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Quiz about Three of Myths Tragic Romances
Quiz about Three of Myths Tragic Romances

Three of Myth's Tragic Romances Quiz


This quiz looks at three stories of love and lust in Greek and Roman mythology with not so happy endings.

A multiple-choice quiz by doublemm. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
doublemm
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
308,389
Updated
Jan 05 24
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
897
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. The first of these tales involves Apollo, god of music and healing amongst many other things, as well as the nymph Daphne, with whom he was infatuated. Apollo's love of the nymph was brought about by the involvement of Eros, the god of love. Why did Eros decide to meddle in the love life of Apollo? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The words of Apollo were not taken lightly by Eros who shot Apollo with a sharp gold arrow, causing him to fall in love with Daphne. However, there were two arrows Eros drew from his quiver - one was the golden arrow intended for Apollo, what was the arrow intended for Daphne made from? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The overwhelming lust caused Apollo to pursue Daphne. As Daphne became tired, she prayed to her father to change her shape. As everyone on Funtrivia must know by now she became a laurel tree. Who was her father who fulfilled her wish? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Our next couple were said to be the basis of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". The handsomest youth Pyramus and the fairest maiden Thisbe lived next door to each other and longed to be together. However, as their parents did not allow them to be together, how did the couple converse? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Not satisfied with seeing each other so little, Pyramus and Thisbe decided to sneak out in the night and meet under a tree. Which kind of tree was the meeting to take place under? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Thisbe waited under the tree as she was the first to arrive. However, she ran and hid due to the presence of a beast. Upon seeing the beast along with the veil Thisbe had dropped, Pyramus believed her to have been killed by the beast. What was the beast in question?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Again showing the link to "Romeo and Juliet", Thisbe killed herself upon seeing the body of Pyramus. How did she kill herself? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. My third and final romantic tragedy is the story of Cephalus and Procris. This happily married couple were very much in love. The commitment of Cephalus to his wife was shown by his faithfulness to her even after being stolen away by which goddess? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Procris was a favourite of the goddess Diana/Artemis who gave her a dog which could outrun all opposition. This dog often accompanied Cephalus in his early morning hunts. The dog was later turned to stone whilst chasing what animal? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Like all Greek and Roman myths the love of Cephalus and Procris was doomed. Diana/Artemis also gave Procris a javelin, again often used by Cephalus. However, their happy marriage came to an end after Cephalus impaled Procris with this gift, believing her to be a wild animal as she hid in a nearby bush. Why was Procris hiding in a bush? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The first of these tales involves Apollo, god of music and healing amongst many other things, as well as the nymph Daphne, with whom he was infatuated. Apollo's love of the nymph was brought about by the involvement of Eros, the god of love. Why did Eros decide to meddle in the love life of Apollo?

Answer: It was out of malice as Apollo had previously ridiculed Eros

Eros was usually depicted as a young boy in the stories of Greek myth, as he was in this story.
Apollo, saw himself (quite rightly so) as a great warrior. However, with his many successes he became arrogant. Upon seeing Eros with his bow and arrow he ridiculed him, saying "leave them for hands worthy of them".
2. The words of Apollo were not taken lightly by Eros who shot Apollo with a sharp gold arrow, causing him to fall in love with Daphne. However, there were two arrows Eros drew from his quiver - one was the golden arrow intended for Apollo, what was the arrow intended for Daphne made from?

Answer: Lead

This allowed Eros to gain his revenge on Apollo as the lead arrow which struck Daphne caused her to be disgusted by love. This meant that Apollo was possessed by love and lust for the nymph that could not be returned.
3. The overwhelming lust caused Apollo to pursue Daphne. As Daphne became tired, she prayed to her father to change her shape. As everyone on Funtrivia must know by now she became a laurel tree. Who was her father who fulfilled her wish?

Answer: Peneus

Oceanus was the father of Peneus and Hypseus was Peneus' son.
Zeus was of course the god of gods and father of Apollo.
So there, poor Apollo was rejected as his first love became a tree. He did later say to Daphne that "since you cannot be my wife, you shall assuredly be my tree. I will wear you for my crown".
4. Our next couple were said to be the basis of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". The handsomest youth Pyramus and the fairest maiden Thisbe lived next door to each other and longed to be together. However, as their parents did not allow them to be together, how did the couple converse?

Answer: Through a crack in the wall

They referred to the divide as a "cruel wall" but were grateful for the crack which allowed them to express their love.
5. Not satisfied with seeing each other so little, Pyramus and Thisbe decided to sneak out in the night and meet under a tree. Which kind of tree was the meeting to take place under?

Answer: White mullberry

It was agreed that the first to arrive should wait under the tree for the other.
How about some information on the white mulberry? No? Here I go...
The tree is native to China and so it seems odd how it appears in this Roman myth. Also, despite its name, in the wild the berries produced are a deep purple colour.
6. Thisbe waited under the tree as she was the first to arrive. However, she ran and hid due to the presence of a beast. Upon seeing the beast along with the veil Thisbe had dropped, Pyramus believed her to have been killed by the beast. What was the beast in question?

Answer: A lion

Believing his lover to be dead, Pyramus placed Thisbe's tear soaked veil on the mulberry tree and then plunged a sword into his heart causing blood to spurt onto the tree.
This shows a strong link between the myth and the story of Romeo and Juliet.
7. Again showing the link to "Romeo and Juliet", Thisbe killed herself upon seeing the body of Pyramus. How did she kill herself?

Answer: She killed herself with Pyramus' sword

The story of Pyramus and Thisbe was the basis for the story which was the play within a play in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", another link to Shakespeare.
8. My third and final romantic tragedy is the story of Cephalus and Procris. This happily married couple were very much in love. The commitment of Cephalus to his wife was shown by his faithfulness to her even after being stolen away by which goddess?

Answer: Aurora/Eos

Aurora (Roman mythology)/Eos (Greek mythology) was the goddess of the dawn and she stole away the beautiful Cephalus after she saw him one morning and fell in love with him.
However, gaining no fruits from her efforts she dismissed the youth, saying "go ungrateful mortal, keep your wife".
9. Procris was a favourite of the goddess Diana/Artemis who gave her a dog which could outrun all opposition. This dog often accompanied Cephalus in his early morning hunts. The dog was later turned to stone whilst chasing what animal?

Answer: A fox

The fox as well as the dog (who was called Lelaps) was turned to stone.
This was because the fox was sent by an angry deity to annoy the country and so also had divine speed. The heavens therefore turned both to stone rather than see one conquer.
10. Like all Greek and Roman myths the love of Cephalus and Procris was doomed. Diana/Artemis also gave Procris a javelin, again often used by Cephalus. However, their happy marriage came to an end after Cephalus impaled Procris with this gift, believing her to be a wild animal as she hid in a nearby bush. Why was Procris hiding in a bush?

Answer: She was spying on Cephalus

Procris was spying on Cephalus as a passer-by had informed her that her husband was having an affair.
Of course this was not the case, the informant heard Cephalus speak the words "come sweet breeze, come and fan my breast, come and allay the heat that burns me". Taken to be a woman called breeze, Cephalus was actually speaking to the wind.
Another misunderstanding leads to tragedy.
Source: Author doublemm

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