The students will begin the study of mythology with the beginning, the creation myth. It would be ideal to use a variety of creation myths from other cultures to underscore he da that the Greeks were not the only groups to use or create myths. Students do find the idea fascinating, that other people had mythic gods.
The Creation Hymn
from Babylonia (1), a myth from Apache Indians and a myth from Nigeria (2) are good examples to use. The students will see the similarities and the same story patterns.
The students are then ready, after listening to and reading creation myths of other countries, to read and to discuss the Greek creation myth, the story of Gaia and Uranus. The myth can be found in varying detail in a number of books. (3) What should be emphasized to the students is that although the details may vary, the central idea of the myth is the same. In the beginning there was nothingness called Chaos, From Chaos came Night and then Erebus, a bottomless place where Death dwells. From Night came Eros, or Love, and therefore light and life, and then came Gaia and Uranus, Barth and Sky. From the union of earth and Sky came the Titans. The myth goes on to explain the eventual separation of earth and sky with the overthrow of Uranus by his son the Titan Cronus. The class, through oral reading and discussions, immediately enters into the world of the Greek gods and sees their violent nature, With the prophecy of the eventual overthrow of Cronus by his own son, the students are introduced to a repeating pattern of events. The students sense the prophecy will be fulfilled, They read on because they want to know how. Students suspect immediately that the world of the Greek gods is different in many ways from any others they have read about.
As the myth continues, Cronus tries to avoid the prophecy by swallowing his children and rules the world in an orderly fashion. The myth of the golden age of man is drawn from his reign. Zeus has been protected from his father and grows up to challenge Cronus, War breaks out between the Titans (elder gods) and the Olympians (younger gods). The battle rages until in one version, the Titan Prometheus steps in and helps Zeus.
This great battle. can be very exciting. There are vivid descriptions of it in Hesiod’s Theqgony. Although it may be too difficult for the students to read, it can be read aloud, and in this way, the battle becomes even more exciting and meaningful to the student.
This is also one place to try to explain the fantasy and make-believe elements of myth, the improbable elements, the need to suspend logical thinking, It is all right for the gods to marry their sisters, it is all right for Cronus to swallow his children, and it is all right for Zeus to swallow his first wife and become the father of the.goddess Athena through his forehead. Everyone in the story is a god and everyone lives forever with magical powers. The everyday laws and rules we know do not apply to the gods. This is probably one of the hardest and yet one of the most important concepts for the students to understand.
After the battle of the Titans and Olympians is over, the hierarchy of the gods is established. Students sometimes get confused by the elaborate structure of the hierarchy. One way to help the class to learn and remember the names of the gods and goddesses is to have the students, either as a class or as individuals, create a family tree of the Olympian gods. Zeus alone is good for a full page! As the students chart the gods and goddesses and their various progeny, they also become aware of the many more myths to be read about these various characters.
Once the family tree is complete and the gods are put in their proper places, the students can begin to read the stories of the gods and men. They should look carefully at the personalities and characters of the Greek gods. They should become familiar with the moodiness, the temperament, and the quarrels of the various gods. The more they read, the more human these immortals should appear to them.
For the creation of man, most versions written for children seem to use the myth of the Titans Prometheus and Epimetheus as the creators of mankind. (4) Epimetheus as ‘afterthought‘ and Prometheus as ‘forethought‘ split the task of populating the earth. Since Epimetheus carelessly gives the “good things‘ away to the animals, (i.e. furry hair, sharp teeth, great speed) Prometheus has to save man by putting him upright and giving him a brain. Prometheus is immediately seen as the friend of mankind, the creator of mankind.
This myth moves right into the ‘Fire‘ myth. According to the version of the myth read, Zeus either withdraws fire from man, or will not let man have it. Therefore Prometheus, once the friend of Zeus (students can be reminded of how he helped Zeus win the battle against The Titans), sides with man against Zeus and steals fire from Zeus for man. Now man has a chance for light, for advancement, for knowledge. .The importance of this myth is emphasized’ if the students:s are read myths from other cultures which explain the beginnings of fire. (5) Many of these myths also involve a central figure who is willing to sacrifice himself so that man will have fire.
Zeus, angry at the new power possessed by man, devises some terrible punishments. Prometheus is chained to a rock, his liver eaten daily by a giant bird, waiting to be freed by a great hero.
Zeus creates a worse punishment for man in the form of Pandora, a beautiful woman, the ‘all-gifted‘ or the ‘gift‘ from all the gods. (This is a favorite myth, one that students could easily and quickly act out.)
