Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A capital city that has seen empires come and go

Damascus is often cited as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with a history stretching back thousands of years. It has served as a capital under the Umayyad Caliphate and later under various regional powers, which is why its old city is packed with layered architecture, from Roman-era street plans to grand mosques and souks. Aleppo, one of the wrong answers here, is another ancient Syrian city and was once a major stop on trade routes linking the Mediterranean with Asia.

The Disney film that crowned a remarkable run

The Lion King arrived in 1994, part of a golden stretch for Disney animation that also included Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Loosely inspired by Hamlet, it became one of the highest-grossing animated films of its time and later spawned a long-running stage musical and a photorealistic remake. Its songs, from "Circle of Life" to "Hakuna Matata", are still instantly recognisable decades later.

Satyrs, nymphs and the wild side of Greek myth

In Greek mythology, a satyr is a woodland spirit, usually shown as half man and half goat, associated with music, dancing and untamed nature. Satyrs are often linked with Dionysus, the god of wine and festivity, and they appear in plays and art as companions of his ecstatic retinue. They should not be confused with the Minotaur, the bull-headed creature of Crete, or with Pan, the goat-legged god of shepherds.

Why chemical symbols don't always match the English name

Argon takes its symbol Ar directly from its name, but many elements are less obliging. Thorium, for instance, is Th - straightforward enough - yet others such as iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and gold (Au) come from their Latin names. Argon's name derives from the Greek word for "lazy" or "inactive", a nod to the fact that it is a noble gas and rarely reacts with anything.