Face It Head-On Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sphinx

The Egyptian sphinx has the body of a lion, a man's head, and sometimes the wings of a bird. Sphinx means roughly, "the terrifying one". The Great Sphinx of Giza is a massive limestone reclining sphinx, whose face resembles the Pharaoh Rhafre. For the Egyptians a sphinx was a guardian. For the Greeks the sphinx wore a female face, and mercilessly ate those who could not answer its riddles.

The "manticore" of Persian lore had a red lion's body and a human head, with shark-like teeth. Sometimes it bore paralyzing spines and dragon wings.

Answer: Siren/Mermaid

The siren comes out of Greek and Middle East mythology. Originally it had a bird body with bird claws and tail, as the unseen singer was assumed to be a bird-like god with a woman's head. Modern legend depicts a fish body with a beautiful female torso and head--akin to the mermaid sailors report seeing at sea.

A siren is said to dwell in the meadow of an island, where she sings a magical song so enticing no man can resist it, and thus he wrecks his ship upon the cliffs and rocks. If he lives he will starve to death, refusing to leave the side of the siren. Irish lore tells of a merrow, a mermaid-like gentle creature with a woman's beautiful torso and head, long green hair, webbed fingers, and greenish scales. Well into the 21st century sailors continue to report sirens and mermaids far out at sea.

Answer: Sirin

The Russian "sirin" is a half-bird creature, most often an owl, with the head and commonly the chest of a human female. Like the Greek siren before it, Russian sirins sing alluring songs, causing all who hear to forget everything and follow them unto death. But the sirin sings of eternal joy and happiness, since it is a resident of the after-world and paradise.

Answer: Penghou

This creature from Chinese legend has the face of a man and the body of a dog. The dog-man is the spirit of a tree, but tastes sweet and may be eaten. Some versions suggest the original penghou was in truth a monkey...a creature in a tree with a man-like face could certainly describe a monkey. But legend calls the thing a dog-man. In Japan the dog-man became a bovine with a man face, or sometimes a man-faced cat, who first appeared to warn a village about a coming epidemic.

Answer: Kusarikku

Kusarikku the bull-man was initially a demon. He was defeated by Marduk, the king of gods, after which Kusarikku morphed into a protective deity. His man-face has bull horns and ears, and he sometimes has wings as well. He is a door keeper, holding back destructive intruders, fighting off evil. He held open the gates of dawn for Shamash, the sun god.

A kamadhenu is a goddess with a cow's body and a woman's head, the wings of a bird and a peacock tail.

Answer: Centaur

A centaur is a horse with the face and torso of, most typically though not always, a human man. Some centaurs have a human torso attached where the horse's neck would be; some attach at the horse's hindquarters, and less often the centaur has human forelegs and hooves. Occasionally a centaur has wings. Whatever its makeup or nature, the centaur persisted in antiquity, and has a powerful place among modern forms of art, literature and media.

Some theorize the ancient "bull-killers" of Thessaly were such skilled riders that horse and man seemed as one, and there the mythology began.

Answer: Yayu

The yayu was a man-eating monster who mimicked the cry of a child. It resembled a dragon, or sometimes a tiger, with a human face. Originally the yayu was a kindly offspring of the Torch Dragon, but then yayu died, and resurrected as a fearsome beast. It was eventually destroyed by Houyi.

Answer: Buraq

A legend coming out of Persia tells of the Buraq. He was a creature with the winged body of a horse, but a human head. Most often bearing a beautiful or handsome male human face, Buraq was said in Islamic mythology to be a white steed from heaven who carried the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and back, called the "Night Journey" in literature.

The angel Gabriel sent the Buraq from the heavens to carry prophets.

Answer: Harpy

The Harpy out of Greek and Roman myth was half human and half bird, typically an eagle. They were sometimes described as beautiful maidens of the wind; yet sometimes called ugly and loathsome. Their task was to abduct and torture murderers, or to punish wrong-doers by stealing their food. But as time passed they were described as female-bird creatures, vile and disgusting, with sharp claws and pale faces, frequently mentioned in literature as vulture-like beings. The name means "swift robbers".

A gamayun and the alkonost of Russia are also bird-women. The alkonost is like a sirin, making such beautiful sounds all who hear abandon their lives and want nothing more than to listen forever.

Answer: Zhulong

Known as a Torch Dragon or Candle Dragon, Zhulong (also Zhuyin) is a giant red deity with a human face and a serpentine body. Its eyes change the day into night; its breathing changes the winds and weather. In some modern versions pronounced zhu, it means shining or bright illumination--a torch.