The continuation of this myth, the destruction of man by a flood (sent by Zeus) because of lack of respect for the gods, and the creation of new people from stones, even more hardy than those made by Prometheus, finishes this series. Deucalion, the son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha, the daughter of Pandora, ag the creators of this new race of man, seem to bring a sort of closure to these myths. Prometheus is seen as a hero in these myths, and Zeus, the head of all the gods, is portrayed as a tyrant
While the classroom reading and discussions are centered on these Prometheus myths, the students will be doing individual and group projects, reading stories of the individual gods and goddesses and then presenting them to the class. In this way the class can get to know more stories. The students will be expected to choose one of the Olympian gods or goddesses, find out as much as possible about the figure chosen, read at least one myth in which that deity is portrayed strongly and prominently, and present that information to the class. The report can be oral, or, with the help of classmates who have read the same myth, it can be a dramatic presentation.
The students will also be engaged in creative writing. To show an understanding of the personality and character of the god or goddess studied, the students will be expected to write a new myth centered around that god. The myth should be an adventure or situation which fits in with that particular god’s personality. (Zeus in pursuit of a mortal girl, Hera stirring up trouble and Artemis protecting some wildlife are a few examples.)
Children like to write stories in which they are the main characters. Therefore, another follow-up assignment could be centered on a meeting with this god resulting in a special adventure. ‘My Meeting with Apollo‘ or ‘A Day with Athena‘ are types of titles for writing assignments.
The students could also create a hierarchy of new gods for the classroom, beginning with a single creation myth developed by the whole class, Each student could then develop a god or goddess, giving the deity special powers and attributes, and creating a situation or a story for that god. This classroom pantheon could be developed as far as student interest continued, Myths involving several of these newly created gods could be written in small groups and then acted out for the whole class. A large mural depicting the hierarchy could be drawn by the class. The interest of the class will determine the development of the classroom pantheon.
The next part of the unit will be centered on heroes, a logical next step from the myths of the gods and men. Mast of the great heroes in the myths were the off-spring of the gods.
Discussion questions at the beginning should center on what the students feel is a hero. These questions should start the students thinking about and discussing the nature of heroes.
References should be made to pop heroes of today, as well as to what the students know or think they know about heroes of the past. The students should write a short paper (two or three paragraphs) on what makes a hero, and who they think a hero is, These papers should be kept to the end of the unit to see if the students’ ideas have changed.
Herakles is probably the best Greek hero to begin the reading and discussion, Most students are familiar with the name and have seen the character as Hercules in differing versions on television or in comic books. There are also many good editions of Herakles and his Labors.
The students readily identify with Herakles from his first adventure as a baby. As they continue to read about Herakles and his labors, his persecution by Hera, they can really understand the problems connected with the gods’ meddling in mortal affairs.
The students should also become aware of some of the characteristics of hero myths:
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1. The hero is usually a demi-god, or has a god in his family.
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2. The hero has some kind of super-natural power or has the strong support of a god.
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3. The hero is usually on a quest. He has a task or a challenge (or more than one) that an ordinary mortal could not carry out.
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4, The hero is always seeking fame, glory and most important, honor. These are more important than life itself.
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5. The hero is braver, stronger, bolder and some times more clever than most men. He is close to the gods.
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6. The hero usually has a weakness, usually too much pride or a terrible temper. This can lead to problems for him, and usually to his downfall.
The class will read all the stories about Herakles and will then be able to draw some connections with ?other readings. This is especially true when Herakles slays the eagle which has been eating the liver of Prometheus. He thereby ends his suffering and brings the Prometheus stories to a conclusion also,
After reading the Herakles stories as a class,. each student will be expected to read a hero myth, choosing from among the stories of Jason, Bellerophon, Perseus, Theseus, Adhilles, Meleager, and Atlanta. He or she will be expected to report to the class orally and if possible dramatically. Many of the great hero adventures could be dramatized quite easily and quite effectively, The students will be expected to point out the heroic qualities they find in each hero read about.
Writing assignments can be varied and interesting. A favorite among students is to be asked to write a Thirteenth Labor of Herakles, giving this hero one more almost impossible task to perform. More advanced students could create a hero, using those heroic characteristics with what they are already familiar. This newly created hero should be given a quest, an adventure in which he will have to deal with both gods and monsters. Class discussions and readings (while outside readings and projects are being prepared) would involve reading the myths of Orpheus and of Daedalus and comparing them as heroes.
Orpheus is the great hero-singer, whose quest took him to the home of Hades himself, Only a great hero would dare to invade the underworld to beg Hades for the return of his loved one, Eurydice, and only a great singer could move Hades to agree, Although these myths really detail this story, Orpheus is very involved in the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece.
Daedalus, the great craftsman and inventor, longed to escape the imprisonment of King Minos on Crete. He made himself and his son Icarus wings and dared to fly, dared to be lie a god. Although Daedalus was successful, he had to pay a price. He watched his son ignore his warning, flying too close to the sun. The heat melted his wings and Icarus dropped into the water,
Depending on the interest of the class, the discussion of heroes could move to the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus. Certainly some passages and adventures from the travels of Odysseus could be read and enjoyed, especially the story of the Cyclops and the magic of Circe. No study of heroes is complete with out Achilles and his story should have some background of the Trojan War.
As a final activity, the students can read the essays on heroism they had previously written to see if their views had changed.