Iota Is For Jason Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ikaros

The Greek name for Icarus is transcribed Ikaros (so using a K instead of C and an omicron instead of U). But as we are so used in English to use the Latin name, I'll stick to that one in this info section. Another reason for preferring Roman orthography over Greek orthography, is that the following myth is only briefly mentioned in extant Greek sources. Ovid's "Metamorphoses" are the main source for what follows.
Icarus was the son of Daedalus (Greek name Daidalos), a renowned architect and craftsman. At the request of King Minos of Crete, Daedalus designed the labyrinth as a prison for the Minotaur, and Icarus helped his father in building it. When Theseus killed the Minotaur, Minos imprisoned Daedalus and Icarus instead in the labyrinth. Daedalus then made feathered wings and attached them with wax, and Daedalus and Icarus flew off. Despite his father's warning, Icarus rose too close to the sun. The heat melted his wax wings and so Icarus fell into the sea, drowning.
The myth of Icarus inspired a famous painting ascribed to Peter Brueghel the Elder, but on this painting Icarus' fall is only a marginal event: the focus of the painting is the farmer ploughing his field and not noticing the drama a bit further.

Answer: Iokaste

The Greek name Iokaste is usually transcribed into English as Jocasta. But I prefer the Greek name, as the following myth is well documented in extant Greek texts.
Iokaste married Laios (Latin transcription Laius), the king of Thebes. Their marriage soon was crowned with the birth of a son. Alas, the Delphi oracle had warned Laios never to procreate, or the consequences would be disastrous: "Your child will kill his father and marry his mother". Laios and Iokaste then decided to pierce the child's foot and let a shepherd leave him behind for wild animals to devour. The shepherd, however, did not execute his king's bidding: he took pity on the child and transferred it to king Polybous of Corinth. The regal couple of Corinth welcomed the child, as they had no natural descendants, and named it Oidipous (Oedipus in Latin) - meaning "swollen foot".
Oidipous grew up as if he were the only son of King Polybous. When he heard of the prophecy by the Oracle, he naturally assumed it was his fate to kill Polybous. In an effort to escape his fate, Oidipous left Corinth in exile. But soon he met Laios and quarrelled with him, eventually stabbing Laios to death. Oidipous then arrived in Thebes, where a Sphynx terrorised the people. Everyone passing had to solve the Sphynx' riddle, and giving a wrong answer would mean immediate death. (Luckily FunTrivia has not such harsh penalties for an incorrect answer...) Iokaste had promised to bestow great wealth on whoever could solve the Sphynx' riddle, and to marry the man who could.
Oidipous did solve the riddle, whereupon Thebes was freed of the Sphynx. And Oidipous then married Iokaste, and they had four children.
The oracle's prophecy thus was fulfilled, and when the truth came out Iokaste hung herself, and Oidipous blinded himself and went in exile.

Answer: Iasoon

Iasoon is the transcription of the Greek name for Jason. As Greek sources are abundant for this myth, I prefer here to use the original name.
Iasoon was born in Thessaly as the rightful heir to the throne usurped by his uncle Pellas. Pellas challenged him: "if you want the throne, present me the Golden Fleece". The Golden Fleece was the skin of a giant ram living in Kolchis (Colchis), at the far end of the Black Sea. Iasoon equipped a ship, manned it with several famous heroes and set out for Kolchis.
After a few adventures (resisting the call of the Sirens, defeating warriors who sprang from a field sowed with dragon's teeth...) Iasoon did obtain the Golden Fleece and married Medea, the princess of Kolchis. But when Iasoon decided to marry someone else, Medea took revenge by killing their two sons.

Answer: Iphigeneia

Don't be puzzled by some orthographies. As the ensuing myths are at length found in extant Greek texts, I prefer the Greek orthography over the Latinization that is usual in English.
Iphigeneia, Elektra and Orestes were the three children of King Agamemnon of Mykenai (Mycene) and Klytaimnestra (Clytemnestra). When Agamemnon gathered his troops to start the Trojan War, he accidentally killed a deer sacred to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Artemis took revenge by eliminating favourable winds, so the Greek troops amassed could not cross the sea to Troy. Kalchas (Calchas), the famous augur, explained to Agamemnon how he had wronged Artemis, and that Artemis demanded a human sacrifice - more specifically, the sacrifice of Agamemnon's eldest daughter.
After long hesitation, Agamemnon accepted this harsh sentence and sent for Iphigeneia to meet the troops in Aulis - allegedly to marry his bravest warrior, Achilles. But when Iphigeneia learnt the true fate that awaited her, she declared herself willing to give up her life according to the will of the gods. Iphigeneia's bravery inspired Artemis to perform another magic trick: at the very last moment Iphigeneia was swapped for a goat, and Iphigeneia ended up on the island of Tauris. There she rose to the position of high priestess of Artemis.
Meanwhile the Trojan war was ended, Klytaimnestra and her lover Aegisthos have killed Agamemnon, and Orestes has avenged his father by using an axe on both perpetrators. Orestes then sails to Tauris, but the inhabitants have sworn to Artemis that they will sacrifice all Greeks landing in Tauris. Iphigeneia as high priestess of Artemis has thus the duty of killing her only brother...

