Rolling in the Deep Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mermaid

In Syrian mythology, Atargatis was a fertility goddess of water and earth alike. After accidentally killing a human shepherd whom she loved, she dove into a lake out of shame, but the gods only allowed half of her body to be concealed, and this is believed to be the origin of the mermaid. The mermaid is a beautiful creature who, in some stories, are deadly, and in some stories, are kind.

The mermaid is one of the most popular mythical creatures to write about. Ariel, the main character of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' (1989), hinted at in the question, was an inquisitive, explorative mermaid who fell in love with a human. Indeed, this tale may be based on the Danish tale of the Little Mermaid who sought to become human to be with the man she loved.

Selkies are creatures who, when in the sea, are seals, and when on land, can shed their skin and become human. In most stories, selkie and human romances are usually doomed to end in unadulterated sorrow.

In a German tale, Lorelei is a spirit who dwells on a rock in the Rhine river. She committed suicide when her lover would not return, and her vengeful spirit is said to drive sailors to distraction, bringing their doom through song.

Finally, the chupacabra is a reptilian creature said to have been found in Puerto Rico, and they drain the blood of creatures, especially livestock.

Answer: Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla and Charybdis both lived in a narrow strait. To pass one would be to take harm from the other. However, Odysseus was smart and was brave, so approached the task with a strategic manner. On his outgoing journey, he passed by Scylla as he knew Charybdis's whirlpool would be too dangerous. Although some crewmembers were lost to Scylla, the journey could continue.

On his return journey, he was alone on a raft and opted to take on Charybdis this time. His raft was sucked into her maw, but he grabbed and held onto an outcropping of rock, and when the water was expelled, he took control of his raft again and paddled to safety. Frankly, I'm not even sure the movies have such unlikely tales, but it is an impressive one nonetheless.

Of the incorrect answer pairs, there was only a loose connection, if that, between them.

Aegir was a sea giant and king of sea creatures in Norse mythology, and the Fomors, humans with the head of a horse or goat, were said to be the first inhabitants of Ireland in Irish mythology.

The reptilian Hydra came originally from Greek mythology. It had many heads, all of which had to be severed, or else it would regrow two more in each lost head's place. Ultimately, Heracles defeated it as part of his twelve labours. Lamia also comes from Greek mythology and enjoyed devouring children. It is said that she bore children to the great god Zeus, and the jealous goddess Hera murdered them all, leading to her children crunching craze.

Skoll was a wolf in Norse mythology who chased the sun, and would only succeed at Ragnarok, the war of end-times. Barghest was a large black dog which was said to roam and prey on unsuspecting travellers in northern England.

Answer: Kraken

Some believe this to be the most frightful of the sea creatures, mainly because there was little escape if it should grab hold of a ship. It would capsize the ship and snack on the salty sailors on board for an afternoon snack. Although there are variations on its size, it was very large, ranging from the size of a large ship to, well, a small ship. Some have actually claimed that these actually WERE giant squids attacking ships, and that their size and magnitude were overestimated, although I can't say either way if that's true or not. If you're worried, just avoid sailing near Norway or Iceland.

In 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest', the Kraken does indeed bring down a ship called the Black Pearl, and devours Jack Sparrow, a protagonist of the series. In Tennyson's sonnet, the Kraken is said to be slumbering at the bottom of the sea, and it is hinted humans will wake it and kill it.

The Bunyip comes from Australian Aboriginal mythology, and resides in swamps, rivers, or other shallow water sources. The creature was said to be so terrifying that no accurate description of its appearance had been given, although, amusingly, one account described it as a giant starfish, although I'm not sure how that would work.

Nessie is the loveable creature resembling the plesiosaur, a long-necked dinosaur, who is said to live in Loch Ness of Scotland. Some people still believe in this gentle giant despite the BBC conducting a full search of the loch in 2003, and this belief has been abused with fake evidence planting such as fossils and hippopotamus footprint moulds. Still, if Nessie had invisibility powers... you never know, I suppose.

Finally, in Maori mythology, the taniwha resided in deep pools and dangerous currents. They typically took the form of a shark or whale, and some were guardians of ancient tribal groups, and were said to respect them. Others were not so receptive to humans. Nonetheless, a taniwha was said to be a fierce creature to defeat, although crafty humans found ways to do so.

Answer: Undine

The word 'undine' comes from unda, the Latin for wave. Some undines looked like mermaids, and some looked like water nymphs. In a mythical tale by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque written in 1811, Undine was a mermaid who fell in love with a human man. However, this man's ex-girlfriend was jealous and sought to split them up, which she did. Undine returned to the watery world, but not before cursing him that, if he cheated on her, he would die. (And since he did cheat, he died. A woman scorned and all that...)

