Zero to Hero (to Zero)
What did Oedipus answer to the Sphinx’s riddle (“What goes on four feet in the morning, then two at noon, then three in the evening?”)?
A human being.
How did King Midas get rid of the Golden Touch gift?
Dionysus told him to wash it off in the River.
Why does Apollo always wear a laurel wreath?
He promised to wear it in memory of Daphne.
Which of the following gods is known to punish those that lie or break oaths?
Zeus.
What ensured that Psyche would forever be in love with Eros?
She accidentally cut herself in one of his love arrows.
Why didn’t Cronus notice when his wife gave him a stone instead of their baby?
He had swallowed it whole.
What did Zeus promise Hera if she were to let Io take human form again?
That he would be a better husband.
Why is it important for the dead to be buried?
So their spirits could find their way to the underworld.
How did Perseus get close enough to cut off Medusa’s head without turning to stone?
He looked at her indirectly by staring at her reflection.
Why did Apollo and Artemis kill all of Niobe’s children?
She mocked Leto for only giving birth to one son and one daughter.
What happened after Apollo saw his sister Artemis mourn the loss of Orion?
Apollo felt ashamed at causing his sister grief and commemorated Orion in one of the most recognizable star patterns, the Orion Nebula.
Who is the least liked Olympian god/goddess?
Ares.
Under what condition was Orpheus allowed to take Eurydice to the world of the living?
He must walk ahead, without turning around, until they reach the upper air.
Why did the twins, Polynieces and Eteocles, go to war against each other?
Eteocles refused to relinquish the crown when it was his time.
What did Hera do to Callisto after she found out the woman was going to have a son of Zeus?
She metamorphosed the girl into a frightening shape of a bear.
What was a prime directive of Greek Myth?
To honor and be generous to strangers.
Why did Achilles refuse to keep fighting during the Trojan War?
Agamemnon forced Achilles to give him his lover, Briseis.
How did Apollo punish Cassandra for refusing his advances?
He gave her the power to foretell the future correctly at all times, but no one would believe her.
What did Zeus do to grant Baucis and Philemon their special wish?
He had them leave their human life together, and continue to live on as intertwining trees.
Hestia vowed to stay a virgin forever to stop the conflict between which gods?
Poseidon and Hermes.
Which god/goddess falls “in love” just as much as Zeus?
Aphrodite.
Fearing that his children would overthrow him, what did Uranus do to his children?
He forced them to stay underground, chained in the dark cavern of Tartarus.
How did Zeus manage to catch Io?
He spread rain clouds over the countryside, making it so dark so Io wouldn’t be able to see where she was going.
Why did Hera curse Echo into only being able to repeat the last few words someone says?
Echo would distract Hera with endless chatter when Zeus was having his affairs.
What did the oracle of Apollo at Delphi tell Oedipus of his future?
That he would kill his own father and marry his mother.
The gods didn’t always punish murderers, but they always punished who?
Those who have committed incest, and who acted insolently toward them.
Whose body became a pale yellow and white flower with trumpet-shaped petals?
Narcissus.
Which of the following gods favored clever liars and thieves?
Hermes.
Which mortal did Aphrodite become completely obsessed with?
Adonis.
Who did Zeus make a deal with to fight against the Titans?
The Hundred-Handed Giants and the Cyclopes.
How did Dionysus’ mother die?
Zeus revealed his true, god-self to Semele, but his brightness burned her to ashes.
Who argues that Greek myths tell truths about the human psyche, especially those overpowering impulses and uncontrollable behaviors that affect groups rather than individuals?
Carl Jung.
How was Heracles able to clean the stables of Augeias?
He rerouted two rivers to wash away all the filth.
What was Marsyas’ punishment for challenging Apollo to a musical competition?
He was flayed to death.
What did Hera do with the eyes of her faithful servant, Argus?
She placed them on the tail of the peacock.
How are Artemis’ arrows different from her brother’s?
They are silver; they cause a quick and painless death.
The song that Orpheus sang about the heart glowing with love that melted away all the pain and loneliness was talking about which married couple?
Hades and Persephone.
How many Greek warriors were able to fit into the Wooden Horse that was taken into Troy?
30 warriors.
