Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A goddess born from the sea, and the painter who gave her a shoreline

Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus", painted in the mid-1480s, is one of the best-known images of the Italian Renaissance. What makes it unusual for its time is the subject: a large-scale mythological nude, painted not for a church but most likely for a private patron. Venus arrives on a shell, blown toward shore by the winds, while a figure waits to drape her in a cloak. The painting now hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the city where Botticelli spent most of his career.

Why a warship is called a frigate

The word frigate has described quite different vessels over the centuries. In the age of sail it meant a fast, manoeuvrable warship used for scouting and escorting, too small for the heaviest guns of a battle line but quick enough to work alone. Today the term covers modern escort ships, typically built for anti-submarine or air-defence duties. The label has survived because navies keep reusing familiar names for whatever role needs filling.

The Games that helped redefine the modern Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles were marked by a Soviet-led boycott, so several strong sporting nations stayed away. In their place, the Games leaned heavily on commercial sponsorship and television money, a model that shaped how the Olympics are funded to this day. Los Angeles would go on to host again in 2028, becoming one of the few cities to stage the Summer Games three times.

A river that shaped a city

Melbourne grew up around the Yarra River, which winds through the city before emptying into Port Phillip Bay. The river was central to the city's early trade and industry, and its banks now carry parks, stadiums and a long riverside walking trail. The name Yarra comes from an Aboriginal language of the region and is often understood to mean "ever flowing" or "running water".

A capital with a long memory

Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, sits in the island's central highlands rather than on the coast. Its name means "city of the thousand", a reference to the soldiers said to have guarded the hilltop settlement from which it grew. The city served as the seat of the Merina kingdom before becoming the capital of the French colony and, later, of independent Madagascar.