TALES FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Welcome back to school! I hope you have had a good holiday! Your teacher, Carmen, asked you to do some work during the summer. You have read (I hope!) “Tales from Greek Mythology” (Burlington Activity Reader). Now answer these questions about Greek myths:
1. What is a myth? Put this definition in the correct order:
a) about/Myths/adventures/the/of/are/gods and heroes/
b) natural/They/stories/traditional/which/are/phenomena/explain/try to/
| a) b) |
2. Which natural phenomenon does the story about Persephone explain?
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3. Many of the Greek gods and heroes appear in the stories you have read. Can you identify them?
Story 1: Demeter/Persephone/Hades/Hermes
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1
2
3
4
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1
2
3
4
1
Story 3: Narcissus/Hera/Echo/Aphrodite
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1
2
3
4
4. Look at the FAMILY TREE of the Greek gods and goddesses (it is a simplified version) and answer these questions:
1. Who were the parents of Zeus? …………………………………………………………………
2. Who was the wife of Zeus? …………………………………………………………………
3. Name the brothers and sisters of Zeus. …………………………………………………………………
4. Who was the son of Zeus and Leto? And what was the name of his twin sister?
………………………………………………………………..
5. Who was the daughter of Zeus and Dione? ………………………………………………………………..
The Greek Gods – A Brief Genealogy:
(Heaven) Uranus = Gaea (Earth)
| --------------------------------------- | | | | |Cronus = Rhea Coeus = Phoebe Oceanus = Tethys
| | |---------------------- Leto = Zeus Iapetus
| | | | | | |Hestia | Poseidon | Demeter=Zeus | ----------------
Hades Zeus = Hera | | | | |
| | Persephone | | Prometheus |
Athena | --------- | |
| | | Atlas Epimetheus
--------------- Apollo Artemis | |
| | | | |Ares Hebe Hephaestus Zeus=Maia Zeus=Dione
| |Hermes Aphrodite
For more information about the Greek gods and heroes, look at a web page called “Mythweb”:
5. Now read the story of THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS:
When Peleus and Thetis got married, Zeus invited every god and goddess to a banquet on Mount Olympus. Everybody was invited, except Eris, the goddess of discord. Eris, who was angry, threw the golden Apple of Discord into the party. On this apple she wrote the word "Kallisti" - "For the most beautiful one". The goddesses were jealous and immediately began to argue because they all thought they were the most beautiful.
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all wanted the apple and so they asked Zeus to choose one of them. Knowing that if he chose one goddess, the other two would hate him, Zeus did not want to take part in the decision, and so he told the handsome Trojan Paris to select the most beautiful of the three. Escorted by Hermes, the three goddesses went down to Earth and asked Paris to choose the most beautiful goddess. They tried to bribe him: Hera offered him all Europe and Asia; Athena offered skill in battle; and Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth, Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite—and Helen.
1. This incident started a very famous war – which war?
2. Who was Helen’s husband?
3. Who was the leader of the Greek armies?
4. Who were Paris’s father and his brother?
5. How did Achilles die? Which part of his body was his weak point?
6. How did the Greeks finally conquer Troy?
7. Who wrote the famous narrative about the conquest of Troy?
8. What is the name of this narrative and also its sequel?
 Oedipus and the Sphinx, by Ingres. |
6. THE RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX
In Greek mythology, the Sphinx, a monster, sat outside the city of Thebes and asked a riddle of all travellers who passed by. If the traveller couldn’t solve the riddle, then the Sphinx killed him or her. If the traveller answered the riddle correctly, then the Sphinx had to kill herself. This was the riddle:
What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?
Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx threw herself off the mountain.
Can you answer the riddle? And can you explain it?
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Can you briefly tell the story of Oedipus?
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7. And finally…….
If you could be a Greek god or goddess, who would you be? Why?
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THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
The following links are for a Walt Disney production of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" from 1958. It is in four parts, but it will be very difficult for you to understand - don't worry, just try to follow the story and pick up a few words:
Answer these questions which are based on the Burlington edition of "Sleepy Hollow":
Chapter 1: Why do the people of Sleepy Hollow think there are ghosts in the valley?
Chapter 2: How did Ichabod earn more money?
Chapter 3: In the ghost story, how did the soldier die?
Chapter 4: What excuse did Ichabod use to visit Katrina?
Chapter 5: Why did everybody admire Brom Bones?
Chapter 6: Why did Ichabod's eyes hurt?
Chapter 7: Why was Ichabod excited?
Chapter 8: How did Brom Bones hear about the Headless Horseman?
Chapter 9: What did the Headless Horseman do with his "head"?
Chapter 10: Why did the people close the school and build another one?
Write a brief summary of the story. Include the following information:
1. Sleepy Hollow - Where is it? What is it like?
2. Ichabod - Who is he? What is he like?
3. The ghost story.
4. Katrina - who is she? What is she like?
5. Brom Bones - Who is he? What is he like?
6. The invitation.
7. What happened at the party? Bones's story.
8. Ichabod at the bridge - What happens?
9. Conclusion - Why did Bones laugh about the Headless Horseman?
You can find this page here: Ancient Greek Myths
MY SUMMARY OF THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
