Download Minor Project for This Unit

Lesson: How Myths Have Influenced Our Language
Unit: The Hero in Epic, Myth, and Alllegory
Standards: Expand vocabulary, Greco-Romans roots; value studying classics to
understand later literature, to communicate effectively.
Objectives: While reading mythology, define words or phrases selected by self or teacher
and use in sentence to demonstrate understanding of how expression is used today.
Mythology's influence is evident in our language. It is hard to imagine reading or writing
without drawing upon myth-oriented adjectives or idioms.
Minor Project for This Unit
As you read myths, create word cards like the one illustrated below. Create a card for
each word or phrase you learn when reading the ancient stories.
Definition: tell part of speech,
state meanings.
Link: list two synonyms and two
antonyms.
The Word or
Phrase
Etymology: describe its mythic origins.
Mnemonic: create a logo or symbol to
help you remember.
Sentence: show you understand how to use the word.
Here are steps you should follow to complete this project:
1. Get a package of cards that fit in the box in which you have chosen to store them.
2. As you read the myths, identify words or phrases used today as a figure of speech
or that has technical meaning in literature, medicine, or some other field.
3. Write the word or phase in the center of a card.
4. In the upper left quadrant, define the word or phrase; name its part of speech.
5. In the upper right quadrant, state two synonyms and two antonyms.
6. In the lower right quadrant, draw an icon representing the word or phrase.
7. In the lower left quadrant, explain the etymology of the word or phrase (the
relationship between its origins and how it is used today).
8. One the lower banner, use the word or phrase in a sentence.
Practice
Here’s an example: what does it mean to have the Midas touch? Research this by reading
the story on page 278-279 in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. Draw your conclusions and
verify them by research in the Dictionary. We’ll discuss what you find in 10 minutes.
Wrap Up
In addition to being graded as a Minor Project, your cards will help you prepare for the
vocabulary portion of your unit test and semester exam. Plus, you can start using these
words and phrases in your own writing.
Your set of cards is due on the week we finish reading Mythology; I will announce it. You
must create your word cards daily to keep up.
We will store your card boxes in this room so you don’t have to bring anything more than
new cards to class.
Decorate your box this weekend. Bring your box to school on Monday.
Ideas
The following partial list of mythological references and some words they have inspired
will get you started.
Atlas: A mythical giant who supported the heavens on his shoulders. (The book of maps
known as an atlas is named after a legendary African king, sometimes thought to be
descended from the Atlas of Greek myth.)
Hercules: Also known as Heracles, the greatest hero of Greece. (A particularly great
exertion is said to be a Herculean effort.)
Labyrinth: A dangerous maze built for King Minos. Sacrificial victims were sent into the
Labyrinth from which it was almost impossible to escape. At the center was the
monstrous Minotaur. (The English words labyrinth and labyrinthine may derive from
certain double-headed axes, archaeological examples of which have been found on the
Greek island of Crete, site of the kingdom of mythological King Minos and the
Labyrinth.)
Midas: A king who had the power to change all he touched to gold. This blessing became
a curse. (The Midas touch.)
Pan: Shepherd god, son of Hermes, with legs and horns of a goat. (Pan was considered to
be the cause of the sudden fear that sometimes comes for no reason, especially in lonely
places. That's why it's called "panic". )
Procrustes: Man who offered his "one-size-fits-all" bed to passing travelers, adjusting his
guests to the bed by stretching or chopping them as appropriate. (An article in The New
York Times refers to art historians who try to force the famous painter Pablo Picasso into
"the Procrustean bed of theories.")