Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is a “myth”? What do you know about the myths of Ancient Greece?

Teaching Suggestion: Students are likely to have reasonably accurate definitions of the term “myth” from their own prior knowledge. You might challenge more advanced students to think about some of the political and cultural assumptions embedded in the term. Although students may already know some of the main gods and goddesses in these stories and be familiar with some of the stories themselves, they are unlikely to have a solid grasp of the overall nature of Greek myth. The resources below can add to and refine their understanding of Greek myth as a unified body of work.

• This entry from LiteraryTerms.net offers a clear definition of “myth” as a literary term and gives a brief overview of Greek myth as an example.
• This factsheet from Manitoba’s Education and Early Childhood Learning Department offers a succinct overview of the characteristics of Ancient Greek myth.

2. What do you know about Ancient Greek culture? What do you know about Ancient Greek religious beliefs?