Download The Myth

Introduction
1. Who is the chief Greek god?
2. Whose face launched a thousand ships and started the Trojan
War?
3. What was Mount Olympus noted for (who resided there)?
4. Who was Psyche’s handsome Roman god husband?
5. What heroic warrior defeated the monster Grendel?
6. What goddess was born from the foam of the sea?
7. Who was the Greek god of the underworld?
8. What Greek myth explained the changing of the seasons?
9. Who is the Norse god of thunder?
10. What well-known Sumerian epic tells the story of an arrogant
king?
11. What Roman epic did Virgil write?
12. What Greek hero was lost for 10 years after the Trojan War?
13. What Roman hero founded Rome itself?
14. What epic trilogy is based on the Norse Volsunga Sagas/
King Arthur?
15. What Norse god has only one eye?
16. Who is credited with writing the Iliad and the Odyssey?
17. Who was the official ferryman of the underworld?
18. How many labors did Hercules complete for Queen Hera?
19. Who is the Egyptian god of the dead (also a popular shoe
brand)?
20. Who was King Arthur’s queen and Lancelot’s desire?
1. Zeus
2. Helen of Troy
3. Home of 12 Greek gods
4. Eros/Cupid
5. Beowulf
6. Aphrodite
7. Hades
8. Demeter and Persephone
9. Thor
10.Gilgamesh
11. The Aeneid
12. Odysseus
13. Romulus
14. The Lord of the Rings
15. Odin
16. Homer
17. Charon
18. Twelve
19. Osiris
20. Guinevere
• As you read, look for the following ideas:
• Common themes in mythology
• How myths help different cultures
•What the purpose of myths are
•You will be expected to participate in
discussion after reading.
• The number one rule for reading mythology:
• Don’t look at myths literally!
• Myths involve characters that represent other ideas
• Earth, water, evil
• Representations of something else/ shadows of these ideas
• Frost Giants in Norse mythology represent natural
disasters
• Sirens in the Odyssey?
• Myth: Traditional story that attempts to explain the natural world,
outlining customs or ideals of a society. Myths can also be called
epics.
• Myths: protagonist is a god/ immortal
• Epic: protagonist is human/mortal
• The 5 Purposes of Mythology (CRETE)
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C reate a sense of history
R einforce values and beliefs
E xplain the unknown
T each a moral lesson
E ntertain the listener
A legend is similar to a myth, but some elements are true.
• Archetype: An original model on which similar things are
patterned.
• Many mythologies have gods that fit an archetypal character. We will
learn five archetypes.
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Polytheism: The belief in more than one god
Monotheism: The belief in only one god
Pantheon: all the gods of a people or religion collectively
Duality: the state of being twofold; necessary opposites