Q 01/05

In one famous legend, what did Saint Valentine do in secret against a Roman emperor's orders?

A) Baked wedding cakes

B) Made wedding rings

C) Performed weddings

D) Sewed wedding dresses

Answer · why

C) Performed weddings

Performed weddings, the story goes: Emperor Claudius II is said to have banned marriages because he thought single men made better soldiers. It is leg...

Q 02/05

Which winged Roman god, often shown with a bow and arrow, is a symbol of Valentine's Day?

A) Mercury

B) Apollo

C) Cupid

D) Jupiter

Answer · why

C) Cupid

Cupid carries two kinds of arrow in Roman myth: a golden one fills its target with love, while a blunt lead one makes the victim want nothing but to r...

Q 03/05

The Roman god of love is usually described as the son of which goddess?

A) Venus

B) Juno

C) Minerva

D) Diana

Answer · why

A) Venus

Venus grew so jealous of a beautiful mortal named Psyche that she sent her son to make the girl fall for a monster; he fell in love with Psyche himsel...

Q 04/05

What did the ancient Greeks call their god of love, the model for the Roman one?

A) Eros

B) Hermes

C) Zeus

D) Ares

Answer · why

A) Eros

Eros started out as a handsome winged youth in early Greek art; the chubby child on today's Valentine cards only took over in later Greek times.

Q 05/05

The chocolates in a Valentine's box start out as the beans of which plant?

A) Carob

B) Coffee

C) Cacao

D) Vanilla

Answer · why

C) Cacao

Cacao beans were a drink long before they were a sweet: the Maya whipped them into a bitter, frothy brew, and the Aztecs spent the beans as money.