Imaginary Creatures Trivia Quiz

Answer: Griffin

Sometimes the Griffin is thought of as king of imaginary creatures, as the lion is considered king of beasts, and the eagle king of birds. Griffins appeared over 3,300 years BC in Ancient Egyptian art. There are frescoes in the Throne Room of the Bronze Age Palace of Knossos depicting Griffins, which go back 1,500 years BC. There is a large bronze sculpture known as "The Pisa Griffin" in Pisa, Italy, that has been there since the Middle Ages.

According to legend, a feather from a Griffin could restore a blind person's sight and its claw contained medicinal properties. The Griffin is also used in Heraldry and is the sign of being strong, bold and courageous.

Answer: Chimera

In legend, the Chimera was a very large fire-breathing female creature made up from parts of other animals. It had the body of a lioness with the head of a goat rising from the centre of her spine and her tail ended in a snake's head.

Answer: Lure it with a virgin

It seems it is impossible to use force to catch a unicorn. The best way it could be done was to seat a virgin in the vicinity where the unicorn was last seen and the unicorn would run to the maid and put its head in her lap and so was easily captured.

Answer: Centaur

According to Greek mythology, Centaurs lived in Thessaly and were the offspring of Ixion, the son of Ares, and a cloud. They also made their way into Roman mythology. A female centaur is called a Kentaurides. Authors CS Lewis and JK Rowling, among others, have used centaurs in their books and they were prominently featured in the Walt Disney production "Fantasia".

Answer: A serpent with several heads

The Hydra reputedly lived in a swamp and had the body of a large serpent with about nine heads. One of its heads could never be harmed by any weapon and if one of its other heads was chopped off, another one would grow in its place. The Hydra's breath was so bad that it could kill a man or an animal.

However, the Hydra was eventually killed by Heracles who chopped off its heads one by one and cauterised the wounds with fire, thus preventing them from regrowing. When only the last head remained, although it could not be harmed by any weapon, Heracles lifted his huge club, bringing it down upon the Hydra's remaining head and crushed it. With his bare hands he tore the head from the body and buried it in the ground, placing a large rock on top.

Answer: The Kraken

Stories of the Kraken go back to the twelfth century, and tell of a huge sea monster that lived off the coasts of Iceland and Norway. Legend had it that the Kraken was so large, it looked like a small island and its long arms could reach to the top of a tall ship's mast.

In later stories the Kraken was much smaller and was then referred to as a giant octopus or squid and was part of the plot of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". The Kraken also appeared in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" motion pictures.

Answer: The ability to cause death with one glance

In legend, the basilisk is sometimes small and sometimes large, but always has a killing glance. Some writers, such as Pliny the Elder, describe a basilisk as "being not more than twelve fingers in length" and he says that it is very venomous. Legend says that it is believed to be the king of serpents because of the crest it has that is shaped like a crown or a mitre.

A basilisk is also mentioned in writings by Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Shelley, Leonardo da Vinci, and Charles Dickens, among others. JK Rowling loosely based the creature that lived in "The Chamber of Secrets" on a Basilisk.

Answer: Gorgons

Medusa's two sisters were named Stheno and Euryale and they were immortal. Greek versions of Medusa described her as being ugly, but later Roman versions, described her as being beautiful. Medusa was caught by Athena with Poseidon, and Athena was so angry she turned Medusa's hair into snakes and if somebody looked at her face the merest sight of it would turn the onlooker to stone.

However, Medusa, not being immortal like her two sisters, was beheaded by Perseus who looked at her reflection in his shield so was not turned to stone. Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon and upon her death, the winged horse, Pegasus, sprang from her body.

Answer: The head of a bull on the body of a man

In Greek legend The Minotaur was a devourer of man and as such was kept in the centre of a labyrinth and every so often young men and women were sent into the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. The hero Theseus volunteered to kill the beast. Ariadne, who was in love with Theseus, gave him a ball of string to find his way out of the labyrinth.

Theseus slew the Minotaur and freed the people who had been last sent to the Minotaur as food.

Answer: Phoenix

According to legend, the Phoenix has a life-cycle of from 500 to 1000 years. The tail plumage, according to differing legends, can be sometimes red and gold or sometimes green, blue and purple. At the end of its life-cycle the Phoenix built a nest of twigs that ignited and both the bird and the nest burned to ashes. Out of these ashes a new Phoenix emerged, thus recommencing the life-cycle.

The Phoenix was renowned for its beautiful song. As well as appearing in Greek mythology, birds very similar to the Phoenix appear in Persian, Lebanese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russia mythology.

The Phoenix is quite often used as a symbol of rebirth, immortality and renewal.