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Exploring Greek Mythology and Its Influence

This quiz assesses knowledge of Greek mythology, its cultural significance, and notable figures associated with the discipline, offering a engaging way to explore classical traditions.

#Greek Mythology #Comparative Mythology #Cultural Studies #Classical Studies #Renaissance Art

1 What does the following picture show?  In The Rage of Achilles by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1757, Fresco, 300 x 300 cm, Villa Valmarana, Vicenza) Achilles is outraged that Agamemnon would threaten to seize his warprize, Briseis, and he draws his sword to kill Agamemnon. The sudden appearance of the goddess Athena, who, in this fresco, has grabbed Achilles by the hair, prevents the act of violence.   Max Müller is regarded as one of the founders of comparative mythology. In his Comparative Mythology (1867) Müller analysed the "disturbing" similarity between the mythologies of "savage races" with those of the early Europeans.   Cicero saw himself as the defender of the established order, despite his personal skepticism with regard to myth and his inclination towards more philosophical conceptions of divinity.   For Karl Kerényi mythology is "a body of material contained in tales about gods and god-like beings, heroic battles and journeys to the Underworld—mythologem is the best Greek word for them—tales already well-known but not amenable to further re-shaping".[93]

2 What does the following picture show?  In Roman religion the worship of the Greek god Apollo (early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original, Louvre Museum) was combined with the cult of Sol Invictus. The worship of Sol as special protector of the emperors and of the empire remained the chief imperial religion until it was replaced by Christianity.   Max Müller is regarded as one of the founders of comparative mythology. In his Comparative Mythology (1867) Müller analysed the "disturbing" similarity between the mythologies of "savage races" with those of the early Europeans.   Cicero saw himself as the defender of the established order, despite his personal skepticism with regard to myth and his inclination towards more philosophical conceptions of divinity.   Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (c. 1485–1486, oil on canvas, Uffizi, Florence) — a revived Venus Pudica for a new view of pagan Antiquity—is often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit of the Renaissance.[2]

3 Who of the following is a key person at Hermès?

4 There are indications that ________ was familiar with some version of the Orphic theogony.

5 The final age was the ________, the contemporary period during which the poet lived.

6 They thus follow ________'s advice and Virgil's example: they rewrite a poem of Troy instead of telling something completely new.

7 Greek mythology is the body of myths and ________ belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices.

8 [25] Hesiod's Theogony is not only the fullest surviving account of the gods, but also the fullest surviving account of the archaic poet's function, with its long preliminary invocation to the ________.

9 [2] American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and ________, held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of English and American literature.

10 Which of the following is Southeast of Piraeus?

💡 Interesting Facts

  • in the Madrid version (pictured) of Titian's series of Danaë paintings, the nursemaid by the side of the Greek legend Danaë is portrayed as a hag, while in the Vienna version, the dog by her side is absent.
  • in the Greek mythology tale of Iole, Deianira (pictured) inadvertently killed her husband Heracles with a love charm because of jealousy.
  • in Greek and Roman mythology, the Palladium was an ancient statue of Pallas Athene which kept the city of Troy safe, until it was stolen by Odysseus.
  • the Achilles tang was named in honor of Achilles, the Greek mythological hero of the Trojan War and Homer's Iliad.
  • the names of broad gauge railway locomotives were drawn from areas such as Greek, Roman and other mythologies, famous people, literature, flora, fauna, towns, geographical features, speed and power.
  • the theme of poison dress can be found in Greek mythology, Mughal Indian folklore, and American urban legends.
  • the lyrics of Naer Mataron, a black metal band from Greece, are influenced by Greek mythology.
  • the legend of Krishna killing the horse demon Keshi (pictured) may have its origins in the tale of Greek hero Heracles slaying the horses of Diomedes.
  • in Greek mythology, Dorus is the name of the son of Hellen who was the eponymous founder of the Dorians.
  • in Greek mythology, Arion (or Areion) was an extremely swift immortal horse that could talk.
  • according to Greek mythology, Adonis was slain by a boar at the foot of the waterfall in Apheca in modern-day Lebanon.
  • a major source for Greek mythology, the first Vatican Mythographer, survives in a single text in the Vatican Library.
  • chryselephantine sculptures (fragments pictured) were monumental statues made of gold and ivory that depicted the gods in Ancient Greek temples.
  • according to Greek mythology, the festival of Delia was instituted by Theseus after slaying the Minotaur (pictured).
  • in Greek mythology Gorgythion was one of the fifty sons of King Priam of Troy.
  • in Greek mythology, Antiope was the only Amazon known to have married.
  • in Greek mythology, Heracles chased off the man-eating birds of Lake Stymphalia by playing castanet-like clappers called "crotala".
  • Apaliunas, a Luwian deity of Wilusa (Troy) attested among gods in a treaty inscription, ca. 1280 BCE, is a likely precursor of Apollo of Greek mythology.
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