GreekMythologyLessons

Grades7or8LanguageArts/English

JoyceSullivan
BrattleboroAreaMiddleSchool
Brattleboro,Vermont

CCSS.RL1Citeseveralpiecesoftextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitlyas
wellasinferencesdrawnfromthetext.

BackgroundInformation
TheArchaicPeriod(750500BC)
Duringthistimeperiod,ApollostemplewasbuiltinDelphi.TheprecedingDarkAgesincludedthe
fallofMycenaeancivilizations,theTrojanWars,andthencivilwar.TheDoriantribetookoverafterthecivil
war.IntheArchaictimeperiod,artdevelopedthroughpotteryandsculpturewhichislaterrefinedinthe
Classicalperiod.Theseedsofpoliticaltheory,democracy,andcultureareabletotakeroot.The
knowledgeofwrittenlanguage,lostintheDarkAges,isrevivedwhichishowmodernGreeksknowsomuch
aboutthistimeperiodthroughinscriptionsonstonesatarchaeologicalsitesincludingDelphi.

TheTempleatDelphiembodiestheart,politics,athletics,anddramaofthetimes.Itschosenas
thebackdropofaseriesmythologylessonssinceitincorporatesmythological,poetic,anddramatic
opportunitiesforstudentstoexplore.Inaddition,studentswillgetatasteoftheculturethroughlearning
abouttheOracle,thePythiangames,andtheatercontests.Ideally,thestudywillconcludewithafestivalin
honorofApollowithopportunitiesforstudentstoexperienceeachofthesethreeareas.

Purposes

StudentswillbeusingthearchaeologicalsiteinDelphi,GreecetodevelopanunderstandingoftheAncient
GreeksduringtheArchaictimeperiod.Studentswilllearnabouttheimportanceofdemocracy,religion,and
thetheaterartsinthedevelopmentofAncientGreekculturethroughresearch,readingmyths,and
developingactivitieswiththeirpeers.

Materials

TeacherpreparedtopdownwebAnIntroductiontoDelphi,timeperiodinformationcards,sitevisitphotosof
Delphi,printedmapsfromPetsasDelphiMonumentsandMuseum,andexcerptsfrompages4549on
ApollofromKokkinousGreekMythology.

Studentswillneedblankpaperorapartiallypreparedwebfornotesanda3x5indexcard

Kokkinou,Sophia.GreekMythology,p.4549.Athenes:S.NANOS,1989(ISBN960314480)

Petsas,Photios.DelphiMonumentsandMuseum.Athens:KreneEditions,2013,p.7,12,13.(ISBN
9789608924277)

Sedita,Joan.KeystoLiteracy:TheKeyComprehensionRoutine.Rowley,Ma:2010orgoto
www.keystoliteracy.com

Equipment:documentreader,projector,screen,andlaptop.

Lesson1AnIntroductiontoDelphiBuildingBackgroundKnowledge

Concepts:Tounderstandthesequenceoftheeachtimeperiodtostudentswhohaveabackgroundin
TheClassicalPeriodfromsocialstudiesclass.
TounderstandthelocationofDelphiduringtheArchaictimeperiodandthesurroundingareas
thatwereinfluencedbyGreecewhicharenotpartoftodaysGreekgeography.
TovisitthearchaeologicalsiteofDelphithroughphotos
TolearnsomefactsabouttheOlympiangodApollo

AnIntroductiontoDelphi***

HistoricalBackground Geography SiteVisit Apollo**

MycenaeanAge AncientPhocisp.7* photos Olympian
TheDarkAges AncientWorldp.1213* patronoftruth,
TheArchaicPeriod Greecetoday archeryandmusic
TheClassicalPeriod healer
godofsunand
light
*Petsas,Photios.DelphiMonumentsandMuseum.
**Kokkinou,Sophia.GreekMythology
***Sedita,Joan.KeystoLiteracy

HistoricalBackground
Theteacherwillprovideinformationcards(seesamplebelow)onthe4timeperiods.4studentvolunteers
willreadtheircardswhileclassmateslistentodeterminetheorderofthetimeperiodsandlistkeypointsfor
each.(Eachcardcanbemadeintoasigninorderforstudentstocreateatimelinewiththeinformation
facingtheclass)

TimePeriodInformationCardSamples

DarkAges(1100750

Thefirstwrittenaccountofmanypopularmyths
andlegendsoccurin800.Priortothistime
storiesweresharedthroughstorytelling.The
Dorians(agroupoftribalinvadersfromNorthern
Greece)takeoveraftertheTrojanWarsandthe
civilwar.Acommonlanguagedevelopswithlocal
dialects.

