About This Quiz
The Greek myths are thousands of years old, yet they have incredible influence over Western thought and literature. Take a shot at going 30 for 30 on this quiz if you're familiar with these fantastic stories.Prometheus, a Titan, stole fire and gave it to humanity as part of his constant struggles against Zeus. As punishment, he was chained to a rock, where an eagle ate his liver every day (being an immortal, he never died and grew a new liver).
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Pandora was created as a sort of punishment for humanity. At the instructions of Zeus, she was made with an array of gifts with which to seduce men.
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Pelias, king of Iolcus, tasked Jason with retrieving the Golden Fleece. Pelias knew Jason would take his throne because Jason was only wearing one sandal.
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The Argonauts were basically the Greek mythology Avengers/Justice League — every great Greek hero of the era, including Heracles, joined the quest.
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In some versions of the story, Jason and Medea stop and visit Circe toward the end of the quest.
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The Titanomachy is the war that pitted Zeus and the Olympians against Cronus and the Titans. The Olympians won.
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Poseidon is the god of the sea, and he is Zeus' brother.
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Adoptive parents raised Oedipus to avoid a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He later killed a man who turned out to be his dad, then became king of Thebes and married Jocasta, who he later realized was his biological mother. Hence she was his mother and his wife.
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The 12 foremost gods were called Olympians, after their home atop Mount Olympus (specifically on top of the highest peak, Mytikas, since Olympus has over 50 peaks).
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Gaia was born of Chaos. In some traditions, Chaos, Gaia, Eros and Tartarus were the four original primordials.
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Gaia and Uranus are the parents of the 12 Titans and creatures such as the Hekatonkheires and the Cyclopes.
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Hades abducted Persephone and took her to the Underworld, where she is forced to spend part of every year.
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His mother, Thetis, did not know that you have to toss your sons in a basket of Styx water to ensure an even coating of invulnerability. The same advice holds true for making chicken wings.
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The Hekatonkheires are three giants with 100 hands each. They helped the Olympians battle the Titans because Uranus had thrown them into Tartarus in disgust.
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Bellerophon rode Pegasus at the Chimera, lodging a chunk of lead in the monster's throat. Its fiery breath melted the lead and the Chimera suffocated.
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Heracles' journey to obtain the girdle was going well until Hera's treachery led to a battle in which Heracles killed Hippolyta. The incident led to a battle between the Amazons and Athens.
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Heracles used rivers to do the job. Eurystheus, who made Heracles do all these labors as penance for murdering his own children (after Hera drove him made, but still), decided Heracles had kind of cheated on the task and it didn’t count. This is why the original 10 labors became 12. Eurystheus also didn't count killing the Hydra because a buddy helped Heracles do it.
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The Giants were born from the blood of Uranus' discarded genitals.
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Some versions of the story suggest Athena was conceived entirely by Zeus' thoughts and burst from his head; in others, Zeus impregnated Metis and then ate her, with Athena somehow gestating in his head. In either case she was born armed and armored.
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Zeus never had sex with a mortal while in dolphin form — that would be silly.
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He killed the Minotaur, with help from Ariadne.
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Theseus left black sails on his ship, indicating he had died. Aegeus' death made Theseus king of Athens.
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Artemis is often depicted with a bow and arrow.
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Hermes' speed makes him the ideal messenger of godly messages.
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Different versions disagree on whether Helen was in Troy willingly (or if she was even there at all), but she was the reason for the whole war.
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Ajax was chosen at random to battle Hector.
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It took him 10 years, a journey known as the "Odyssey." It probably would have gone more quickly if he hadn't done things like hang out on Circe's island for an entire year.
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When Odysseus returns home to Penelope, there's this whole thing with suitors and his son and a contest with axe handles and a disguise. It's like the world's worst episode of "Undercover Boss."
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To warn of future peril yet not have your warnings heeded is sometimes called the Cassandra complex.
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Perseus killed the mortal Medusa. Stheno and Euryale, however, were immortal.
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