In Greek mythology, undines were bound to their springs, and if they should dry up, so then would the undine die. Their water had healing properties, but one had to be careful not to scorn them, as their jealousy led to extreme acts such as blinding and fusing themselves with their lover.
And, in both video games 'Secret of Mana' (1993, SNES) and 'Tales of Phantasia' (1995, SNES) the undine could be summoned to give water magic to those with magic ability. Penni Russon's 'Undine' is the first in a trilogy about a magic-endowed girl named 'Undine' entering adolescence and its many woes.

An ifrit, or efreet as they are perhaps better known in some circles, is a fiery creature from Islamic and Arabic mythologies. It is a jinn (a genie, but this one doesn't grant wishes, sadly) who can coexist with humans and can be either good or evil. Human weapons cannot harm it, but, it can be bested with spell and magic.

A dryad is a Greek mythological nymph of trees, especially oak trees. Dryads are shy, and generally avoid other species unless their trees are damaged, in which case they will seek retribution. Some dryads are so close with their trees that they lose their powers or even die when their tree is cut down. The rate we go through trees, it's probably for the best that they are just mythical creatures...

The sylph is an air creature not associated with any particular mythology, however it is said to help pollinate the flowers and can be invisible. Sylphs are often said to be invisible, although their effects on the nearby air can be observed, thus letting one see them in an alternative manner.

Answer: Kappa

A Kappa is a Suijin, a water deity in Japanese mythology. They are fish-like humanoids with scales, and sometimes a tortoise-like shell on their backs. Upon their head, they have a depression which holds a certain amount of water, which gives it the strength to move and act. However, since the Kappa are highly polite, if one bows to them, they should bow back, spilling this water and paralysing themselves. Despite the Kappa being the size of a 6 year old child or so, they have a lot of power and can easily disembowel humans and their livestock. If the Kappa are tricked or captured, they can be beneficial, since they can set bones and help with menial tasks such as on the farm. However, mostly, they're up to no good...

Amaterasu was the sun goddess in Japanese mythology, and her name derives from Amateru, or, shining in heaven. Initially, she ruled the sky with her brother, Tsukuyomi, but after the goddess of food, Uke Mochi, offered him an unpalatable treat, he killed her (I'm sure a bad review would have got the message through...), and Amaterasu split their joint-rulership. He then became the god of night and the moon.

Baku also comes from Japanese mythology and is a creature who devours nightmares. Now, some of us might like that, but having a pet with rhinoceros eyes, tiger paws, an ox tail and elephant trunk might be a little unnerving. Having a good dream on New Year's Day is said to be helped by Baku, and this has been a sign of good luck for the rest of the year in some Japanese cultures.

However, an oni is not so nice, as it is a fierce red demon with horns and claws. And, rather than eating dreams, it will probably just eat you, as it has a rather delightful taste for the human flesh. The Japanese festival Setsubun, celebrated on February 3rd, is to drive away evil spirits like the oni. Typically, roasted soybeans are thrown out from a home or temple, or at someone wearing an oni costume. This is to symbolise the expelling of evil. Then, roasted soybeans are eaten (presumably not the ones just thrown!) for good luck for the coming year.

Answer: Serpent

Jormungand was one of Loki's children, along with the terrible wolf Fenrir and the queen of the dead, Hel, and all three were banished as the gods just didn't like them very much. Not surprising, since they weren't exactly the friendliest of creatures, and Loki was a god of trickery and deceit to begin with. Hel was dumped in the underworld, which would make the phrase 'Go to Hel' roughly synonymous with 'Go to hell', Fenrir was carefully watched by the gods at Asgard, and Jormungand was thrown to the ocean surrounding Midgard.

Jormungand was also known as the 'World Serpent', or the 'Midgard Serpent', and had a long-standing enmity with Thor, the god of thunder; they met three times. The first time, Thor was tricked into believing that Jormungand was a cat, and when tasked to lift him, he could not do so. The second time, Thor baited Jormungand with a prize bull's head and pulled his body into the sky. However, when he was about to throw his famous hammer Mjollnir, the giant Hymir who accompanied him on the fishing trip cut the line and set Jormungand free as he feared its wrath, and Thor was furious (or should that be 'thorious'?).

It was not for the best that Thor missed his chance to kill Jormungand, as at Ragnarok, the battle of end-times, they met for the last time. Thor defeated Ragnarok by smashing his head with the Mjollnir... but at a cost. Jormungand released poison into the sky, and this poison left Thor only nine steps before he, too, would die. So, in this case, an eye for an eye... a life for a life.

Answer: Nereids

Similar to undines or naiads in Greek mythology, nereids were water-dwelling nymphs, born from the Titan Nereus and the sea nymph Doris. They lived in salty, deep waters, typically in a cave with old Nereus, and were generally rather kind creatures. They embodied different aspects of the sea, such as the foam, the brine, the waves, and tended to help sailors along on their journeys. Sometimes they would be seen riding hippocampi (sea horses) or dolphins, and they were often grouped together with Tritons, men with the lower body of hippocampi. The leader of the nereids, Thetis, had the gift of prophecy and could change her shape at will. She was the mother of the famous warrior Achilles, and his father was Peleus, a Greek hero, who had been told how to bypass her shapeshifting ability.

