Operatic Greek Myth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eurydice

Jacopo Peri (1561-1633) composed the opera "Euridice" in 1600. It didn't get the success Monteverdi obtained with his opera "Orfeo" (1607). Other composers that have treated the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice are Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787), Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) and Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971).
Thalia, Euphrosyne and Aglaia are the three Graces: daughters of Zeus who symbolise aspects of beauty.
When Eurydice died, Orpheus went to hell to get her back. His music convinced Hades to give Eurydice back, on the condition that he would never look back. Sadly enough he did, losing his wife thus for the second time.

Answer: Ariadne

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was probably the most important Italian composer in the XVIIth Century. He wrote seventeen operas, of which only two are completely conserved. "Arianna", his second opera (composed in 1608), was lost except for the "Lamento" (lamentation). Other composers that have been inspired by Ariadne are Richard Strauss (1864-1949), Nicola Porpora (1686-1768), Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) and Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)
Theseus volunteered to go to Crete as a gift for the Minotaur. He entered the famous Labyrinth, defeated the Minotaur and found his way back thanks to Ariadne's thread.
Galatea was a nymph who inspired Acis and Polyphemus to love her. Polyphemus then crushed Acis with a rock.
Euterpe is one of the nine Muses and is responsible for lyric poetry.
Briseis (the one with the soft cheeks) is a girl that was made a slave during the Trojan War. Achilles hoped that she would be his personal slave. But Agamemnon, leader of the Greek troops, summoned Achilles to give up Briseis. Achilles then had a grudge against Agamemnon and refused to fight any further.

Answer: Achilles

Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) wrote 40 operas. "Le Nozze di Teti e Peleo" and "Ercole Amante" (1662) are his masterpieces.
Nestor was the oldest Greek combatant in the Trojan War. Hence is derived the name for the oldest in any group of people.
Stentor was another Greek in the Trojan War. His voice was as loud as that of fifty other men, and yet quite melodious. We still use his name for an extremely loud voice.
Odysseus was the smartest Greek in the Trojan War. He invented the trick with the Trojan Horse.
Thetis and Peleus are Achilles' parents. As Thetis feared for the life of her son (mothers are always very concerned), she immersed him in the river Styx, thus making him invulnerable (except for the heel by which she held him).
It was at the wedding banquet for Thetis and Peleus that the apple of discord was thrown in, thus starting the Trojan War. Curiously enough, Achilles was to be conceived after the wedding banquet and yet was one of the major combatants in the Trojan War.

Answer: Ithaca

After the Trojan War, Odysseus tried to sail home but lost his way many times. In Sicily he and his men were captured and almost killed by a Cyclops. Odysseus spent seven years at Ogygia, the island of the nymph Calypso. In Scheria, he met Alcinous' daughter Nausicaa.

When Odysseus finally arrived in Ithaca, he disguised himself as a beggar. Many men competed for the love of his wife Penelope, but she would only marry the one who could use Odysseus' bow. He only was strong enough to use this bow, and then used it upon his rivals.

Answer: Argo

There were over fifty heroes that sailed the Argo. Captain was Jason, but he was accompanied by Hercules, Orpheus, Theseus, Castor and Polydeuces and many others. Jason eventually obtained the Golden Fleece, but was killed by his wife.
The Argo is the only mythological ship I've mentioned. All the other vessels are historical ones. The Pinta was one of the ships Columbus (1451-1506) used on his expedition in 1492. Francis Drake (1543-1596) was captain of the Golden Hind. The Beagle was a ship on which Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was passenger in 1831.