Answer: Iapetos

There are far more Greek texts than Roman ones that mention Iapetos (Iapetus). So I chose here for the Greek orthography.
Iapetos was a Titan, one of the sons of Ouranos (Uranus) and Gaia (Gaea). He had four sons: Prometheus (the cunning craftsman), Epimetheus (simply said a fool), Atlas (too brave for his own good) and Menoitios (Menoetius) - the one who is prone to swift violence.
Although it is not quite Iapetos' doing, he still is credited with creating mankind. It so happened that Iapetos' sons Prometheus and Epimetheus took some clay, formed idols with these pieces of clay, and inspired them with divine breath. So the humans were created.

Answer: Ixioon

In view of the abundance of Greek extant texts, I've preferred here the Greek orthography over the Latin one (so Ixioon instead of Ixion).
Ixioon was a king of the Lapiths in Thessaly. He had forgotten to offer his father-in-law Deioneus a valuable present, so Deioneus retaliated by stealing some of Ixioon's valuable horses. Ixioon then invited Deioneus to a banquet. But as Deioneus arrived, Ixioon pushed Deioneus into a bed of burning charcoal, thus killing him. (Nasty interpreters could use this story to prove Ixioon invented the barbecue).
Ixioon thus had committed a grave crime: premeditated murder was of course a dire offense, but it was severely aggravated by the fact that Ixioon also violated the laws of hospitality. The majority of the Olympian gods ruled that Ixioon should undergo the most severe punishment. Zeus decided to give Ixioon a second chance, and mercifully took him up to Olympus. Once more Ixioon committed a grave infraction on the laws of hospitality, as he lusted for Hera, his host's lawful wife. In a fit of rage, Zeus condemned Ixioon to be bound upon a wheel that would spin around forever. At first the wheel spun in heaven (so Ixioon was burnt by the flaming sun), but later the wheel was transferred to the Tartaros (Tartarus) - the place in the underworld set apart for punishing the most cruel criminals eternally.

Answer: Io

There are so many stories about Io - and some contradict others.
Basically, Io was a beautiful mortal woman, and Zeus lusted for her. But he feared Hera's jealousy, so he first transformed Io into a white cow. He intended to then shapeshift in the form of a bull and have intercourse with Io, but Hera intervened: she asked Zeus for Io as a gift, and then put Argos (Argus) in charge of guarding her constantly. Zeus convinced Hermes to slay Argos and set Io free. But Hera summoned a gadfly to bug Io incessantly, and so Io (still in the shape of a white cow) undertook a very long and tiring journey, ending on the banks of the Nile.
Io's descendants include the people of Libya and Aigyptos (Egypt).

Answer: Iris

Iris was a minor goddess. She is usually portrayed as a winged young girl, dressed in a short dress and with winged boots.
Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and delivered messages among the gods, or to and fro the humans. Sometimes she is described as wearing a multi-coloured coat that leaves a rainbow in the sky, other sources say that she used the rainbow as a means of transport (especially between the earth and Olympos).
She is also known for carrying a water jug, originally filled with water from the underworld river Styx, and to be used to send various persons to sleep. Later myths explained the presence of a water jug because Iris was thought to replenish the clouds with sea water.
In her office as a messenger, she earned the epithet "swift-footed": she did her job remarkably fast.

Answer: Ismene

In view of the abundance of Greek extant texts, I've preferred here the Greek orthography over the Latin one.
Oidipous and his mother Iokaste had four children: the sons Eteokles and Polyneikes, and the daughters Antigone and Ismene. After Oidipous blinded himself and went in exile, Eteokles and Polyneikes agreed to rule Thebes jointly, in alternating years. But Eteokles then kept the power for himself, and exiled Polyneikes.
In the ensuing battle Eteokles and Polyneikes killed each other, and so the rule over the city of Thebes returned to their only living male relative: their uncle Kreoon. This new king of Thebes decided to offer Eteokles a state funeral, but decreed that Polyneikes (as a would-be usurper) must not be buried or even mourned - and every infraction should be punished by death.
This is the start of the drama "Antigone", the theatrical play where we also find some information about Ismene. Antigone judged that it was a divine duty to bury dead relatives, so she decided to perform the rites of burial to Polyneikes. Antigone informed Ismene of her intent, and Ismene was not enthusiastic. While Ismene still wavered between sharing Antigone's or Kreoon's point of view, Antigone went on with her plan. Antigone was found out, and Kreoon sentenced her to death by entombment. Ismene then came forward to share the blame and demanded to be entombed with Antigone, but Antigone refused and encouraged Ismene to live on.

Answer: Idomeneus

Idomeneus was the king of Crete, a direct descendant from king Minos. He led the Cretans in the Trojan war. When Odysseus devised the ploy with the wooden horse, Idomeneus was one of the soldiers hiding in this gigantic horse effigy and thus one of the Greeks who first entered Troy for the final onslaught.
I've not counted for myself the victims of king Idomeneus. One source mentions he killed at least twenty people, including three Amazon women.
When sailing home, Idomeneus encountered a fierce tempest. He prayed to Poseidon for a safe journey home, and had to pledge the sacrifice of the first living being he would see after landing on Crete. But on the Cretan shore he was met by his only son...
The last part of this myth (the tempest and the pledge to sacrifice the first living being) inspired Mozart for the opera "Idomeneo, Re di Creta".