Gods, Goddesses, Walnuts and Everything in Between Online Quiz | Humanities

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. One October afternoon, as the rain was hammering down, a Child and Mother ran to take shelter. While they were waiting for the rain to stop, they started to ask each other questions. "Child, do you know why you shouldn't stand under a tree during a thunderstorm?" asked the Mother. "Why?" asked the Child "Because you might be struck by lightning, dear." "Lightning, what nonsense! Who's throwing the lightning mom?" "Depends on who you are. There are many Gods that throw lightning, but the one I'm thinking of right now is the Greek God." Do you know which Greek God the Mother is talking about?

Answer: Zeus

"Ohh...so that's who it is. Mommy! I understand now! But uh... who exactly is Zeus?" asked the Child.
"Well, according to the Ancient Geeks- I mean, the Ancient Greeks, he's the King of all the Gods. And there were quite a lot- which meant that he was actually quite powerful," answered the Mother.

2. "Mommy, can I ask you a question?" asked the Child. "Go ahead dear. Although I probably won't know the answer anyway." "Uh...okay. Well, I've heard lots and lots of stories about the lake monster in Scotland. I wanted to scare my friends, except that I forgot it's name-" "Well, I won't know its name, but you can ask the dear people doing this quiz right now if they know!" Do you know what the lake monster's name is?

Answer: Loch Ness Monster

"I knew it! I knew it!" said the Child. "Thank you so much for reminding me! There have been many unconfirmed sightings of the monster, but most of them have been fakes!"
"So why do you need to scare your friends?" asked the Mother.
"I've forgotten now. Never mind."

3. "You know," said Mother. "There is another famous and well known monster that you could 'scare' your friends with." "What is it mama?" asked the Child. "I forgot its exact name, but I know that it is rumored to live in the Himalayas Mountains, and is often called the Abominable Snowman." "I know! I know! But - but it doesn't look at all like a Snowman mama. Snowmen are white and cute!" Do you know the snowman under discussion?

Answer: Yeti

"I remember a Tintin book about the Yeti," said the Child. "Tintin went to Nepal to rescue a friend whose airplane crashed in the Himalayas. The Yeti found the only survivor - Tintin's friend - and looked after him until Tintin came to the rescue. It was so sad! Just like the King Kong movie!"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to read those comic books! They are bad for your eyes!" scolded Mother.
"Too many times. Forget it mum! Let's get onto the next question!"

4. "Once upon a time in Ancient Greece," said the Mother, "there was a young lady named Persephone..." "Was she pretty?" interrupted the Child. "Yes... very. Anyway, Persephone was abducted by the God of the Underworld..." "Who was he?" asked the Child. Do you know who he was?

Answer: Hades

"Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the Greek Goddess of agriculture and earth. After her abduction, Demeter was so devastated that life came to a standstill. No trees would grow and no flowers would bloom, the world was hungry..."

The Child leaks a few tears

"Because of this Zeus told Hades to give up Persephone, given that she hasn't yet eaten anything from the underworld. However since Hades had tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, she could only stay in the world for six months...and the rest of the time she must be in the Underworld. This is why there is winter and summer!"
"So sad..." said the Child.

5. "You know daughter...I've heard a very scary myth that's actually based on fact," said the Mother. "Do tell..." replied the Child curiously. "This character was based on a true Countess who would kill hundreds of virgin girls and bathe in their blood to keep herself young." The countess was real; who was the literary character based on her?

Answer: Count Dracula

"Mom! That's scary!" said the Child
(Ignoring her daughter) "But vampires aren't invincible. All it takes to kill one is a stake, an onion, holy water, a cross, an angel, Jesus..." listed the Mother.
"Yes, mom, I get the point. But not all vampires and werewolves are bad are they? After all, in the Harry Potter series, Lupin is a good werewolf and..."
"Yes, yes, Lupin is a good guy I'm sure. But that Count was evil!"

6. "I like Indian mythology," mused the Child. "It is very interesting." "Nah...I prefer Greek and Roman," answered the Mother. "I'm sure you'll like Indian too. After all, their culture and history was as rich and old as Greek and Roman." "I guess. Tell me a bit about it." "No, I'll ask you a simple question." "Fine." "What of the following is a main branch of Hinduism?"

