Greek Mythology is hands-down one of the most popular units that I have ever taught to my middle school students–second only to my Fun Poetry Unit. With the rise of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and other modern allusions to Greek Mythology, students’ interest in the ancient stories is higher than ever. I love to capitalize on that interest and teach students important literacy skills while enjoying the engaging stories of well-known Greek mythical figures.
When I teach Greek Mythology, I divide our study up into three subunits. I begin building students’ base knowledge about twelve major Greek gods and goddesses. Following that, we spend some time reading and analyzing the themes of several famous Greek myths. And finally, we study The Hero’s Journey and eight of the most well-known Greek Heroes. The entire unit takes about a month and students LOVE it! At the end of each lesson, they are literally BEGGING for more Greek Mythology!
Let’s take a closer look at each of the subunits!
1. Greek Gods and Goddess Unit
First, my students and I take a look at ancient Greek Deity. Greek Mythology is full of interesting characters, but perhaps none so intriguing as the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece! This FUN no-prep middle school unit examines each goddess and god individually. Students will be able to recognize each deity’s Greek and Roman name, his or her title or realm, the symbols associated with him or her and become familiar with the major myths involving each god or goddess. The twelve gods I include in this unit are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus and Artemis.
For each deity, I use a note card for students to keep track of the vital information of each god–by vital, I mean the information mentioned previously and that will also be on the test! On the flip side of the note card, I’ve included an artist’s depiction of the god or goddess. If we have time, I’ll ask students to color the whole thing; but at a minimum, I ask that students at least color any visible symbols of the goddess or god. This helps them recognize the goddess or god in art, pictures, etc.
We end this part of the unit with a test (review included) and a fun creative activity that my students have always really enjoyed!
2. Introduction to Greek Mythology
Secondly, in the unit, I like to pause and reflect with students about why it’s a good idea to study Greek Mythology. I have devoted an entire additional blog post about my top four reasons we should study Greek Mythology, so I won’t go into that here. However, I do review these reasons with students as part of the unit. We read seven Greek Myths and analyze the theme of each myth. I really enjoy pausing with students and considering what might be a life lesson that can be learned from each myth. Typically, there are many in each myth. Often, my students decipher themes that haven’t even occurred to me! I love this part of the unit where students can think critically!
The myths that we read include:
- The Tragedy of Echo and Narcissus
- The Tragedy of Phaethon
- Prometheus and the Theft of Fire
- The Story of Pandora
- The Judgment of Paris
- Oedipus and the Oracle at Delphi
- The Minotaur, Daedalus and Icarus
Each of these stories is so fun to read with students! Some they may have heard of before and others they may not be familiar with. Either way, they are exciting myths to study and analyze together. This unit also includes some creative projects at the end that are a fun way to wrap up this section of our Greek Mythology study.
3. The Hero’s Journey – Greek Mythology
Finally, the last portion of my Greek Mythology unit is centered around Joseph Campbell’s monomyth or “The Hero’s Journey.” We begin the unit by introducing the journey and then proceed to read about eight famous Greek Heroes: Perseus, Atalanta, Bellerophon, Achilles, Theseus, Heracles, Jason and Odysseus. For each hero story, students can mark how the hero went through The Hero’s Journey and then complete an additional fun and creative activity.
This unit concludes with a formal writing assignment that takes students through the entire writing process discussing their personal hero. We work on prewriting/brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. It’s maybe less fun, per se, for students, but it is meaningful for each them to think about someone they admire and why.
Fun and Engagement are Contagious!
As with most lessons we teach in our classrooms, if we are having fun, our students are more likely to have fun. Smiles and enthusiasm are contagious; so are pessimism and dread! So find something to be happy about and have fun studying Greek Mythology with your students!
Brenna (Mrs. Nelson)