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1. This constellation represents a mortal queen of Ethiopia whose daughter, Andromeda, was chained to a cliff by Poseidon and attacked by the sea monster Cetus. But she was rescued by Perseus, who slew Cetus, thanks to being rendered invisible by the magic power of Hades' helmet, which he was wearing. Which constellation is the queen's, which appears in the sky either as a W or an M, depending on the time of year?
2. To the Aztecs, Coatlicue was the Mother of the Sun. When a crown of feathers fell on her lap and magically made her pregnant with Huitzilpochtli (the sun), her daughter, Coyolxauhqui, became enraged with jealousy and rallied her 400 siblings to kill Coatlicue. But Huitzilpochtli was born fully armed and took revenge on Coyolxauhqui, then threw her severed head into the sky. What did Coyolxauhqui's head then become?
3. The Lenape, also known as Delaware, people of America's early East Coast, tell the story of seven wise men who eventually grew tired of answering questions of the people in their village. To get away from the village they magically transformed themselves first into stones on the hillside, then to cedars on the mountain top, and finally to stars. Which part of the night sky do the Lenape identify with these seven wise men?
4. For the Greeks, the Garden of the Hesperides produced the magical golden apples which, when eaten, impart immortality. The father of the Hesperides was Hesperus, also known as the Evening Star. But most often today, the Evening Star is equated with a Roman goddess. What do we today most often refer to as "the Evening Star"?
5. The Greeks identify the hero Cadmus as the founder of Thebes. According to one story, Cadmus slew a mighty beast and cast its teeth into the earth, from which many warriors emerged and fought each other. The five survivors of this battle helped Cadmus build the city. Which constellation's original sinuous creature provided the magical teeth that became the warriors?
6. The Maori call New Zealand Aotearoa, "the land of the long white cloud". A similar name, Auahitūroa, belongs to the Maori deity known as the origin of fire. Son of the Sun god, Auahituroa comes from the sky to earth and marries Mahuika, sister of the goddess of death, and together they produce five sons known as the Fire Children. In which celestial form (meaning "long standing smoke") did Auahitūroa come to earth?
7. The sky's third-largest constellation is replete with tales from ancient Greece to aboriginal America regarding the hunt and hunting, from which people are turned into bears and bears into stars. Which constellation is this, which is also associated with wains or wagons?
8. One of the most intriguing feats of magic in Egyptian mythology occurred when Isis gathered the scattered parts of Osiris' body, created a mummy with them, and then induced the mummy to impregnate her with her future son Horus. In the night sky Isis is associated with its brightest star, referred to in other cultures as the Dog Star. Which star is it?
9. In Mesopotamian myth, Apsu and Tiamat were the two primeval deities. The creation epic tells how Marduk, their grandson, destroyed Tiamat in the form of a dragon, using a magical net, the winds, and an arrow. Which planet did the Babylonians (as did the Romans later) equate with Marduk, as their chief deity?
10. Mangala is a Hindu deity associated with the night sky. Two different stories tell of his magical birth. One tells of three drops of sweat from Lord Shiva's forehead falling to earth and producing a child with red skin and four arms. Another tells of six sparks falling from Shiva's eyes producing six children whom Parvati, Shiva's wife, embraces to form one child with six heads. With which heavenly object are these two stories associated?
Source: Author
shvdotr
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
looney_tunes before going online.
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