Greek mythology quiz: are you unbeatable on the gods and heroes?

Who rules over the gods from the summit of Olympus, thunderbolt in hand?

• 1 Poseidon
• 2 Zeus
• 3 Cronos
• 4 Apollo

Explanation Zeus, master of the sky and of the thunderbolt, presides over the assembly of the twelve Olympians.

Brother of Zeus, armed with a trident, which god rules over the seas?

• 1 Hades
• 2 Hephaestus
• 3 Poseidon
• 4 Triton

Explanation Poseidon raises storms and earthquakes; Greek sailors feared him as much as they implored him.

Goddess of love and beauty, she is said to have been born from the foam of the sea. She is…

• 1 Hera
• 2 Aphrodite
• 3 Artemis
• 4 Demeter

Explanation Aphrodite is born from the foam near Cyprus or Kythira, depending on the tradition.

Messenger of the gods, wearing a winged helmet and winged sandals:

• 1 Ares
• 2 Dionysus
• 3 Hermes
• 4 Helios

Explanation Hermes links Olympus to mortals; he also protects travellers and merchants.

Which hero performed the Twelve Labours, from the Nemean lion to the Hydra of Lerna?

• 1 Theseus
• 2 Perseus
• 3 Heracles
• 4 Jason

Explanation Heracles (the Romans' Hercules) redeems his crime through twelve superhuman feats.

Which monster with a head of snakes turned to stone anyone who met her gaze?

• 1 Medusa
• 2 The Chimera
• 3 The Harpy
• 4 The Hydra

Explanation Medusa, one of the three Gorgons, was beheaded by Perseus with the help of a mirror-shield.

Guided by Ariadne's thread, who defeated the Minotaur in the labyrinth of Knossos?

• 1 Achilles
• 2 Theseus
• 3 Odysseus
• 4 Bellerophon

Explanation Theseus kills the Minotaur and finds the way out thanks to the thread unwound by Ariadne.

Which winged horse sprang from Medusa's blood when she was beheaded?

• 1 The Centaur
• 2 Pegasus
• 3 The Sphinx
• 4 Cerberus

Explanation Pegasus, the winged horse, notably helped Bellerophon to bring down the Chimera.

Which Titan stole fire from the gods to give it to mankind, and was punished for it?

• 1 Atlas
• 2 Cronos
• 3 Prometheus
• 4 Oceanus

Explanation Chained up, Prometheus watched an eagle devour his liver, endlessly regrowing: the price of fire.

Wax wings on his shoulders, which one flew too close to the sun and fell into the sea?

• 1 Icarus
• 2 Phaethon
• 3 Ganymede
• 4 Narcissus

Explanation Icarus, son of Daedalus, ignored his father's warning: the wax melted and he fell into the sea.

To which blind poet are the Iliad and the Odyssey attributed?

• 1 Hesiod
• 2 Homer
• 3 Sophocles
• 4 Aesop

Explanation Homer is the founding figure of Greek epic, at the roots of all Western literature.

Which legendary war broke out after the abduction of the beautiful Helen?

• 1 The Peloponnesian War
• 2 The Trojan War
• 3 The Persian Wars
• 4 The Titanomachy

Explanation The Trojan War, sung by the Iliad, set Greeks against Trojans for ten years.

By what trick did the Greeks finally take Troy?

• 1 A secret tunnel
• 2 The Trojan horse
• 3 A long siege by starvation
• 4 The treachery of a prince

Explanation Hidden in a wooden horse offered to the city, the Greeks opened the gates of Troy from within.

Goddess of wisdom and of just war, she sprang fully armed from the skull of Zeus:

• 1 Hera
• 2 Athena
• 3 Hestia
• 4 Nemesis

Explanation Athena, protector of Athens, embodies intelligence and strategy more than warlike fury.

At Delphi, the Pythia gave her oracles in the name of which god?

• 1 Ares
• 2 Hermes
• 3 Apollo
• 4 Dionysus

Explanation The sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, held to be the navel of the world, was consulted throughout Greece.