfulness), the Androktasiai (manslaughter), the Pseudo-Logoi (lies), the Makhai (battles), Algea (pains) and Ate (ruin).

Answer: Diomedes

When the Trojan war broke out, several Greek kings gathered to besiege Troy. Among the Greek leaders the most feared fighters were Achilles and Diomedes. Diomedes was the youngest hero amongst the Greek army, but nevertheless he had the most experience in battle. The goddess Athena favoured him above all the other Greeks, and once even volunteered to drive his chariot.

Diomedes' weapons were crafted by Hephaestos himself: a cuirass shining as of pure gold, a broad shield, a sword and a mighty spear. It was this spear that Diomedes wielded against Ares, with an exceptional result: a mere mortal not only taking on an Olympian God in single combat, but also inflicting him severe wounds.

Answer: Deianira

Deainira was a young woman skilled in combat: according to the Bibliotheca by Pseudo-Apollodorus (an early collection of various myths and legends), Deianira "drove a chariot and practiced the art of war". But her training could not defend her against the Centaur Nessus, who fancied her and abducted her. Then Heracles came to rescue Deianira: with a poisoned arrow he shot Nessus. The dying centaur advised Deianira to collect some of Nessus' blood: mixed with olive oil, it would serve as a terrific love potion.

But Nessus had in fact lied to Deianira: his blood was poisoned, and some drops of it would kill anyone on whom it would be applied. Deianira married her saviour Heracles, but soon realised he was an insatiable womanizer. So she followed Nessus' advice: she made a potion and applied it to the tunic Heracles would wear. As soon as he donned the tunic, Heracles' body was devoured by flaming pains. Thus died Heracles.

Answer: Dionysus

The major gods resided on the Mount Olympus. There were twelve of them, but the names differ in the sources available to us. Most lists include: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Aphrodite, and either Hestia or Dionysus.

Dionysus was an eccentric: unlike all the other Olympians, he was born to a mortal mother (Semele) and a god (Zeus, of course - who else?). In one story Semele was pregnant when she requested Zeus to show himself in his full majesty. Semele died upon seeing a god face to face, and Zeus rescued Dionysus by taking him from Semele's womb and sewing him into Zeus' thigh. Thus Dionysus was said to be born twice (once from Semele's womb, once form Zeus' thigh).

Dionysus was the god of wine, and at his festivals the drink was from time to time swallowed beyond limits. As his festivals lead into the theatre competition, Dionysus soon became also the god protector of theatre.