Answer: Obtaining the Golden Fleece

Hercules' second task was killing the Hydra at Lerna. This was a serpent with seven heads. The most difficult part of this task relied on the fact that every time one knocked off one serpent's head, two others would appear. Hercules was aided by his nephew Iolaus who cauterized the wounds before other heads would appear.
Hercules' fifth task is probably the most famous: he had to clean the Augean stables, which hadn't been cleaned for many years. Hercules performed this task by damming a river so that it would flow through the stables.
Hercules' eleventh task was picking Hesperus' Golden Apples. According to Wikipedia, he let Atlas do the picking whilst carrying the firmament for a while.
The search for the Golden Fleece was an adventure in which Jason was the protagonist. Heracles and many other heroes played a minor role in this story.

Answer: "For the Prettiest"

Marc'Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) was a Venetian composer. His masterpiece "Il Pomo d'Oro" was composed for the wedding of the German Emperor Leopold with the Spanish princess Margaret.
"Know thy self" is one of the most illustrious pieces of advice in Greek philosophy. It means you have to find the equilibrium between too much and too little in almost any matter.
"And yet it moves" is not a Greek quote, but would have been whispered by Galilee (1564-1642). He had been forced to publicly denounce the heliocentric theory, but would have muttered "Eppur si muove" ("And yet it (the Earth) moves" around the Sun).
"To be or not to be" is of course the famous quote by Hamlet.
The Greek goddess of Discord was not invited to the wedding banquet of Thetis and Peleus. She avenged herself by throwing in a golden apple with the inscription "For the Prettiest", which started a quarrel between three goddesses: Hera, Aphrodite and Athena.

Answer: Circe

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1645-1704) was a French composer, best known for his "Te Deum" (that is used nowadays as the jingle for Eurovision).
Odysseus spent seven years with Calypso at the island of Ogygia.
Scylla and Charybdis were two sea monsters, who dwelled according to most sources near the Strait of Messina. Scylla threatened to eat all travellers that came too close. Charybdis swallowed the sea with all its contents.
During his stay with Circe, Odysseus fell in love with her, which resulted in a healthy son, named Telegonus.

Answer: Phaeton

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) was a French composer of Italian origin who created the French opera out of Italian ballet music.
Pan was a Greek satyr who enjoyed startling everyone by popping up unexpectedly. He was a master playing the pan flute (that derives its name from him).
Hippocrates (about 460 BC - about 377 BC) was the first physician in history. Although a historical person, he was soon to be considered at least a mythological hero. The oath modern physicians have to swear was developed by Hippocrates.
Laocoön was a Trojan priest serving both Apollo and Poseidon. He warned the Trojans not to accept the Trojan horse, but was strangled by a huge snake. The Trojans thought this was an omen inspiring them to roll the Trojan horse into the walls of Troy.
Helios is of course the Sun god. He drove the chariot carrying the sun every day. When his son Phaëton took over the reins for one day, the horses broke away. Zeus could not prevent the Sun from burning the Ethiopians (hence the color of their skin), but did prevent a major disaster.

Answer: Medea

Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) is best known for his ecclesiastical music. Medea is his best known opera.
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) was a French composer. Samuel Barber (1910-1981) was an American composer.
Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos were the Moirae, who determined men's fate. Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis determined how long any human would live and Atropos cut the thread on the exact moment.
Medea was a powerful witch. She helped Jason to obtain the Golden Fleece and then married him. She demonstrated her magic abilities in cutting an old ram into pieces, applying magical herbs to it and reviving it younger than ever. Jason and Medea went to Corinth, where Jason met the native princess Creusa (also sometimes known as Glauce). Medea took revenge on Jason for his love for Creusa by killing their children, burning down the palace and throwing herself into the flames.

Answer: Iphigenia

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) is best known for his harpsichord compositions. He composed two operas on the life of Iphigenia: the sacrifice scene ("Iphigenia in Aulide") and her life in Tauris (nowadays the Crimean peninsula), where she was appointed a priestess to Artemis. In this capacity, she had to perform the sacrifice of all strangers visiting the town. When her brother visited the town, she refused to perform the ceremony.
Iphigenia's life inspired also many other composers: Nicolo Jommelli (1714-1774) and Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787) portrayed both scenes. Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) and Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) only composed an opera about Iphigenia in Aulis. Niccolo Piccini (1728-1800) only composed one on Iphigenia's life in Tauris.
Melpomene, Polyhymnia and Terpsichore are three of the nine Muses. Melpomene was the patron of tragic poetry, Polyhymnia of sacred poetry and Terpsichore of choruses and dancing.

