Q 01/05

The planet symbol for Mars, Ares's Roman counterpart, is traditionally read as which two of his belongings?

A) A helmet and sword

B) A shield and spear

C) A torch and dagger

D) A chariot and whip

Answer · why

B) A shield and spear

A shield and spear, by the usual reading: the circle is the shield and the arrow the spear. The same sign now also means 'male', just as the Venus sym...

Q 02/05

Who were the parents of Ares?

A) Zeus and Hera

B) Zeus and Metis

C) Zeus and Leto

D) Cronus and Rhea

Answer · why

A) Zeus and Hera

Zeus and Hera. In the Iliad Zeus tells the wounded Ares he is the most hateful god on Olympus, then has him healed anyway because he is his own son.

Q 03/05

Which daughter of Ares wore the belt sought in a famous labour?

A) Hippolyta

B) Penthesilea

C) Atalanta

D) Medea

Answer · why

A) Hippolyta

Hippolyta. In Apollodorus she promised to hand the belt over, until Hera spread a rumour that she was being kidnapped and the hero, suspecting a trap,...

Q 04/05

Which goddess was Ares's famous lover, caught with him in a trap set by her husband?

A) Persephone

B) Selene

C) Aphrodite

D) Demeter

Answer · why

C) Aphrodite

Aphrodite. The pair were let go only when another god offered to stand surety for what Ares owed, and she slipped away to her shrine at Paphos on Cypr...

Q 05/05

Which god netted Ares and his lover in an invisible trap and invited the Olympians to laugh?

A) Apollo

B) Dionysus

C) Poseidon

D) Hephaestus

Answer · why

D) Hephaestus

Hephaestus. He forged chains as fine as spider's web and pretended to leave for Lemnos; the goddesses stayed home out of modesty, but the gods laughed...