ArchaicPeriod(750500BCE)

Potteryandsculpturebecomethe
importantartformsofthistime.Political
theory,specificallythebeginningof
democracy,developsalongwithculture
andart.Writtenlanguageis
reestablished.
MycenaeanAge(16001000BCE)

Culturalachievementisamaincharacteristic.
Heroicmythsarebasedinthistime.Itsnamed
forthekingdomofMycenaewheregoldenstatues
andotherartworksarelaterdiscovered.The
TrojanWarandacivilwarmarkthedestructionof
thistimeperiod.Homerspoetrydetailsthe
eventsoftheTrojanWarandtheAdventuresof
Odysseus/Ulysses.
ClassicalPeriod(500336BCE)

TheGreeksandthekingdomofPersia
comeintoconflict.Ademocratic
systemofgovernmentisformedunder
PericlesofAthens.TheParthenonon
theAcropolisisbuilt.Tragicstoriesare
createdaboutSophocles,Aeschylus
andEuripedes.SocratesandPlato
developtheirphilosophies.

StudentAssignment
AsyoulistentothedescriptionofeachtimeperiodinGreekHistory,writedown5factsdealingwith
historyandculture.Historymayincludepolitics,wars,andgovernment.Culturecanincludeart,poetry,
stories,andlanguage.Payattentiontothedatesprovidedandwritedowntheorderofthe4timeperiods.

(apartialtopdownwebisprovidedbelowasanideaforrecordingnotes)

Volunteers
Readyourdescriptionaheadoftimeinordertofluentlyreadyourinformationcard.Askabout
pronunciationsfornamesandplacesasneeded.Mixuptheorderofthepresentationstochallengethe
classtodeterminethecorrecttimeorder.

AncientGreece
TimePeriods

_______________________ _________________________ ___________________

1. 1. 1.

2. 2. 2.

3. 3. 3.

4. 4. 4.

5. 5. 5.

order:_________________ ____________________ ___________________

_________________

(Topdownwebresource:Sedita,Joan.KeystoLiteracy:TheKeyComprehensionRoutine.Rowley,Ma:
2010orgotowww.keystoliteracy.com

Assessment:Eachstudentwillturninacompletedtopdownweb.Detailsforeachtimeperiodwillbe
80100%accurate.

Geography
Studentswillexamine3mapsonthedocumentreaderbeforegettingcopiesofeachmap.In
groups,studentswillcomparethemapsandlocatethecountriesoftodaywhichformedPhocisandthe
AncientWorld.

*Petsas,Photios.DelphiMonumentsandMuseum.Athens:KreneEditions,2013,p.7,12,13.(ISBN
9789608924277)

StudentAssignment:MapComparisions

1.Lookatpage7,locateDelphi.Listthenamesofthe2gulfsclosesttoDelphiandthe2mountain
ranges.(Ans.:CorinthianandItea)

2.Lookatthemaponpages1213,countthenumberofcitiesdelineatedbyreddotsandnoticethe
locationofDelphiamongthesecities.(Ans:23,halfofthemsouthofDelphi)

3.Someoftheseancientcitiesarelocatedinareasoftheworldthatwemightnotconsideraspartof
Greecetodaywhatarethey?(Italy,Sicily,Libya,Turkey)

Responsestothisassignmentcanbeaccomplishedinpartnersorsmallgroups.

Assessment:Studentswillrespondtothe3questionswithnomorethan2errors.

SiteVisit
TheteacherwillshowphotosoftheDelphiarchaeologicalsitetofamiliarizestudentswiththe
settingoftheirmythologicalstudies.Studentswillrecord5observationsfortheTempleofApollo,the
Treasury,andtheStadiumusingaseparatetopdownweb.Theseobservationswillbefollowedbylisting
questionsabouteachsite.(PhotographsofDelphiarelocatedonthiswebsite.AgooglesearchofDelphi
isalsopossible)

Apollo
StudentswillreadexcerptsfromKokkinousbooktolearnaboutApollo.Eachstudentwillhighlight
informationonApollosidentityandattributes.Highlightedinformationaboutthegodwillbecheckedbya
classroomadultforaccuracy*beforethestudentcreatesanindexcardwithApollosnameononesideand
hisidentityandattributesontheflipside.

