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Quiz about Minor Villains from Greek Mythology

Minor Villains from Greek Mythology Quiz

Ascending difficulty. Subjects obscure but perfect score should be possible for people with (i) thorough basic-level knowledge (familiarity with most myths but without encyclopedic knowledge of names) and (ii) their wits about them. Tough regardless.

A multiple-choice quiz by xaosdog. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
xaosdog

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
55,256

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
3124

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The wrestler Antaeus was the son of: Hint

Aphrodite

Gaia

Hera

Rhea

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Question 2 of 10

2. Procrustes, the lengthener, was killed in his own bed by: Hint

Crafty, brave Odysseus

Crafty, royal Theseus

Crafty, deceitful Aegisthus

Crafty, wrathful Ajax

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Question 3 of 10

3. Three persons contributed to the death of Heracles. The only one of the three not within Heracles' own nuclear family was: Hint

Triple-headed Geryon

Absent-minded Hylas

Demi-equine Nessus

Powerfully-built Phaedra

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which of the following was Pelias' act of villainy? Hint

Sent his nephew on a suicide mission.

Arranged the death of a general whose wife he fancied.

Treacherously murdered a neighboring king.

Threw his daughter into the sea within a wooden chest.

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which of the following dastards killed his own son and had him eaten? Hint

Nestor

Sisyphus

Tantalus

Tiresias

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which of the following was turned into a wolf by Zeus for daring to serve that deity a meal of human flesh? Hint

Anthropophagus, King of Crete

Lupus, King of Corinth

Lycaon, King of Arcadia

Cadmon, King of the Rutulians

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Question 7 of 10

7. How did Sinis, the Corinthian robber, villainously kill travelers passing by on their journeys to the far-flung reaches of the world? Hint

Carnivorous turtle

Vampire horses

Brass club

Pine trees

8. Which of the following was the author of the original 'bellerophontic letter' -- a warrant for its bearer's death (like the one in Hamlet intended for the prince but palmed off on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern)? Hint

Bellerophon

Achilles

Odysseus

Proetus

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Question 9 of 10

9. This profane person and despiser of the gods chopped down a sacred tree and tried to sell his own daughter to feed his appetites, among other deeply discordant acts of villainy: Hint

Erisichthon

Augeas

Lycanthus

Laertes

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Question 10 of 10

10. This man attempted to rape Euridyce, thus causing her death and catalyzing two important mythological sequences: Hint

Orion

Iolus

Aristaeus

Erystheus

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The wrestler Antaeus was the son of:

Answer: Gaia

Antaeus, son of Gaia (Earth) could not be defeated so long as he was touching the ground. Heracles picked him up off the ground, and killed him in the air.

2. Procrustes, the lengthener, was killed in his own bed by:

Answer: Crafty, royal Theseus

Procrustes kept an inn with a short bed and a long bed. Tall travelers slept in the short bed, and their legs chopped off so they could fit it. Short travelers were stretched to fit the long bed.

3. Three persons contributed to the death of Heracles. The only one of the three not within Heracles' own nuclear family was:

Answer: Demi-equine Nessus

Heracles and his wife Deianira needed to cross a {river;} Heracles crossed himself and Deianira was to be carried by the centaur Nessus. Nessus changed his mind and decided to carry her off and ravish her. Heracles shot Nessus with his poisoned arrows.

The dying Nessus told Deianira to save some of his blood, and if she ever suspected Heracles of betraying her love, to put it on his undershirt. When eventually this transpired, Heracles was killed by the poison.

4. Which of the following was Pelias' act of villainy?

Answer: Sent his nephew on a suicide mission.

Pelias was the uncle of Jason; rather than abdicate and give Jason his rightful throne when he came of age, he sent him to retrieve the golden fleece.

5. Which of the following dastards killed his own son and had him eaten?

Answer: Tantalus

Tantalus -- eponymous origin of the word tantalize -- was doomed after his death eternally to feel great hunger and thirst, but never to reach the fruit hanging above his head or the water in the stream beneath him.

6. Which of the following was turned into a wolf by Zeus for daring to serve that deity a meal of human flesh?

Answer: Lycaon, King of Arcadia

Lycaon lends his name to the modern word 'lycanthropy' -- he was history's first werewolf.

7. How did Sinis, the Corinthian robber, villainously kill travelers passing by on their journeys to the far-flung reaches of the world?

Answer: Pine trees

Sinis would bend down trees, then ask passers-by to hold {them;} when they did, he would release and throw them miles in the air. Theseus tricked him into being ripped asunder by two trees Sinis bent down himself. ...It was also Theseus who killed Scion, whose modus operandi was throwing people into the sea to be eaten by his turtle, and Periphetes, a son of Hephaestus, who used a brass club or crutch as his murder weapon.

Heracles stole the four flesh-eating mares of Diomedes as one of his twelve labors.

Answer: Proetus

Proetus was jealous of Bellerophon and sent him to be killed; Proetus' father-in-law, the king, was not quite willing to violate the hospitality laws as egregiously as Proetus wanted, so sent Bellerophon to kill the chimera instead.

9. This profane person and despiser of the gods chopped down a sacred tree and tried to sell his own daughter to feed his appetites, among other deeply discordant acts of villainy:

Answer: Erisichthon

Erisichthon chopped down a sacred tree, committing human murder in the process but also killing a nymph sacred to Demeter. Demeter responded by delivering him to Famine. Famine made him hungry with a big capital aitch. He sold everything for food until he had only his daughter left.

He quickly sold her as well, but Poseidon thought she deserved better so transformed her so she could return to her father. Erisichthon, profane but no fool, made a living out of selling her repeatedly and letting the god help her return, until eventually he died. ...BTW, there is a sort of clue in the phrase 'deeply discordant'; 'Eris' is the goddess of discord, and 'chthonic' refers to the subterranean.

10. This man attempted to rape Euridyce, thus causing her death and catalyzing two important mythological sequences:

Answer: Aristaeus

The death of Euridyce caused Orpheus to enter the underworld in search of her. It also angered certain well-placed nymphs, who arranged for the death of Aristaeus' bees. Seeking the cause of his bees' death, Aristaeus received the advice to force an answer out of Proteus, a minor sea-deity famous for his ability to change his shape.

There followed a famous wrestling match in which Aristaeus hung on no matter what form Proteus assumed, including that of fire.

Source: Author xaosdog

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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