How did Zeus manage to get close enough to Callisto?
He disguised himself as Artemis.
Why are the gods considered fallible characters?
They are prone to tantrums as any human being.
Who regretted wasting their life on war and its glories?
Achilles.
Why did Aphrodite hold a grudge against Psyche in the first place?
Because Psyche’s parents boasted of her beauty and many started worshiping her instead of Aphrodite.
The Athenians long prided themselves on being the one state to welcome who during their sorrowful wanders?
Oedipus.
Places that welcomed Dionysus would experience what?
Revelry and good government.
Who was the only mortal willing to die in Admetus’ place?
His wife, Alcestis.
What did Paris make the 3 goddess promise before he chose who would get the apple?
That they would accept his answer without taking offense.
Alcmene having twin children fathered by her husband and Zeus was an introduction to which rare phenomena?
Heteropaternal superfecundation.
What makes Lycaon’s transformation different from other werewolves in literature?
The is the only one that changes once, irreversibly.
Why was Heracles retrieving golden apples from Hesperides going to be the trickiest of his labors?
The tree of the golden apples was in Hera’s garden.
Why did Actaeon get turned into a stag by Artemis?
He walked in on the goddess and her companions as they were bathing.
Callisto was transformed into which star constellation?
The Great Bear, a.k.a. Ursa Major.
Demeter presided over many cults, which promised what?
A blessed afterlife.
Who was Heracles’ third and final marriage to?
Hebe, daughter of Zeus and Hera.
Which gods/goddesses favored the Greeks during the Trojan war?
Athena, Hera, and Poseidon.
If Danae had been shut up in a tall tower of brass, how did Zeus get her pregnant?
He manifested on her lap in a shower of gold.
Secular critics of myth often classify all stories that blame women for bringing evil into the world as a product of what?
A patriarchal society.
What was a reason that Alcestis couldn’t speak after her closeness with death?
Because of the trauma of her husband letting her take his place in death.
Why did Zeus punish Lycaon?
Lycaon tried to pollute his stomach by feeding him human flesh.
How are lovers of gods usually commemorated (2 ways)?
By turning them into plants and constellations.
Why would sailors pray to Aphrodite for calm waters if she isn’t goddess of the sea?
Because she is thought of as a sea-born goddess.
Which mother was most protected and loved by her children?
Leto.
Who started the chain of events that led to the abduction of Helen of Sparta?
Eris, the lowly goddess of Strife.
How many times was Zeus able to get around prophecies about being overthrown by one of his children?
Twice.
What is the importance of making a promise over the River of Styx?
An oath that invokes the River Styx is binding on anyone, god or mortal.
When Creon offered Antigone a pardon if she promised to stop trying to bury her brother, what did she do?
She swore she would keep trying to bury him until she was executed.
Humans would be able to feast on the meat and only have to place bones and fat on the altars of the gods thanks to who?
Prometheus.
Why does it make sense that Clytie was turned into the first sunflower?
It’s a plant whose flowers follow the steps of the sun.
Why did Zeus marry Aphrodite to Hephaestus?
Because many of the gods were about to go to war over her.
Why did Zeus not tell Demeter that Hades took their daughter?
He didn’t want Hades’ resentment to turn into anger.
How long did the Trojan War last?
10 years.
Who was the goddess that Zeus stopped himself from sleeping with to prevent a prophecy?
Thetis.
A prophecy or a sacred spot where visitors ask the gods for advice is known as a what?
An oracle.
Why did Heracles kill his family?
Hera struck madness into him and made Heracles hallucinate that his children were sons of his enemies.
What did Arachne weave into her tapestry during the competition against Athena?
The stories of the gods’ deceptions when seducing mortal women.
What is the name of the heaven-like place for gods?
Elysium.
Which god is more willing to take revenge for his children?
Poseidon.
Which male gods remained faithful to their marriages?
Eros and Dionysus (possibly Hades).
Why did Hades want an end to Asclepis the Healer’s miracles?
Hades worried that the dead would not be coming to his realm anymore.
Which of his sisters did Zeus have children with?
Hera and Demeter.
Philosophers had drawn on Greek myth and psychoanalytical theory names issued in human development, such as?
The Oedipus complex.