Suggestedexcerpts:p.45tothetopof48(abovethepicture),p.49,col.1par.abovephotoandbelowit,
columnApollowasworshippedtotheend.

**Kokkinou,Sophia.GreekMythology,p.4549.Athenes:S.NANOS,1989(ISBN960314480)(additional
resourcesonthegodsareprovidedinthenextlessonifthisresourceisnotaccessible)

Note:studentswhoreadbelowgradelevelwillfindtheDAulairestexttobeeasiertoreadthanthese
excerpts.

*Assessment

Lesson2AnIntroductiontomoregodsandgoddessesofGreekMythology
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RI.7.3Analyzetheinteractionsbetweenindividuals,events,andideasinatext(e.g.,
howideasinfluenceindividualsorevents,orhowindividualsinfluenceideasorevents).

CCSS.RL1Citeseveralpiecesoftextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitlyas
wellasinferencesdrawnfromthetext.

BackgroundInformation
TheArchaicPeriod
(seedescriptioninLesson1)

Purpose

Togatherinformationabout5moreOlympiangodsandgoddesses:Zeus,Dionysus,Athena,Hera,and
Demeter.Toread1218myths(23/godorgoddess),inordertoanalyzetheinteractionsbetweenthe
gods,goddesses,andmortals.

Materials

(note:sourcescompiledwiththeassistanceofGretchenBurch)

**Daly,K.(2004).GreekandRomanMythologyAtoZ.NewYork,N.Y.:FactsOnFile,Inc.

*D'Aulaire,E.P.(1962).D'Aulaires'BookofGreekMyths.NewYork,N.Y.:DelacortePress

**Fisher,L.E.(1984).TheOlympians:GreatGodsandGoddessesofAncientGreece.NewYork,
N.Y.:HolidayHouse.

**Horowitz,A.(1985)MythsandLegends.Boston:HoughtonMifflin.

Malam,J.(1999).AncientGreece:GodsandGoddesses.Lincolnwood,I.L.:PeterBedrickBooks.

*McCaughrean,G.(1993).GreekMyths.NewYork,N.Y.:MacmillanPublishingCompany.

**Napoli,D.(2011).TreasuryofGreekMythology.Washington,D.C.:NationalGeographicSociety,

Osborne,M.P.(1989).FavoriteGreekMyths.NewYork,N.Y.:Scholastic.

*Philip,N.(1995).TheIllustratedBookofMyths:TalesandLegendsoftheWorld.NewYork,N.Y.:
DorlingKindersley.

*Suter,J.((1992)WorldMythsandLegends(Greek).Belmont,CA.:Fearon/Janus.

Turnbull,A.(2010)GreekMyths.Somerville,MA:CandlewickPress.

**suitableforadvancedreaders*suitableforbelowgradelevelreader
Studentswillalsoneed5moreindexcards,ateachercreatedreadinglog,anddirectionsforaresponse
toquestionsoneachmyth

Concepts:Tolearnsomethenames,identities,andattributesof6Olympiangodsandgoddesses
Toreadmythsaboutthesegodsandgoddessesandanalyzehowtheyinteractwithother
godsandmortalsinthetext.
TohypothesizehowtheAncientGreekswereinfluencebytheactionsoftheirgodsand
goddesses.

StudentAssignments:

1. StudentswillcontinuetheindexcardassignmentfromLesson1onApollowiththefollowing
additions:

OnthesideofthenotecardwiththenameofthegodorgoddessinEnglish,addtheGreekequivalent*
Ontheothersidewriteapronunciationofthegod/goddessnameandsomeofhis/herattributesas
wellastheRomannameforthegod/goddess.SeechartinSutersGreekMythologyonthematerials
list

StudentswithabackgroundontheOlympians,canstudyall12(13includingHestia)orcreate6
additionalcardsfromalistofdemigods,mortals,nymphs,fates,musesthatarenewtothestudent.

