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Greek Mythology
“If you
are very valiant, it is a god, I think, who gave you this
gift.”
Homer, The Iliad
This was thought to be true during the days when Greeks
practiced mythology as their religion.
The students have become experts on gods of The
Pantheon. Throughout
their studies the students have learned about the gods living
on Mount Olympus, that mysterious region neither on earth
nor in the heavens.
Their successful completion of
The Pantheon leads them to their next quest.
In order to complete this quest successfully the participants
need to read all of the directions very carefully!!!
MYTHICAL
MONSTERS PROJECT
MRS. CALDWELL and MR. GERST
“
In Greek mythology, heroes and monsters alike are spawned
by the gods. In other words, both good and evil come from
the gods. The birth
of the monster is attended by rage, and that is what makes
him monstrous, the wrath of a god or, more often, a goddess
- carving a dangerous, ugly form for itself out of living
flesh. The role of
the monster in mythology is the evil in the eternal struggle
of good versus evil. In many, many of the myths given to us by the
Greeks, monsters are the antagonists who create conflict for
the hero, the protagonist.” (Evslin, l966)
In this quest, students
research various materials and illustrate for the class
some of the mythological monsters they meet in the myths they
read.
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Students
will be given the name of a monster and will find information
about that monster from the mythology books and web sites
made available to them.
·
Students
will take notes on their monster and then will write up the
information on a card with the name of the monster at the
top. Information will be word- processed.
·
Also students will find a description or a picture
of their monster and will create a model using materials that
will create a dimensional depiction of the monster.
Materials may be purchased or may come from home, but
please do not go crazy! BE CREATIVE!!!
·
Students
will present the monster and the information in front of the
class on an assigned date.
CHECK OUT THESE MONSTERS
(CLICK HERE)
MONSTERS!?!?!?!?2
ROCKIN'
MONSTERS 3
MONSTER MANIA 4
COOL
PICTURES OF MONSTERS
Reference
Evslin, Bernard. Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths.
Bantam Books.
New York: 1966.
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Mrs. Caldwell and Mr. Gerst's Classes
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The
creators of myths sought to explain things in our world. We have learned how some of nature has come
to be through the myths we have read in class. One example
of this is Demeter. She is the goddess that is responsible for
the changing seasons because her daughter Persephone
was taken by Hades into the Underworld.
Yet,
we have a major problem!!!! The art of creating myths
has been lost, and it is your QUEST to bring back this wonderful genre of writing. For the
last several weeks we have been learning a great deal
about Greek mythology, so you have the background knowledge
of many of the gods, goddesses, and heroes.
The extraordinary writing of the original myth
authors is how their descriptive writing brings the
myths alive. So…we
will use those myths as our model.
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| Objectives: |
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1. Using what we have learned about
the HEROES OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY, you will develop your
own HERO. Your hero may “save” the world, or attempt
and failL First, you must come up with the
physical characteristics and personality traits of this
hero. (CHARACTERIZATION)
By the way…there was no mention of a woman who
was a Greek hero…what is up with that?
Icarus ... modern day! |
2. It is imperative to use the STORY
ELEMENTS!!! Use
the diagram on the next page to help with your prewriting.
By having an idea of each literary term on this
chart, you can start to form the PLOT of your original
myth.
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1. Exposition- introduction of the myth where
SETTING and MAIN CHARACTER are introduced.
2. Rising Action- introduces the CONFLICT
(main problem)…during this part of the myth
problems arise leading up to the climax.
3. Climax- the highest point (turning point)
in the action of the myth.
4. Falling Action- this follows the climax
and contains events that lead to the resolution (ending
of the myth).
5. Resolution-the part in which the problems
are solved.
6. What is the mood of this myth going to be?
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| Your audience should
be able to easily identify each of the literary terms
above!!!
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| 3. You MUST include information about his/her birth,
ancestry, and his/her personality characteristics. This
was so vivid in all of the hero myths we read…make
your hero come ALIVE!!!!
4. The hero you create must have a goal to reach, such
as a seat on the Pantheon, driving the sun chariot,
etc. These goals create obstacles, which the hero must
overcome. Make sure the task of the hero is DIFFICULT!!!!!
5. Your ORIGINAL MYTH must include an explanation of
something that came to be. It could be things in nature
such as: thunderstorms, high tides, green grass, sandy
beaches, lakes…the possibilities are ENDLESS! You
may also have your myth explain how an evil or trouble
came into the world, such as: diseases, pain, hatred,
love…again there are endless possibilitiesJ
6. The hero in your myth must have interaction with
the gods and goddesses we have met in the stories we
have read. The gods and goddesses must maintain their
personality traits.
7. Make sure your hero comes to life and keep your
audience on the edge of their seat when they read your
original myth!!!!
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Specifications for the written piece
1. Written piece needs to be word processed, and should
be approximately 5 pages in length.
2. There should be a cover page with illustrations.
Hand drawn pictures and magazine pictures are fine.
If you want to include computer-generated pictures for
your cover page, they must be made by you. You cannot
use clip art. You may also want to illustrate the rest
of the story!!!!
3. The myth will be written in THIRD PERSON point of
view, and must clearly convey the literary elements
shown in the chart above.
4. Your original myth must contain similes and metaphors
(figurative language as well as precise descriptions).
5. Myths must contain dialogue. Make sure the dialogue
fits the character and that it is punctuated properly.
6. Make sure you take this writing piece through the
entire writing process.
Rock on……
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