Answer: Castor and Pollux

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) was a French composer who is best known for his early works (before 1740).
Hippias (died 490 BC) and Hipparchus (died 514 BC) were Athenian regents and sons of Peisistratus (died 527 BC). At first they ruled quite democratically, but after Hipparchus' death Hippias became a tyrant.
Eros is the god of love. His parents were Ares and Aphrodite. Thanatos is the god of death and son of Nyx.
Amphion and Zethus were twin sons of Zeus and Antiope. They founded the city of Thebes. Amphion excelled as a musician, Zethus as a hunter.
Homer (about 800 BC - about 750 BC) stated that Castor and Polydeuces were both children of Leda and Tyndareus. Later on some stated that Zeus was father to Polydeuces, so that he would be immortal (contrary to his twin half-brother). Polydeuces is better known under his Roman name Pollux.

Answer: Orion

Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782) was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The Bach family counted many composers, of whom Johann Christian was one of the few opera composers.
Actaeon peeped at Artemis while she was bathing. In revenge, she made him a deer which was torn apart by his own hunting dogs.
Callisto was a nymph and servant to Artemis. Hera transformed her into a bear. Artemis didn't recognise Callisto in the shape of a bear and killed her by mistake (or deliberately - there are some alternative versions).
Meleager was the son of king Oeneus of Calydon. Oeneus had offended Artemis, in revenge for which she sent a giant wild boar to Calydon. Meleager then called many Greek heroes to hunt down this boar.
Orion was a famous hunter who fell in love with Merope, the youngest of the Pleiades - his seven half-sisters. After Zeus had placed the Pleiades at the firmament, Orion followed Artemis and fell in love with her. There are several myths about Orion's death. I find the most attractive myth on Orion's death that Apollo didn't feel happy with Artemis being wooed by Orion. So he disguised Orion as a rock and claimed that Artemis couldn't hit that rock.

Answer: Antigone

Not only Traetta (1727-1779), but also Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) and Carl Orff (1895-1982) composed an opera about Antigone. Jocasta was queen of Thebes and married Oedipus, to whom she gave four children: the sons Eteocles and Polynices, and the daughters Antigone and Ismene.

When Oedipus found out that Jocasta was his mother and that he was thus father to his two brothers and his two sisters, Oedipus blinded himself and went on exile. Eteocles and Polynices would then alternately be king of Thebes for one year each.

But as Polynices' turn came, Eteocles wouldn't step down and so started a civil war in which the two brothers killed each other. Jocasta's brother Creon took over and gave Eteocles a state funeral. Creon ordered that Polynices' body must not be buried, and that any one trying to bury him would be punished by death. Antigone could not stand the thought of Polynices not being properly buried.

Answer: Bull

Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) was a quite talented Viennese opera composer. Unfortunately he was a bit less successful than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Some have spread the rumour that Salieri poisoned Mozart, but this is not true.
Zeus was quite a procreating god. According to the Encarta encyclopaedia, Zeus had four legitimate children with his wife Hera and 48 illegitimate children with 22 different women. As some sources differ, the number of 52 children is to be considered as a minimum. To seduce most of these women, Zeus took on a disguise. He seduced Leda disguised as a swan, and Danaë in the disguise of a shower of gold. Semele asked for him to appear as thunder and lightning, but she was consumed by the lightning.
Zeus disguised himself as a bull to seduce Europa. Europa would ride the bull to Crete and get pregnant as a result.