Answer: Shaivism

"Well, that was interesting," said the Mother. "You said that it was one of the main branches. What others are there?"
"There are four main branches," answered the Child. "They are Shaivism, Smartism (smarties!), Vaishnavism and Sh-shaktism."
"I see..." said the Mother remotely interested.
"No you don't," sulked the Child. "So I'll only share one more thing with you..."

7. "You know which ancient civilization I particularly liked?" asked the Child. "What?" said the Mother. "I love the Aztecs, not because of their belief in human sacrifices, but because of the founding of their culture and their eventual downfall in the hands of the Spaniards." "I agree that it is interesting," said the Mother. "But unlike you I find the sacrifices really horrible and atrocious. Which god did they do it for?" "Virtually all of them!" said the Child. Which of the following is an Aztec God?

Answer: Quetzalcoatl

"His name means 'feathered serpent', and interestingly enough, Quetzalcoatl was apparently opposed to human sacrifices in some traditions, but preferred animal sacrifices instead," the Child explains.
"So what kind of a God was he?" asked the Mother.
"He is often considered as the God of the Morning Star, as well as many other attributes such as the patron of the priests and the inventor of the calendar. He is also considered to be the God of death and resurrection, because of an Aztec tale in which he burned himself to death after sleeping with a celibate priestess."

8. "Mother, what is the Chimera?" asked the Child. "Have you been watching those Tom Cruise movies again?" answered the Mother, frowning. "Because little girls like you shouldn't be watching that kind of movie." "No mom, I promise I didn't. I was just wondering that's all. I mean... I read it in Harry Potter and was wondering: who actually killed the Chimera?" Do you know?

Answer: Bellerophon

"Bellerophon," explained the Mother, "was a flawed hero. He was exiled for the murder of either his brother or an enemy. He was sent by his harborer Proetus to kill the Chimera, a fierce fire-breathing monster. To do this Bellerophon enlisted the help of Pegasus, a flying horse..."
"Oh cool..." breathed the Child.
"...and together they managed to defeat the Chimera."
"Just like Hercules!" squealed the Child.

9. "You know mother, in the hype surrounding the Ancient Greek and Roman gods, not many people know about the Ancient Asian ones, and there are so many!" mused the Child. "Of course, but I can't really think of one at the moment," replied the Mother. "I know one!" said the Child. "Who is the ruler of the Chinese gods (sort of like Zeus), called 'Heavenly Grandfather' by the children but more commonly known as 'The Jade Emperor'?"

Answer: Yu Huang

"His name, the Jade Emperor, is one of the reasons why the Chinese consider jade to be an important and imperial mineral stone, because it is the stone of their beloved God and Guardian. After all, he was thought to rule both heaven and earth; and the Emperors of China were thought to be his sons (like the Egyptian Pharaoh)."
"Its amazing how similar these beliefs are, despite the distance and time between these Ancient Civilizations," commented the Mother.
"Yes, it is very amazing," agreed the Child.

10. "The rain has stopped," observed the Mother. "Let us ask one last question." "Okay great! Let's make it easy shall we?" replied the Child. "Of course. I'll ask the question though. According to legend, who was killed when his heel was shot with an arrow? This also gave rise to the expression: 'Achilles Heel'- ah ooops..." "Easy mom! Easy! The answer is..."

Answer: Achilles

"Achilles was the hero of the Trojan War, wasn't he mom?" asked the Child.
"Yes dear, he was supposedly invulnerable- except for that heel of his. Oh dear. I gave the answer away didn't I?"
"Doesn't matter. Uh Mom.... I thought we were meant to learn about walnuts. It says so in the title."
"I think it's just what the author put on to attract quiz-doers."
"Oh boo! I like walnuts."
"Don't worry dear, let us go home and I'll bake you a walnut cake."
"Yummy! Okay, bye everyone!"

Note from author: if you want a walnut cake, bake it yourself!

Source: Author elbereth_03

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Gods, Goddesses, Walnuts and Everything in Between Quiz

Follow the footsteps of a Child and Mother as they learn about Gods, Goddesses, Walnuts and everything in between.

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