Who Let The Gods Out? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Janus

Janus is one of the earliest of the Roman gods, from even before the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus. Associated with Janus were doorways and passages, and of course, beginnings. Ceremonial gateways were constructed called jani (pl), and how an army marched through a janus could bring either good or bad luck. The Janus Geminus, a shrine located at the north end of the Forum Romana, had gates that were left open during times of war, and closed during times of peace.

Jupiter already knew that Janus could not have freed the twins, as they had spent the evening gaming together. Janus bestows upon Jupiter his blessing for a good beginning to his hunt for Castor & Pollux, but has no further help for the king of the gods.

Answer: Apollo

Apollo was originally among the Greek pantheon of gods and was adopted by the Romans over time (and through conquest). Apollo became part of the Dei Consentes (the Council of Gods), which was comprised of 12 major gods. Apollo was already known as an oracle and as the god of light and music before being adopted by Rome, and his power of healing and medicine was highly revered by both the Greeks and Romans. Augustus (the 1st Roman Emperor) believed himself to be under the special protection of Apollo, and under his reign Apollo became one of Rome's chief gods.

After using Apollo's light-bringing skills and grilling him on his whereabouts during the dungeon breakout (some dalliance or another), Jupiter is satisfied that Apollo was not involved. But evidence of tampering is found on each of the locks securing the cell doors that held the twins.

Answer: Vulcan

Vulcan, like Janus, is amongst the earliest of the Roman gods. In fact, Vulcan's oldest shrine, called the Vulcanal, dates back to the 8th century BC. As the god of fire and the blacksmith to all the other gods, Vulcan created all sorts of weapons and armour for his godly colleagues, including Jupiter's thunderbolts. Ironically, even though he was reputed to be the ugliest of the gods, he married Venus, the goddess of love.

Vulcan's cooperation with Jupiter's inquiry convinces the king of the gods that he was not involved with the twins' escape, but even with full cooperation, Vulcan isn't able to discern anything about the lock picking to point to another god.

Answer: Diana

Diana is the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and the patroness of virginity. She was an early Roman goddess who came to be associated with the Greek goddess Artemis after the Greeks were absorbed into the Roman empire. As the goddess of the moon, she was the twin sister to Apollo, the god of the sun.

Jupiter finds Diana in the middle of a hunt, which rules her out as a suspect in the jailbreak. With her superior tracking skills, Diana quickly finds Castor & Pollux's tracks leading away from the dungeon and towards the coast.

Answer: Neptune

Neptune and his Greek counterpart, Poseidon, both appeared around the same time in their respective mythologies, but at the beginning, Neptune was a god of freshwater lakes and rivers, and only became associated with the sea later, when Greek and Roman cultures commingled. As with Poseidon, Neptune was brother to Jupiter (Zeus) and Pluto (Hades).

Jupiter only needs to look into his brother's eyes to know that he is telling the truth when he says that he had no part in aiding Castor & Pollux. The twins are not found on or in the sea, but using his vast watery resources, Neptune is able to find an eyewitness to a fight between the brothers on Isola Palmarola.

Answer: Mars

Mars is the Roman god of war, a highly revered god in the Roman pantheon, especially given the Roman empire's expansionist history. While Mars came to be equated with the Greek god of war, Ares, they did not receive the same adulation in both cultures. In early Roman tradition, Mars was part of the Archaic Triad of gods, along with Jupiter and Quirinus. According to Rome's founding myth, Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus, with Rhea Silvia their mother.

Jupiter has to pull Mars away from overseeing a battle in Gaul, which conveniently eliminates him as a suspect in the case, and the whole process turns out to be a waste of time. Mars has nothing to reveal about the twins... their altercation turned out to be nothing more than a disagreement on where to go next.

Answer: Minerva

Minerva's origins lie with the Etruscans, who had a goddess of war, art, wisdom, and health by the name of Menrva. Many of her qualities were adopted into the Roman goddess Minerva. From about the 2nd century BC, she was also equated with the Greek goddess Athena, along with similar origin stories (springing fully adult from her father Jupiter's skull). In addition to the attributes of Menrva, Minerva was also the goddess of schools and of commerce.

Under her father's stern gaze, Minerva admits that she used her influence to soothe Castor & Pollux's tempers with each other, allowing wisdom to overcome anger, but Jupiter also believes her claim to be otherwise uninvolved. With no sign of the twins on the island anymore, the only clue Jupiter has to follow now is the wine-stained feather.

Answer: Mercury

Mercury appeared in the Roman pantheon at around the same time that Roman and Greek cultures began to share with each other. His roles and appearances match those of Hermes quite closely. In Roman mythology, Mercury is the god of many things, including commerce, thievery, gymnastics ... pretty much anything that required dexterity. He was known as the Messenger of the Gods, and was also responsible for guiding souls to the afterlife.

As busy as Mercury is managing the godly communication network, Jupiter knows he could not have been involved in Castor & Pollux's breakout. And even with his hectic schedule, Mercury is quick to take the time to make an official summons to the god of wine on his king's behalf.

Answer: Bacchus

Bacchus is the name that the Romans adopted for the Greek god Dionysus, with the name relating to the term 'bacca', which means 'berry'. Bacchus is not only the god of wine, but also the god of good cheer, mirth, revels and drama.

Heeding the summons from the Messenger of the Gods, Bacchus comes to Jupiter in his throne room, surprised to find the king of the gods waiting for him with a bottle of wine and a game of tesserae. Soon enough, Jupiter has Bacchus admitting to meeting with a winged god... "and this god," he whispers conspiratorially to the king, "told me that he sprang the twins from the dungeon, but only because he put them up to the prank in the first place."

Answer: Saturn

Saturn is an ancient god within Roman mythology, having reigned (along with his brother Janus) the land that would one day become the site of Rome. His time as ruler was deemed a 'Golden Age' of peace and abundance. As the god of time, agriculture, plenty, wealth, renewal, and liberation, his Greek counterpart was Cronus. With his wife (and sister) Ops, he fathered Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Vesta.

Jupiter, of course, ended up taking his father's throne. After defeating his own father Uranus, Saturn released the other Titans to rule the world with him.
But, Uranus cursed him, saying that he would one day be supplanted by his own child. So, to prevent that, he ate his children as they were born. His wife, Rhea, saved one of them (Jupiter), who grew up and took the throne from his father, imprisoning him in the process. Soon afterwards, some of the Titans freed him, and Jupiter and Saturn fought each other at Thessaly for the right to be king of the gods. Suffice it to say, Jupiter won the contest.

For the purposes of this quiz, let's say this little fictional story happened inbetween Saturn's imprisonment and the battle at Thessaly... hey, it's poetic license!

Learning that his own father was behind the practical joke played by Castor & Pollux, Jupiter could not stay angry with the twins. Instead, enjoying a laugh with Saturn and sharing a bottle of Bacchus' wine, Jupiter begins to plot his revenge, an extraordinary prank already springing to mind...