Tales of Gold and Other Mythical Things Quiz

Answer: Midas

One legend about the golden touch of King Midas is that he found Silenus, a member of the retinue of the god Dionysus, in his rose garden, drunk and lost. He invited the older man into his home, and took care of him, treating him with the utmost respect, for several days before taking him back to Dionysus. Out of gratitude for the kind treatment of his friend, Dionysus offered to grant King Midas any wish. Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, but he soon realized the folly of his request.

He couldn't eat, he touched his daughter and turned her into a statue of gold after she had complained that the golden roses had lost their smell. After Dionysus heard his prayer for deliverance, he told Midas to wash his hands in the Pactolus River, ridding him of the terrible gift.

Answer: Jason

When Jason demanded his rightful place on the throne of Iolkos, he was told that first he had to prove his worth. He was to journey to Colchis and retrieve the Golden Fleece, which had once belonged to his ancestor, Phrixus. That would not be an easy task as it was well-guarded by Aietes, the king.

He agreed to return the Golden Fleece to Jason's family, but first he had to once again prove himself in a variety of tasks. Aietes believed that the tasks would be too difficult for anyone to complete, but he didn't know that his daughter, Medea, a powerful sorceress, has made a deal with Jason: she would help him steal the Golden Fleece if he would marry her. Jason quickly found out on his return to Iolkos that being king didn't bring him the status and wealth that he had thought it would.

His people were afraid of Medea and her magic, and the family was forced into exile. Eventually Jason was offered a new wife; he soon found, however, that breaking a vow made to a powerful sorceress wasn't a great idea. Medea not only killed his new wife, but also her children with Jason, before leaving for Mt. Olympus and marrying Achilles. Jason was able to return to Iolkos, but died a short time after.

Answer: Eris

Peleus and Thetis, the future parents of Achilles, were getting married in a big wedding on Mt. Olympus. All of the gods and goddesses were invited to attend the banquet which was being hosted by none other than Zeus himself - except one. Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited because she - well, caused discord everywhere she went. With everyone else being invited, it didn't take Eris long to realize that she was the only one who had been left out. So, to get even, she made a golden apple and engraved "To the fairest" on it. Taking it to the wedding reception, she tossed the apple in the midst of a group of goddesses who immediately forgot about the wedding and began arguing over which of them should be given the apple. Three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, asked Zeus to decide which of them should receive the apple. One of the few times that he showed good judgement where women were concerned, Zeus passed on the "honor" and suggested that they seek Paris, the prince of Troy, to decide instead.

This led to the famous Judgement of Paris, which led to the Trojan War in Greek mythology.

Answer: Aphrodite

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was married to Hephaestus, the Greek god of smiths and metalworking, but was not faithful to him. Stories were written about the many affairs she had with both mortal and immortal men; however, the most discussed affair was with Ares, the god of war. Even though he was in an obviously unhappy relationship, Hephaestus was so much in love with Aphrodite that he made a magical gold belt for her.

The word was that the belt made anyone who saw her mad with desire and unable to resist her advances. According to Homer, during the Trojan War Hera borrowed Aphrodite's belt in order to seduce her own husband, Zeus.

Answer: Heracles

Poor Heracles! In order to atone for the deaths of his family, he was told by Apollo that he would have to serve Eurystheus for twelve years. Altogether Heracles was told to perform twelve labors for Eurystheus; these tasks appeared to be impossible to complete. For his tenth labor Heracles was told to retrieve the cattle that belonged to Geryon, a giant who lived far to the west.

When Heracles had to cross the Libyan Desert, it was so hot that in frustration he shot an arrow at the sun. When either Helios or Apollo (there are different versions of the story) asked him to stop that, Heracles agreed if he would be allowed to use the golden goblet that Helios used to sail across the ocean every evening.

Helios agreed, and Heracles, after much difficulty and hardship, completed the task.

Answer: Perseus

When Perseus was an adult, Polydectes wanted to marry his mother, Danae; Perseus, however, believed the man to be dishonorable and tried his best to keep the man away. Polydectes had a plan of his own. He pretended to plan to marry another woman and threw a wedding feast.

When Perseus failed to bring a proper gift to Polydectes, the young man, ashamed, said that all the older man had to do was name his gift and he would have it. Seizing the opportunity to be rid of Perseus, Polydectes sent him to kill Medusa, asking for her head as a gift.

After finding the proper weapons to kill the Gorgon, Perseus made his way to her cave, careful to NOT look at her lest he be turned to stone. He used a brazen shield given to him by Athena, to view her reflection and behead her.

He ended up giving Medusa's head to Athena as an offering.

Answer: Hesperides

Another labor given to Heracles, this one came after ten had already been completed. Eurystheus, however, was not satisfied. Heracles had help in killing the hydra and had used TWO rivers to clean the Augean stables. The next task, then, was for Heracles to retrieve the Golden Apples that Gaia had given to Zeus and Hera as a wedding present - a very difficult endeavor for many reasons. First, Hera hated Heracles. Would she let him anywhere near her golden apples? Second, the apples were kept in secret location.

Heracles had to capture the Old Man of the Sea to find out where the Garden of the Hesperides, where the apples were kept, was located. There are many different stories about the Hesperides; one was that they were nymphs who were the daughters of Atlas. According to legend, when one ate a golden apple, immortality was granted.

The famous Apple of Discord came from the Garden of the Hesperides.

Answer: Apollo

Apollo was the god of light, music, healing, and poetry. Some stories say that one of his principle jobs each day was to harness his four horses, Aethon, Pyrois, Phlegon, and Eous, to his golden chariot and move the sun across the sky. There is quite a discussion today about whether it was Apollo or Helios who was the true sun god in Greek mythology.

There is a similar story that Helios pulled the sun across the sky every day in his chariot.

Answer: Hephaestus

Hephaestus, the god of fire, was very talented. According to Homer, even though he was grossly deformed, the other gods respected him because he crafted their armor and weapons. He also made their homes and equipped them. In the "Iliad", Homer told that Hephaestus had crafted handmaidens out of gold who assisted him in his workshop. They could move around and even speak like humans.

Answer: Creusa

There are different accounts as to how Medea used her sorcery to murder Creusa, or Glauce, who was the new object of her husband Jason's affection. In fairness to Medea, she betrayed her family and homeland to help Jason acquire the Golden Fleece. He had promised to marry her - which he did - but he eventually left her for a new wife, Creusa, daughter of the King of Corinth.

There are many versions of the story of Medea's revenge. In one she sent a beautiful dress that she had cursed as a gift; when Creusa put it on the dress clung to her body and burned her to death.

Another story said it was a robe. A third story claimed it was a golden crown that had powerful poison. When she put it on a terrible fire burned not only Creusa, but also her father and new husband.