It Was the Best of Mythological Times Quiz

Answer: An enormous hall

Valhalla is described as an enormous hall, ruled over by the god Odin. The ceiling of the hall is encrusted with gold shields and the rafters are made of spears. A golden tree stands out front. Usually, entrance into Valhalla is limited to warriors who die a brave death in battle.

Answer: Garden of Eden

"Paradise Lost" is a story about the fall of man and his eventual expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Written in 1667, the book incorporates Greco-Roman influences with Paganism and Christianity. It's definitely a story about the best of times and how they were lost.

Answer: "The New Island of Utopia" by Sir Thomas More

The word "utopia" came into being with the works of Sir Thomas More. It is meant to describe the perfect place existing in the perfect time. Utopia is an interesting word in that the original meaning of the word was "no place" instead of the popular "perfect place" interpretation. Many believe More was using the word as an allegory.

Answer: Aztec

Tamoanchan was the Aztec culture's equivalent of the idea of the Garden of Eden. It was their own personal best of times. They believed only they and their Gods were descended from this land and that they were created from sacrificed blood and ground bones.

The Aztecs are also one of the few religions that believed that the world was started by a female deity, Coatlique, who was responsible for the creation of Tamoanchan.

Answer: trout

Kamui made the ideal world and sat it on the back of a trout so that it could swim away to safety if needed. To the Ainu this was the best of times. The earth was pure and man himself was pure. But they did believe that movement of the trout caused the tides in the sea and earthquakes on the land!

Answer: Buddhism

In the Buddhist religion, emphasis is placed on the future, not the past. Buddhism feels that trying to find out the answer to how time started is an unanswerable question. The religion is less concerned with answering esoteric questions like the origin of the world, and much more attention is paid to the attempt of saving oneself and others from suffering.

This can be done by attaining a state of Nirvana or complete enlightenment. Nirvana definitely sounds like it would be the best of times.

Answer: Greek

To the Greeks, the Elysian Fields were the final resting place of all souls who had been brave and lived a good life. Anthropological linguistics shows that the word "Elysian" was a very obscure word that meant "struck by lightning". The passage of time and geography changed the descriptions of this heavenly paradise often.

But all accounts agree that it was a place of harmony, happiness, health, peace and beauty. It was the best of times.

Answer: mud, wood, maize

In their first attempt to make a man, the gods used mud. But it was soon found that this man was not strong enough and would deteriorate. In the next attempt, man was made from wood. But this man turned away from his gods, was not loyal and had no soul.

The gods destroyed him with a flood. In the final, successful attempt, the gods made man out of maize. This meant he was always growing, was sacred, and was needed by other men. The Mayans believed that they lived in the best of times.

Answer: Sumerian

Published in 1914, the "Eidu Genesis" is a fragmentary clay tablet which dates to the 18th century B.C. It was found in an area of ancient Babylon and was written in ancient Sumerian script. It does contain a deluge myth also. Some scholars believe that the Christian creation myth may have descended from this much older religious tenet.

Answer: Australian Aborigines

The Australian Aborigine culture has many versions of "Dreamtime". This occurs because they were traditionally such a nomadic culture. This belief system is basically a thing of the past as Christianity has taken over. Central to their creation stories is the fact that the world has always been here and was at one time home to supernatural beings who lived underground.

These beings awoke and came above ground, each turning into different kinds of animals. The belief is that these animals could turn into humans at will and than revert back to their original state. Celebrations, festivals, and rituals are acted out all year long to thank and praise these original beings and the sun, moon and stars.