Greek Mythology: The Gods and Heroes

Out of all the mythologies of the world, Greek mythology has influenced Western Civilization the most.  Literally thousands of artists and writers have used Greek mythology as their muse--bringing the ancient stories to life through sculpture, painting, poetry, and song. Myth-inspired phrases such as Achilles Heel and Oedipus Complex and stand-alone words like labyrinth and mentor proliferate our language.

Media other than high art use mythological references too.   Businesses and advertising firms use mythology as a selling tool.  Arethusa Plumbing references Arethusa (a nymph transformed into a spring), a diamond necklace is titled a Pandora for its irresistibility, and towering billboards bear the name Olympus.  All these examples show how culturally ingrained Greek mythology has become.  Together with the Bible and Shakespeare, Greek mythology rounds out the "Big Three of Allusions."  Any serious student of literature must have a healthy background in these three areas in order to spot the numerous references authors make to them.

INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT GREECE READING PACKET  This packet of information provides a good background for both English and history teachers who want to teach students about ancient Greece. Also available in the website store is a series of 50 questions (and a key) that you can use with this packet of information. For more information click here.

GALLERY OF THE GODS  This gives a quick overview of the main gods and goddesses of Greek mythology.

 GOD AND GODDESS PRESENTATION (SALE ITEM)  This presentation gives an overview of the main gods and goddesses from Greek mythology and includes original artwork!

 

 

SECRET OLYMPIANS: GREEK GOD AND GODDESS SOCIAL DEDUCTION GAME  Secret Olympians puts you in the role of a Greek god and goddess. Your mission? Find out everyone else's secret identity before yours is discovered! Secret Olympians is a deduction game for 8-16 players. Players take turns requesting clues from other players in an effort to deduce their secret identities. Any player whose identity is guessed correctly is removed from the game. To win, be the last god standing! See a video preview of the game, by clicking here:  https://youtu.be/mYsSDDWlEHE

 

GREEK GOD AND GODDESS QUIZ  This quiz asks students to match the descriptions of the main Greek gods and goddesses to their names.

GREEK AND ROMAN NAME QUIZ MATCHING  This quiz asks students to match the Greek and Roman names of the gods and goddesses.

"HADES AND PERSEPHONE" (A READER'S THEATER SCRIPT-STORY)  This Reader's Theater script-story dramatizes the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, where the god of the underworld abducts a young maiden. This myth explains the seasons of the year.

REACHING OLYMPUS:  TALES OF TITANS, GODS, AND MORTALS TEXTBOOK (SALE ITEM)  This full-sized textbook contains a full list of Reader's Theater script-stories dramatizing stories of the Greek gods and goddesses. Additional activities and worksheets are also included.

 

REACHING OLYMPUS:  HEROES, BEASTS, AND MONSTERS TEXTBOOK (SALE ITEM)  This full-sized textbook contains a full list of Reader's Theater script-stories dramatizing tales of the Greek heroes like Theseus, Perseus, and Heracles (Hercules).

 

"THE BALLAD OF BELLEROPHON" (A MYTHIC PARODY)  This handout presents a parody of the story of the winged horse, Pegasus, and his less-famous rider, Bellerophon.

12 LABORS OF HERCULES ESCAPE ROOM (SALE ITEM)  This fun activity asks players to decode twelve different messages that correspond to the Twelve Labors of Hercules. 

MYTHOLOGICAL ALLUSIONS PACKET  This packet of activities teaches students what an allusion is and asks them to locate and create allusions to Greek mythology.

28 MYTH-INSPIRED POEMS  This packet contains a variety of poems inspired by Greek mythology. Warning:  Some poems will not be suitable for younger learners.

MYTHICAL BEASTS, MONSTERS, AND LESSER GODS PRESENTATION  This presentation gives students an overview of the lesser gods and creatures of Greek mythology.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY COLORING SHEETS (SALE ITEM)  These 15 black-line coloring pages are cartoon-style renditions of the Greek Gods.

 

 

MYTHOLOGY CHARADES CLUES  Charades is a great way to end a unit on mythology. Use these clues to play charades based on characters from Greek Mythology.

SAMPLE GREEK MYTHOLOGY UNIT  Do you only have a few days to teach a bit of Greek and Roman mythology? This 14-unit plan will provide your student with a snapshot of Greco-Roman mythology that encourages them to dive deeper! For a semester-long Greek and Roman mythology course, check out this link instead.

TALES OF LOVE  This worksheet presents short myths from Greek mythology that deal with famous love stories. For a Google Slides Choice Map featuring these myths, click here.

GREEK GOD AND GODDESS POSTERS (SALE ITEM) This eye-catching set of 16 posters is perfect for getting students interested in a study of Greek mythology! The 11 X 14" full-color images are printed on thick and sturdy cardstock. They also come with FREE SHIPPING!

 

 

FREE GREEK MYTHOLOGY BADGING SYSTEM  Want to incorporate a bit of gamification into your classroom? There's nothing better than our free digital Greek Mythology Badge Kit, which you will receive immediately after joining our mailing list. This download includes a scroll background and 24 badges (with transparent backgrounds) based on Greek Mythology. Click HERE to sign up today and receive the download link directly in your email. 

FREE ANIMATED GOOGLE CLASSROOM BANNER  Use this animated GIF banner to make your mythology course's Google classroom pop! Click here to download.

MOUNT OLYMPUS SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS  This creative project asks students to create social media posts as the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. Also use this project example to show your students how their project should look. This is a modified version of Matt Miller of Ditch That Textbook.