Answer: Andromache

André Grétry (1741-1813) composed about fifty operas.
Hector was married to Andromache. The tragic goodbye is one of the highlights of the "Iliad".
Penelope was Odysseus' wife. During the Trojan War and until the return of her husband, many men gathered in her palace competing to marry her - every one thought Odysseus was dead. She told the lovers that she would chose one as soon as she would complete her wedding-dress. But although she would spend the day weaving her dress, she would at night destroy this work and so delayed the moment of truth.
Helen was Menelaus' wife and was generally recognised as the most beautiful (mortal) woman on earth. When the Trojan prince Paris kidnapped her, the Greeks declared war upon Troy.
Clytemnestra's husband Agamemnon was Menelaus' brother and king of Mycenae. Agamemnon took upon himself the leadership of the Greek coalition against Troy. When he returned home after the war, Clytemnestra had taken a lover who killed Agamemnon.

Answer: Idomeneus

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) is of course one of the best known composers ever. He composed 16 operas, of which some are still regularly performed: "Die Zauberflöte" ("The Magic Flute") and "Le Nozze di Figaro" ("Figaro's Wedding") are probably best known.
Androgeus was Minos' son and won all prizes at the first Panathenaean games. The Athenian king Aegeus had him killed, which led to a violent war between Crete and Athens. Crete won, and King Minos of Crete demanded a regular offer of seven boys and seven girls for the Minotaur.
Daedalus was the architect of the famous Labyrinth. When King Minos suspected that he would have helped Theseus to fight the Minotaur, Daedalus and his son Icarus were locked up in the Labyrinth. Daedalus made wings of wax and he and his son escaped. But when Icarus flew too high, the sun melted the wax and Icarus fell down into sea.
Idomeneus led his troops before Troy, where they excelled in archery.

Answer: They have to fill a barrel without a bottom

It was Sisyphus who had to roll a heavy rock on a steep mountain slope. Every time he almost made it, the rock would fall down, so he had to start over again. Sisyphus, the mythical founder of Corinth, had been condemned for many crimes, among which were highway robbery and murder.
The punishment of eternal hunger and thirst is probably the best known of these punishments. It befell Tantalus for having stolen nectar and ambrosia, the food and drink that gave the gods their immortality.
Prometheus was punished by having his liver eaten out. He stole fire from the gods and taught men to make fire.
The fifty daughters of Danaus had to marry the fifty sons of Aegyptus, king of Egypt. All but Hypermnestra killed their husbands at the wedding night. As a punishment, they had to fill a barrel without a bottom - a task that somehow reminds me of the Ministry of Finances ;-)

Answer: Pygmalion

Cherubini (1760-1842) was an Italian composer who specialised in ecclesiastical music.
Apelles and Phidias were historical artists, not mythological characters. Apelles (4th Century BC) was the painter of Alexander's and was considered as the greatest painter up till that era. Unfortunately, all of his works are lost.
Phidias (490BC - 430BC) was the best known sculptor. This Athenian made world fame with the statue of Zeus in Olympia, one of the seven ancient world wonders.
Midas was a mythical king of Phrygia. He was chosen as an arbiter for a composing competition between Pan and Apollo. As Midas had granted the price to Pan, Apollo took revenge by giving him ass's ears. Another story on Midas tells that he wished to transform every thing he touched into gold. Alas his food and drink were also transformed, as was his daughter too.
Pygmalion was a mythical sculptor. He portrayed a woman in ivory and fell in love with this statue. Aphrodite made the statue live, and Pygmalion married his statue. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) wrote a theatre play on a metaphorical "Pygmalion": Professor Henry Higgins falls in love with a simple girl whose manners he tries to "sculpt".

Answer: "Orphee aux Enfers"

All these operas have known a storm of criticism.
"Le Sacre du Printemps" (1913) was composed by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). It broke with the classical music and hence provoked a storm of protest.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) composed "Le Devin du Village" (1752), in which he starts a French tradition of comical operas. When someone brings a completely new idea, there is always loud criticism.
Georges Bizet (1838-1875) had received great triumphs with his early operas, among which was "Les Pêcheurs de Perles" ("The Pearl Fishermen"). His opera "Carmen" (1874) was quite realistic and endured harsh criticism. Bizet was so upset with this protest he died only a few months later.
Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) was born in Germany and later took on French nationality. He once declared having composed 102 operas. He'll always be remembered for his version of the Can-can.

