Download Gods, Goddesses, Heroes and Heroines

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“Did You Hear About the New Student?!”
… Meet the Gods of Park Middle School
Myths are traditional stories invented by early people to explain the mysteries of the
universe, such as creation, changing seasons, and the transition from day to night. Often
these stories had characters of superhuman qualities, strengths, or talents. The Greeks are
famous for their myths about their gods, goddesses, heroines, and heroes (who usually had
very human flaws and imperfections). This made for interesting challenges and conflicts.
In this project, you will select a Greek mythological character – and prepare a brief soliloquy
designed to introduce your character – a new student at Park – to the class.
Whenever there is a new student in our grade, the hallways are abuzz with excitement. You
will get us excited about your character by putting together a soliloquy in which you gossip
about the new addition to the class. (If you prefer, you can perform your soliloquy as your
character instead.) A soliloquy is a dramatic monologue that gives the illusion of a series of
unspoken reflections. In other words, you’ll be talking to yourself out loud about your
character (while your classmates are “listening in” on your private reflections).
Through your performance, you will share some basic information on your character – see
below – as well as any special mythological story in which your character appears. Your
monologue must also include the special term or phrase in the English language associated
with your character. Be sure that your skit provides your classmates with an understanding
of the meaning of the particular term or phrase.
You should begin your paper with an introductory paragraph sharing basic facts about your
character. Follow the paragraph with your soliloquy, which should address the following
questions:
 What, if any, are the character’s superhuman qualities, talents, or abilities, and the character’s
domain (area of influence)?
 Does your character possess any quirks or flaws? If so, what are they?
 In what, if any, interesting myths does your character play an important role?
 What phrase in the English language is derived from your character and how does the phrase
relate to your character?
As you know, the Greeks were known for their love of theater. To conclude the project, you
will read your soliloquy before the class. Take some time to decide how best to present your
information to the class. Remember the dramatic readings we listened to of The Odyssey.
Have fun with this and be creative! Keep us on the edge of our seats! Use a prop, design a
mask, or dress up for the part.
Greek Mythological Characters
Character
Term/Phrase
Achilles (the legendary Greek warrior at Troy – with one weakness…)
Achilles heel
Aphrodite (goddess of love)
aphrodisiac
Atlas (a Titan forced to hold the world on his shoulders)
“He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders”
Cassandra (could predict the future -- but no one believes her)
a Cassandra
Eros (god of love)
erotic; “struck by Cupid’s arrow”
Herakles (aka Hercules; hero renowned for his great strength)
Herculean effort; Herculean strength
Medusa (a female monster – she could turn you to stone)
“If looks could kill”
Midas (his wish came true: everything he touched turned to gold)
“the Midas touch”
Narcissus (a beautiful youth who pines away for love of his own reflection) narcissism; “He’s so full of himself”
Oedipus (Greek king who unknowingly kills his father & marries his mother) Oedipus complex
Oracle of Delphi (a priestess who rarely made sense)
Delphic utterance
Pandora (her box contained all the world’s evil and she opened the lid)
“Opened up Pandora’s box”
Prometheus (a Titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humans)
Promethean
Sisyphus (king condemned eternally to roll a heavy rock up a hill)
Sisyphian task
Tantalus (a king condemned for engaging in human sacrifice)
tantalize
Review of Requirements:
 Soliloquy is typed and double-spaced with name and period in the top right-hand
corner; Times New Roman, 12-point font
 A minimum of two sources for your research are documented in MLA format at end
of the skit.
 Title includes character’s name
 Content = short introductory paragraph with your character’s biography, followed
by a soliloquy that provides class with an understanding of the Greek character and how
the English term or phrase is related to that character
 Intro and soliloquy is well-written (pay attention to assignment’s requirements, as
well as to grammar and spelling)

Dramatic performance of soliloquy before classmates