Indexcardscanservemultiplepurposes:

1.Studentscanstudytheindexcardsandbequizzedonpronunciations,Romannames,and
identities/attributes.Thisgivesthemabetterchanceofautomaticallyknowingsomeofthegodsand
goddessesastheyreadstoriesandincreasetheirreadingfluency.

2.Cardscanserveasareferenceasstudentsreadmythssincetherewillbenumerous
characters,names,andgods.Theycanusetheircardstolookupwhattheycantrememberasthey
read.

2.Onceastudenthasfinishedreading2ormoremythsononeofthe6gods(Apollotoo),s/hewill
answeroneofthefollowingquestionsinthedigitalclassroom(YoungWritersProjectYWPor
googledocs)Eachquestioncanbeusedtwice.Studentswillhave6responseswhendone.

1. AnalyzetheinteractionbetweenZeus(substituteothernames)andagod,goddessormortalin
amyth.HowdidZeusinfluenceindividualsinthestory?Includeaquotefromthestoryto
supportyourclaimandexplainhowthequotesupportsyouridea.

2.Basedonthemythsread,quotetwoormorepiecesoftextevidencetopredicthowtheAncient
GreeksmighthavebeeninfluencedbyHera(substituteothernames).

3.AnalyzetheinteractionbetweenApolloandtheoutcomeofaneventinamyth.
IncludeasummaryoftheeventandexplainhowApollosactionsinfluencedthemythsoutcome.

Pleaseincludebibliographicinformationforallthequotesorevidenceusedintheseresponses(author,
BookTitle,StoryTitle.p.)

Assessment:
Score4 Score3 Score2 Score1
Topic
sentence
Claimclearly
stated.
Claimstatedin
generalterms
Claimis
emergingand
needsclarity
Claimis
missing
Evidence
Evidenceis
relevantand
clearlyexplained.

Evidence
logically
supportsthe
claiminthetopic
sentence.
Evidenceis
relevantand
explained.

Evidencesupports
thetopicsentence
claim.
Evidencequote
isirrelevantor
thesummaryis
unclear.
Elaborationmay
bemissingor
needmore
information.
Evidenceis
irrelevantor
missing.

Elaborationis
minimalor
missing.
Concluding
sentence
Effectively
summarizedand
clear
Summarizedbut
mayneedmore
clarity.

Mayberepetitious
ofthetopic
sentence.
Emergingbut
needsfurther
clarity.

Wordingneeds
moreclarity.
Missingor
minimal

AdditionalIdeastoaddknowledgeaboutthearchaeologicalsiteanditsuses:
1. Basedonthemythsread,quotetwoormorepiecesoftextevidencetopredicthow
theAncientGreeksmighthavebeeninfluencedbyHera(substituteothernames).

1. AnalyzetheinteractionbetweenApolloandtheoutcomeofaneventinamyth.
IncludeasummaryoftheeventandexplainhowApollosactionsinfluencedthemyths
outcome.

Pleaseincludebibliographicinformationforallthequotesorevidenceusedinthese
responses(author,

FurtherLessontoExtendLearning:

Lesson3SiteResearch
StudentscouldworkwithapartnertopresentinformationtotheclassaboutthefollowingsitesatDelphi:
TempleofApollo,TempleofAthena,theOracle,thetheater,theagora,andthestadium.

Thepurposebehindtheresearchwouldbetoprovideanunderstandingofthefunctionofthearchaeological
siteincludingsacrificingandprayingtothegods,posingquestionstotheOraclebeforegoingintobattleor
followingapredeterminedfate,andhonoringthegodsthroughperformancesinthetheaterandthestadium.

Lesson4PreparationfortheFestivaltoHonorApollo

Studentscouldworkinsmallgroupstoprepareforafestival.Individualclassescouldeachhaveagroupof
expertsatthetemples,theoracle,theater,agora,andstadium.Studentswouldhaveopportunitiestooffer
objectstothegodsatthetemples,askquestionsoftheoracle,performpoemsorskitsbasedonscenes
frommyths,offerGreekfoodsorstampedclothattheagora,andrunathleticcontestsatthestadium.

Thepurposebehindthefestivalwouldbetoprovideanopportunitytoapplytheirknowledgeoftheirresearch
andmythreadingandenjoythefestivalasaparticipantinAncientGreekculture.