In Greek mythology, a chimera was a hybrid creature with tail of snake, body and head of lion, and another head which was a goat. It was unknown whether the chimera had schizophrenic tendencies, considering its several heads, but since it breathed fire, perhaps we won't be asking them ourselves. It is said that brave Bellerophon slayed a chimera with a spear whilst riding his flying horse Pegasus.

The cetea were serpentine fish with fierce, jagged teeth. A cetus was sent to devour Andromeda, chained to the bottom of the sea by sea god Poseidon as vain Queen Cassiopeia boasted her beauty. However, Perseus, who had just slain the petrifying Medusa, came and saved Andromeda from the cetus. Cetus is also the name of a constellation, which is often nicknamed as 'the whale'.

In Persian or Indian mythology, the manticore has the body of a lion, the head of a human (albeit an ugly one), and a dragon or scorpion's tail, which was able to shoot spines that would paralyze and incapacitate their foes. They would eat their prey whole, meaning it was probably best to avoid them entirely.

Answer: Babylonian mythology

Although Tiamat was a deity, she was also referred to as a 'chaos monster', perhaps reminding us of the bestial nature of some gods. She embodied salt water, the anthithesis to Apsu's pure water, and yet, both of them joined together and embodied the chaos that preceded law and order in the world. Although she was described as a dragon in appearance, there are no pictures of her, so who could say for sure?

After losing Apsu, she fell in love with Qingu, but a brave warrior at the time called Marduk defeated him. Then, Tiamat had no choice but to engage in battle with this young warrior herself. It is believed that she was trying to cast a spell on Marduk, but he trapped her in a magic net and injured her with the four winds before she could do so. Then, he brutally sliced into her heart and crushed her skull, winning the battle decisively.

Marduk was one of the creators of the world as we know it, according to Babylonian mythology, as he used Tiamat's eyes to make the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and her body to make the sky. He was said to be able to see anything and everything, as he had four eyes and four ears. And, clearly, he was strong, as he was able to defeat Tiamat.

Answer: Sirens

Sirens tended to perch upon rocky outcrops and sing sailors of the sea to their doom. There were between two and five of these creatures, who have sometimes been depicted with the features of birds, such as wings, talons, or feathers. They were believed to be cannibals who ate the bodies of the sailors they killed, whether they were dashed against their rocky outcrops or just dulled by their song. Odysseus from the Odyssey once wanted to hear what they sung of, so had his crew stuff their ears with beeswax whilst he was tied up. Although during the song he pleaded to be released, his sailors did not let him go, and once they passed the sirens, it was rumoured they died as those who hear their song and live may yet be killed by them.

A hippocampus as, in Greek mythology, a horse with a scaly fish-like behind. Hippocampi were said to transport the sea god Poseidon by pulling an underwater chariot. Hippocampi also featured in Roman mythology, and adorn the popular Trevi Fountain in Rome.

The telchines were, in Greek mythology, the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes. They were particularly skilled in crafting and working with metal, and helped to bring up some of the Gods like Zeus and Poseidon. However, they were killed when using some of their magic talent to do ill deeds such as poison water.

An encantado in Brazilian mythology is said to be a shapeshifting creature who can take on the human form, although they often appear as a sea snake or dolphin. They can be deadly, as they possess magic abilities, and are not averse to using them on humans.

Answer: Leviathan

In the Bible, the Leviathan was a symbol of God's power of creation but also of his power over that creation, as he was said to have killed the beast and given it out to Hebrews. The Leviathan was highly frightening and was a sea dragon said to have many heads; and no human was said to be able to defeat it, although, as I said, it died at the hands of the God who made it.

Behemoth was a chaotic creature of the land, as Leviathan was of the sea. Both were said to be created on the same day, day 5 of the creation cycle. The word behemoth was adopted into the English language to signify a creature or even an object which is large or of great significance. The word leviathan also has a similar meaning.

Triton was the son of Poseidon, and both came from Greek mythology. Triton was a messenger of the sea, and owned a trident like his father, but also a conch shell which he could play to control the waves of the sea. One of Neptune's moons was named after him, and his name was also used in 'The Little Mermaid' (1989) as the king of Atlantica. Appropriately, Triton in Greek mythology also took the form of a merman.

Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea, but was not featured in Biblical, Middle Eastern or Jewish mythologies. Poseidon was well known for his trident, and he featured in many stories in Greek myth. His palace lay on the ocean floor, adorned with gems and coral. One famous story is that he and Athena, goddess of wisdom, engaged in a contest to determine who would rule the settlement that was to become Athens. Whilst Poseidon struck his trident into the earth, creating a well, the water was salty. Athena also stuck her spear into the ground, but planted an olive tree instead, a symbol of peace, which was seen as much more impressive. However, Poseidon didn't go home entirely empty handed... he cursed Athens so that it would have water shortages, which have persisted ever after...