Gartland, Janna Project

Real Connections between the Twenty-First Century and Greek Mythology Curriculum Project for 2008 Summer Fulbright-Hays Seminar in Greece and Bulgaria – Greece and Bulgaria: A Shared Past and a Common Future Contact: Janna Gartland English Teacher Prosser Career Academy Chicago IL [email protected] Unit Description: The following unit was created for a high school English class exploring Greek Mythology. The purpose of this unit is for the students to make a real connection with the mythology and discover the real meaning of mythology. Many students seem to think of Greek Mythology as a collection of fanciful stories and don’t realize how steeped in history, religion, and culture Greek Mythology is; instead they sometimes believe the teacher has made up these stories for them and they have to memorize the gods and goddesses for no particular reason. In an effort to combat this notion, I have created a unit that focuses on Greek history: some of the real places where the myths take place; religion: discuss religion during the ancient Greek times; and culture: explore the region of the Greeks, their thought process, and life back in ancient Greek. Skills: 1. Students will learn the pantheon of the Greek gods 2. Students will explore Greek life through outside readings and outline texts 3. Students will develop a vocabulary used when discussing Greek Mythology 4. Students will make connections between their culture and ancient Greek culture 5. Students will be able to find allusions and influences from Greek Mythology in English Literature Resources / Texts: For this unit, I will be using two main texts. First will be Edith Hamilton’s mythology book, which is a standard text used in high schools to teach mythology. The second text that I will require the students to read is the travel blog that I created while traveling through Greece this past summer. Feel free to use this source yourself, if you find it useful. My blog may also give you an idea of what you may want to do yourself when traveling abroad. Blogs are easy to create through blogger by visiting www.blogger.com. Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Back Bay Books, 1998.

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Gartland, Janna. Schoolhouse Global Rock. 2008. . All the pictures mentioned in the unit plan can be found on my blog along with the descriptions of meanings of specific places, etc. Overview of Unit Activities: 1. Students will focus on reading Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and taking notes. 2. Students will view pictures from blog and on the transparency in class. During these times of viewing, I will ask questions about what the students see and many times ask the students to write down things they notice, how they feel, or have them write a journal describing their feelings if they were in the scene. 3. Students will read and take notes on the blog and come back to class to discuss the topics they read about and make connections to these topics with the textbook. 4. Students will create their own creation story. 5. Students will write a more formal piece of writing on which god or goddess they would want to be their patron if they were living in ancient Greece. 6. Students will watch specific clips from the movie Troy. 7. Students will create a final poster project with a partner, which they will then share in front of the class after they finish. 8. Students will have a final discussion on the transition between ancient Greece to modern-day Greece. Unit Plan: DAY 1: Introduction to Mythology – View pictures from Greece trip on transparency projector. (Pictures may be found on blog). Have students view several: * Picture of the Parthenon * Picture of Mycenae * Picture of Olympic Stadium * Picture of Delphi * Picture of Sphinx * Picture of Aphrodite Questions to ask: What is this? Where is this? What does this remind you of? What do you think this was used for? Who is this? What does this have to do with Greek Mythology? Begin reading “Introduction to Classical Mythology” (Hamilton) DAY 2: Creation Stories Ask the students to talk about different creation stories they have heard about and make a list on the board. Then make a separate list on the board for stories that they have heard about for why we have seasons, etc. They may be able to do this if they have heard some of the mythology stories before. If not, let them guess. They may be able to come up with stories from Gilgamesh, Popoh Vuh, or the Bible. Discuss why we have these collection of stories. 2

* What do these stories mean? * Why were they important to the Greeks? * Why are they important to us now? Remind students that these stories were part of the religion of the people. View map of Greece and discuss specific places they have heard of before (Athens, Olympia, Sparta, Delphi, etc). Tell students the basic creation story of the world with Gaea and Uranus. Begin creating a family tree on the board. HOMEWORK: Have students think of some natural phenomenon or animal and write a short story of how a person without scientific knowledge of the world could have described how this thing / animal was created. DAY 3: The Pantheon – Begin reading Chapter 1 (Hamilton) * Read about Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis HOMEWORK: Read Day 4, 5, and 6 of Schoolhouse Global Rock blog DAY 4: The Pantheon Continued – Continue reading Chapter 1 * Read about Aphrodite, Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus, Hestia, the Lesser Gods, and the Gods of the Water HOMEWORK: Read Day 7 of Schoolhouse Global Rock blog DAY 5: Athena and the Akrolopis – Discuss blog entry from Day 7 and view pictures of the Akropolis. * Why would the ancient Greeks build such a temple for Athena? * How is she different than maybe some of the other goddesses? Discuss story of the origin of the name of Athens: the fight between Poseidon and Athena. Athena’s protection was the Olive Tree. Show the picture of the Temple of Aesculapius where the supposed original Olive Tree stands and where Poseidon’s thunderbolt supposedly crashed through the ceiling. HOMEWORK: Finish Chapter 1 reading about Hades DAY 6: Demeter – Read Chapter 2 about Demeter. DAY 7: Dionysus. In-class writing assignment: Based on the gods and goddesses you know so far, pretend that you were a person living in ancient Athens. Which god/goddess would be your patron god/goddess? Why? Begin reading about Dionysus in Chapter 2 HOMEWORK: Finish reading Chapter 2 DAY 8: The Greek World – View picture of Delphi and the Temple of Athena and Apollo. Discuss why people visited Delphi and the Oracles. (Information comes from Blog Day 12). 3

