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HISTORY Project Plans MYTHS AND LEGENDS History Project 1 - The Trojan War (Key Stages 1 and 2) Aims of the lesson: To understand the links between ancient myths and history. Activity: Many ancient myths have become interwoven with history. As stories, they tell us a lot about the people who wrote them, the battles they fought, the challenges they faced and the characteristics and human attributes that were most valued. One ancient Greek myth that has definitely come to be treated more like historical fact than fiction is the story of the Trojan War. On the face of it, the stories of Troy and the Trojan War are just that - fantastic stories. But, looking at these tales of epic struggles can tell us a lot about ancient Greek civilizations. As bit of fun, begin this project by asking the pupils to discover the answers to some interesting Greek and Roman questions: Where did humans come from? How did evil come into the world? Where does fire come from? Why do spiders make webs? Why do the seasons change every year? History Project 1 resources file includes an information sheet offering the answers to these questions. Ancient Greek and Roman myths can tell us a lot about history, and whilst pondering over these questions is a little bit of fun, it tells us how 'religious' some ancient civilizations were We may scoff at ancient myths now, but ancient peoples believed in them and lived their lives worshipping gods and goddesses trying to emulate the morals and human qualities that mythical heroes and heroines embodied. Once the pupils have had some fun answering the questions above, ask them what they know of Troy and the Trojan War. Many films, books and TV programmes have used this ancient story as their stimulus - so a few of the pupils may know some of the key events. The Trojan War is the main issue of The lliad by Homer, and its later sequence is described in The Aeneid by Virgil. History Project 1 resource file contains an information sheet on Homer and Virgil. Also included is a potted history of the Trojan War. Review this before the lesson, and then discuss the salient points with the pupils. After reviewing this information, ask the pupils what this story tells us about the ancient Greeks: What gods and goddesses did they worship? How did they prepare for battle? What human attributes did they admire (loyalty, comradeship, bravery) What did they understand (or not as the case maybe) about geography? Did they have maps to follow? lf they had used a map would they have found Troy so difficult to locate? What would it have been like to fight in an ancient Greek epic battle? Extension: To further develop an understanding of ancient Greek civilisation ask the pupils to carry out their own research and note any findings, with clear reasons for their conclusions (from myths or otherwise). History Project 1 resources includes an information sheet offering answers to fun questions, some detail about Homer and Virgil and information on the Trojan War. HISTORY PROJECT 1 - Resources MYTHS AND LEGENDS HISTORY PROJECT 1 - Resources MYTHS AND LEGENDS HISTORY PROJECT 1 - Resources MYTHS AND LEGENDS SCIENCE Project Plans MYTHS AND LEGENDS Science Project 2 – Mythical astronomy (Key Stage 2) Aims of the lesson: To research the links between the planets in our solar system and ancient Greek/Roman gods. Activity: The planets in our solar system are named after Roman and Greek mythological gods and goddesses, except for the name Earth which is Germanic and Old English in origin. The five planets easily visible with the unaided eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) have been observed for all human history as far as we can tell, and they were called different things by different cultures. The Romans named these planets according to their movements and appearance. For example, Venus, the planet that appears the brightest, was named after the Roman goddess of beauty, while the reddish Mars was named after the god of war. These Roman names were adopted by European languages and culture and became standard in science. Begin this activity by asking the pupils how they think the planets got their names. Next tell them that all of the planets in our solar system (except Earth) are named after ancient Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. The Science Project 2 resources file offers a list of the planets and some information on the gods and goddesses they are named after. Using this information ask the pupils to draw a Representation of the solar system, naming the planets and writing a short sentence about the gods and goddesses that the planets are named after. The ancient Greeks and Romans were not the only early civilisations to name the planets after their gods. ln Hindu religion and mythology, the nine planets occupy an important role. The planets are believed to have an impact on the lives of individuals. This is moving into the realms of astrology - something that the pupils will be more familiar with in terms of the Zodiac. The Science Project 2 resources file includes an information sheet on how the planets are named in Vedic astrology (the Hindu science of studying the planets). The Hindu planets are referred to as the Navagraha. There are also mythical names used for constellations of stars. The following is a constellation mentioned or referred to in old Scandinavian poems. Unfortunately, exactly which stars this story refers to is unknown. AURVANDIL’S TOE A brave warrior named Aurvandil was going about his travels far to the north. He came to an impassable river called Elivagar. Thor, the god of thunder offered to take him across the river by placing him in a basket. However, one of his toes stuck out and was frozen. Thor broke the toe off and threw it into the sky. This tale is recounted in Snorri's Prose Edda. Since Aurvandil's toe was frozen and this episode takes place in winter, the Norsemen could have been referring to a blue star that appears predominantly in the colder months and didn't appear in any other constellation. lt could refer to the bright star Sirus in Canis Major. Once the pupils have looked at the names we use for the planets, ask them where they think the names of the week come from. ln English, we call our days of the week after Saxon gods, apart from Saturday. The Science Project 2 resources file includes a table showing the names of the weeks in English and Saxon. The table also shows the names of the week used by the ancient Romans, and which gods they named some of the days after. Extension: To develop this project further ask the pupils where they think the names we give the months of the year came from? The Science Project 2 file offers an information sheet detailing the names of the months and the origins of those names. Only a few are named after mythical gods and goddesses. The Science Project 2 resources file includes a range of information sheets on how the planets and the days of the week are named. HISTORY PROJECT 2 - Resources MYTHS AND LEGENDS HISTORY PROJECT 2 - Resources MYTHS AND LEGENDS HISTORY PROJECT 2 - Resources MYTHS AND LEGENDS