Answer: Helen

At the wedding banquet of Thetis and Peleus, the goddess Eris (Discord) threw in a golden apple inscribed "For the Prettiest". Hera, Aphrodite and Athena quarrelled about this title. When the three goddesses asked for the judgement of the Trojan prince Paris, he chose Aphrodite - in exchange for which Aphrodite had promised him Helen's hand.

Helen was considered the most beautiful mortal woman. The marriage Aphrodite had promised had one sole practical problem: Helen was already married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. So Paris kidnapped Helen, and the Greeks declared war upon Troy.

After ten years, the Greeks won and Troy was burnt down.

Answer: Prometheus

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) was a French composer best remembered for his choral work "Requiem". He composed two operas: "Prométhée" (1900) and "Penelope" (1913).
Pandora was the first woman on earth. After the theft of the fire, Pandora was given a box with the explicit warning not to open it. She couldn't resist her curiosity and opened the box. As she opened the box, several plagues and catastrophes escaped. Only hope remained in the box.
Hestia was the Greek goddess of the hearth. Her Roman equivalent Vesta is better known, as Vesta was bestowed a proper cult and Hestia wasn't.
Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire, blacksmiths, metallurgy... He was considered as the ugliest of the twelve Olympian gods. And yet he was married to Aphrodite, the prettiest Olympian goddess.
Prometheus (his name means: "He who thinks ahead") was one of the Titans who fought with Zeus for the Olympus and supreme power. Zeus didn't want men to know the secret of making fire, so Prometheus stole it. Zeus had him chained on the Caucasian mountains and told an eagle to pick Prometheus' liver. At night, the liver grew again, so the torture is meant to continue eternally.

Answer: Electra

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a German composer, not related to the Viennese composers Johann Strauss Sr. (1804-1849) and Johann Strauss Jr. (1825-1899).
All operas I've mentioned were composed by Richard Strauss.
Salome was a biblical character, daughter of Herod Philip. She would dance quite expressively and ask as a reward the head of John Baptist.
Daphne was a Greek nymph. Apollo fell in love with her. As she fled him, she was transformed in a laurel tree.
Arabella is not a mythological character. In Strauss' opera, she is a contemporary girl who had turned down the love of Matteo, who then falls in love with her sister Zdenka.
Electra had witnessed the murder of her father Agamemnon. So she fled with her younger brother Orestes. Many years later, she instigated Orestes to take revenge.

Answer: Oedipus

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was a Russian composer, although at first he wanted to study law.
An oracle consulted at his birth had predicted that Oedipus would commit these atrocities. So his parents, the Theban King and Queen Laius and Jocasta ordered him exposed as a foundling. Some peasants rescued him and the Corinthian King adopted him. When Oedipus had grown up, he travelled about. He quarrelled with Laius and killed him, not knowing that Laius was his real father. Then he solved the famous riddle of the Sphinx and was rewarded by marriage to Jocasta, ignorant of the fact that she was his mother.
The Sphinx' riddle is quite amusing: "What animal first uses four paws, then two and finally three?" Oedipus correctly answered that this had to be man: crawling on all four paws when very young, walking on two paws as an adult and using a stick as a third paw in old age.

Answer: Persephone

Erato, Clio and Calliope are three of the Muses. Erato is the patron of love poetry, Calliope of epic poetry and Clio is the patron of history - a subject the Greeks considered one of the arts.
Persephone and her mother Demeter spent half of the year above earth (on Mount Olympus) and half of the year in hell. As Demeter is goddess of fertility and agriculture, this would explain the turning of the seasons.