Read Chapter 3 HOMEWORK: Finish Chapter 3 DAY 9: Delphi and Ancient Culture – Discuss the daily life of ancient Greeks. Show pictures of the outdoor toilets the men could use, the plumbing system, and the jails at Palamidi. Think about this environment when you read “The Royal House of Thebes” of Camus and his Children and Oedipus. HOMEWORK: Read “Phaethon” and “Pegasus and Bellerophon” from Stories of Love and Adventure in Hamilton book. DAY 10: Adventure and Olympia – View pictures of the Olympic Stadium and how the Olympics worked. Read “Otus and Ephialtes” and “Daedalus” from Hamilton book. HOMEWORK: Read Day 8 and Day 10 of Schoolhouse Global Rock DAY 11: Agamemnon – View the gold mask of Agamemnon from Athens' Museum. Read “Agamemnon and His Children” HOMEWORK: Read Day 19 of Schoolhouse Global Rock blog DAY 12: The Trojan War – Begin reading Chapter “The Trojan War” (Hamilton) HOMEWORK: Finish reading Chapter DAY 13: The Trojan War – Read Chapter “The Fall of Troy” (Hamilton) HOMEWORK: Read Day 20 of Schoolhouse Global Rock DAY 14: Show clips from the movie of Troy. (Specifically the Trojan Horse) * What role do the gods play in the lives of these humans? * Why would the kings believe they were descendents from the gods? DAY 15 and BEYOND: Begin Final Project You will get into pairs and pick one research topic from random. You will then have the next four days in class to research about the topic, gather information, and create a poster on your topic. After you have finished your poster you will present your work to the class. Possible Topics: (All are chapters in the Hamilton book) • Flower Myths – Narcissus, Hyacinth, Adonis • Lovers – Pyramus and Thisbe AND Orpheus and Eurydice AND Ceyx and Alcyone AND Pygamlion and Galatea • Lovers – Baucis and Philemon AND Endymion AND Daphne AND Alpheus and Arethusa • Jason and the Golden Fleece • Perseus • Theseus

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Hercules Atalanta Odysseus

FINAL DAYS OF UNIT: Modern Civilization – Using the LCD Projector, read through Day 19 Mount Olympus from Schoolhouse Global Rock blog. Discuss the transition from mythology to Christianity. * What would be appealing to the Greeks about Christianity? * What reasons would they have for resistance and keeping their own religion? * How do you think Christianity began to change their culture and way of life? Read through Day 13 Meteora of Schoolhouse Global Rock blog. This post will help students define their answers more clearly from the previous three questions. Student should be able to see how Christianity developed slowly by observing the monasteries and convents at Meteora. Read through Day 24 Churches and Monasteries from Schoolhouse Global Rock blog. This post is about Bulgarian churches and monasteries, but since the two countries are so similar in their past, it is a good representation of what many of the inside of the churches in Greece looked like. Students will get to see the artwork that was all over the walls of the monasteries in Greece as well. Read through Day 31 Veliko Turnovo of Schoolhouse Global Rock blog. This post is from Bulgaria, which shares a very common history with Greece. This post is about Christianity in Bulgaria during Communism and shows pictures of what some of the churches and images in the church look like. Students will be able to transition from ancient Christianity to modern day easier with this post. * How has Christianity changed from the time of Meteora to these pictures? * Why are these pictures so different? * How does culture connect to belief systems? Read through Day 14 Thessaloniki of Schoolhouse Global Rock blog. Lead a discussion on modern day Greece. * What are your ideas about the Greek people now? * Why is Greece so important? * Why do so many writers use mythology in their writing? * What is going on in Greek politics today? Go through the Zodiac and discuss how Greek Mythology has influenced American culture (you can find the history of the zodiac through google). Final Thoughts: I find it helpful to give the students mini-reading quizzes throughout this unit to make sure that they are reading the information. I also work with them on vocabulary found in the chapters and how to take effect notes. Many times I let them use their notes for these reading quizzes to reinforce how important taking organized note is for their grade and learning. Many times I also give the students a final test at 5

the end of the unit. I focus the exam on the major gods and goddess along with other information that permeates American culture. It is not as important to me if they can remember small details of the myths. My goal for the exam is to help them retain as much general information that they can so that in the coming years in high school English they can find allusions in literature to the Greek Myths and be an informed American citizen in respect to brand names (Nike, etc), how the planets are named, etc. Note: After our Greek Mythology unit, we read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which works well after studying Greek Mythology. Shakespeare uses many Greek mythology allusions in his play and the students are able to easily pick them out and discuss their meaning while reading the drama.

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