Of Heroes and Mortals
This tribe of warrior women lends its name to the world’s largest river.
Who are the Amazon?
This three-headed dog guarded the entrance to the underworld.
What is the Cerberus?
The home of the Olympian gods, except Hades who dwelled in the underworld.
What is Mount Olympus?
Stephen Sondheim’s first Broadway musical was based on a Plautus farce and was called A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to . . . this Roman public square
What is the forum?
Oedipus unknowingly fulfilled this prophecy.
What is killing his father and marrying his mother?
Hercules slayed this multi-headed serpent that grew two heads for every head that was cut off.
What is the Hydra?
Narcissus was a beautiful youth who fell in love with this.
What is his own reflection?
Shakespeare used this tragic Roman love story as the basis for Romeo and Juliet as well as a farce performed by the Rustics in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
What is Pyramus and Thisbe?
The master craftsman and artist Daedalus designed and built this structure to house the Minotaur.
What is the labyrinth?
An offended Athena transformed this beautiful woman into a snake-haired Gorgon.
Who is Medusa?
The month of January is named for Janus, the Roman god of transitions. He had this feature.
What is two faces: one looked forward, the other backward?
Shaw’s play and the musical My Fair Lady are based on the myth of Pygmalion who fell in love with this.
What is a statue he carved?
Jason sailed with the Argonauts to retrieve this quest item in order to claim his throne.
What is the Golden Fleece?
Arachne was transformed into an arachnid for challenging Athena to this contest.
What is weaving?
Hubris is a recurring theme in the myths that refers to this deadly sin
What is pride?
In Doctor Faustus, Marlowe said of this most-beautiful demigod “Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships, / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium."
Who is Helen of Troy?
Sisyphus had to roll a huge boulder up a hill only to have this happen when he reached the top.
What is to have it roll back down the hill again?
On his journey home, Odysseus has to sail between these two monsters.
Who are Scylla and Charybdis?
These twin brothers in Roman mythology were raised by wolves. One of them would go on to found a city named for him.
Who are Romulus and Remus?
Eugene O’Neill wrote a collection of plays called Mourning Becomes Electra based on a classic Greek trilogy about this king.
Who is King Agamemnon?