Q 01/05

Which famous temple's west pediment showed Poseidon losing his contest for the city?

A) The Pantheon

B) The Parthenon

C) The Temple of Artemis

D) The Temple of Olympian Zeus

Answer · why

B) The Parthenon

The Parthenon was wrecked in 1687, when a Venetian shell set off gunpowder stored inside. The Venetian commander then tried to carry off the pediment'...

Q 02/05

The Cyclopes who forged Poseidon's trident also made which other god's weapon?

A) Ares' spear

B) Eros's bow

C) Zeus's thunderbolt

D) Hephaestus's hammer

Answer · why

C) Zeus's thunderbolt

Zeus's thunderbolt came from the same forge. Once Zeus freed the Cyclopes from Tartarus, they armed all three brothers for the war on the Titans, and ...

Q 03/05

What is Poseidon's Roman equivalent?

A) Neptune

B) Pluto

C) Saturn

D) Jupiter

Answer · why

A) Neptune

Neptune was probably a god of fresh water first, and took over the sea when the Romans matched him with Poseidon, which they had done by 399 BC.

Q 04/05

Poseidon lost the patronage of a famous city to which goddess, who offered an olive tree?

A) Athena

B) Hera

C) Demeter

D) Persephone

Answer · why

A) Athena

Athena won, and her olive became a legend of its own. Burned when the Persians sacked the city, it was said to have put out a fresh shoot by the very ...

Q 05/05

What gift did Poseidon offer the Athenians in the contest for the city?

A) A white bull

B) A salt-water spring

C) A golden ship

D) A sheltered harbour

Answer · why

B) A salt-water spring

A salt-water spring, grandly named the Sea of Erechtheus. Centuries later, visitors to the Erechtheion were still shown a well of sea water, said to s...