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SCIENCE Project Plans
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
Science Project 1 – Myth versus science (Key Stage 2)
Aims of the lesson: To consolidate
understanding of myths, by looking at their
relationship to real-world science.
Activity: Myths deal with the natural world,
and through myths ancient civilizations tried
to make sense of the world they lived in. This
seems silly in the modern world of science,
with all our scientific knowledge, but ancient
peoples did not have the benefit of our
knowledge - knowledge that has been
acquired through centuries of discoveries and
scientific investigations. Myths are not
scientific fact, but they do try to explain
natural phenomena. lf we look at one of the
ancient Greek creation stories, the world was
originally Chaos. The Science Project 1
resources include a version of the myth of
Chaos and how the world was created.
Did the Greeks think of this as the
literal truth?
How would they know for sure when
they weren't around for it?
How different is this allegory from the
Big Bang Theory?
lnstead of an explosive force originating out of
nowhere, but coming from within the 'cosmic
soup', the Greeks had a kind of primeval,
disorganised and chaotic soup, with the
principle of Order suddenly asserting itself.
Maybe we should say that myth is like science
– not knowledge, but theory.
That would work for some myths, like the
creation of the world out of Chaos, but it
won't work when we examine other myths,
like the story of a creature Hercules tried to
wrestle. Every time Hercules hurled Antaeus
to the ground, his adversary became stronger.
Clearly this is what we might politely call a tall
story. But maybe there is a scientific logic
behind it. What if Antaeus had some sort of
magnet that made him stronger each time he
hit the Earth and weaker when held away
from his power source? Or how about
Cerberus, the three-headed hound guarding
the Underworld? There are two-headed
people. We call them Siamese or conjoined
twins. Why not three headed beasts?
Ask the class to source some Greek myths that
deal with scientific principles. There are many
Greek myths that deal with forms of energy.
For example:
sound - Echo
light - Narcissus (reflection)
heat - Prometheus (fire)
growth - Demeter and Persephone
electricity - Zeus
motion - Hermes
The Science Project 1 resource file offers
some information on how these Greek gods
and goddesses were the origins of different
forms of energy.
Extension: To further develop this activity, ask
the pupils to research some other myths and
legends to do with science. The ancient
Greeks were not the only ones to have
creationist myths.
Nordic creation myths have been documented
by Snorri Sturluson, an lcelandic historian,
poet, and politician who lived around 11791241 AD. ln these writings can be found the
creation myth of the World Ash Tree
(Yggdrasil). The Science Project 1 file includes
the myth of the World Ash Tree. Yggdrasil is
an Ash tree, at the centre of all worlds. lt is
the World Tree of life and knowledge, and of
time and space. On the highest branches sits
an eagle, and twisted round its roots lies a
snake, gnawing at the tree. The eagle and the
snake hate each other. A squirrel runs up and
down the tree, telling each in turn what rude
things the other is saying! Under the roots of
the tree there is a spring of water called
Mimir. lf you drink from the spring, you will
get wisdom and understanding. Odin (Nordic
God) thought it was so important to be wise
that he gave one of his eyes for a drink from
the spring. From that time on, he only had
one eye, but he was the cleverest of the gods.
He invented Runes, the Nordic system of
writing.
The Science Project 1 resources include information sheets on Greek creation theory and how forms
of energy were introduced by some specific gods and goddesses. The file also includes information
sheets on Nordic myths about the world’s creation.
SCIENCE PROJECT 1 - Resources
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
SCIENCE PROJECT 1 - Resources
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
SCIENCE PROJECT 1 - Resources
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
SCIENCE 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.
SCIENCE PROJECT 2 - Resources
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
SCIENCE PROJECT 2 - Resources
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
SCIENCE PROJECT 2 - Resources
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
SCIENCE PROJECT 2 - Resources
MYTHS AND LEGENDS