Table of Contents
The ancient Greeks defined mythology as the spoken story of people. This collection of stories called myths often depicts varied human conditions such as our origins, values, and concepts of good, evil, life, and death. As a part of every culture, myths provide early but unproven explanations of why and how a phenomenon happens, including the creation of the universe and the formation of complex societies.
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Key Facts & Information
Short video explainer
- Before we start, watch a short video explainer about the nature of a myth. Link found on the PDF download.
What to consider
- Multifaceted nature – Studying mythology crosses the disciplines of anthropology, literature, history, sociology, linguistics, and religion.
- Myths have themes – Amidst the varying geographical origins of myths, most myths share the same theme. Most cultures have creation and destruction myths, pantheons, and the existence of mythical creatures. At the end of the day, myths convey morals.
- Open to interpretations – Despite being defined as untrue stories, scholars use myths to unearth the early histories of complex societies. Due to its connection with the life of the early people, myths are often reflected in physical structures, which are open to interpretations of how they lived in the past.
- The line between myth and religion – In some early societies such as the Greeks, Romans, Japanese, Egyptians, and Native Americans, mythology was often intertwined with their belief system, including rituals and way of life.
How to deliver
- Myths are often viewed as false stories passed through generations in the contemporary world. However, despite this conscious definition of mythology, many myths survived for ages and are being studied today as stand-alone courses such as world mythology and classical mythology. So how did myths survive time? Was it the exciting plots? The fantastical beasts? Or the magic it entails?
- First, learning about mythology is entertaining. As teachers and parents, we can present myths using popular entertainment such as movies, theater plays, and costume parties.
- So how did myths survive time? Myths have significance and staying power. Myths are often stories narrating why a figure or an event is essential. For example, in Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus gave fire to humans. The abduction of Persephone by Hades was the origin of the six months abundance and harvest. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter (goddess of agriculture).
- Because of their significance, myths have staying power. In the early times, myths provided simple explanations to natural phenomena and human conditions, which had no other possible reason, such as science. The most common theme of myths includes the creation and destruction of the world and the universe.
- In Egyptian mythology, the story of Ra, the sun god, performs the creation. Ra created the first gods out of himself. He created Shu, the god of wind, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture and rainfall, who engendered other gods, including Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky). In Norse mythology, the world was created from the remains of Ymir. Ymir was a primordial giant killed by Odin and his brothers, whose blood became oceans and river, flesh became the land, the mountains for his bones, hair became trees and grass, and Midgard from his eyelashes.
- For the Japanese, the gods Izanami and Izanagi used a jewel-encrusted spear to stir the oceans and create the islands of Japan. Aside from the islands, the couple also made Oho-yama tsu-mi (god of mountains), Kagutsuchi (god of fire, Kuku-no-shi (god of the trees), and Oho-wata-tsu-mi (god of the sea).
- Since almost all cultures had creation myths, we can present them comparatively and thematically rather than geographic.
- Like the Japanese gods, the myth founding the Roman Kingdom involves the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned on the banks of the River Tiber by their uncle King Amulius. The twins were rescued by Tiberinus, the god of the river, and were cared for by a she-wolf in the Lupercal, a cave at the foot of Palatine Hill. Later on, they were taken by Faustulus, a shepherd. Remus was taken a prisoner and rescued by Romulus by the time they reached adulthood. At the time, their true identity was exposed. After helping the true king Numitor, the twins set up their city.
- Amidst the variation in creation myths, this theme suggests the relationship between gods and humans, humans and animals, and man and woman.
- Another common theme in mythology is pantheons or the complicated families of deities. This mythological theme often existed in polytheistic religions or those recognizing more than one god. According to philologist David Leeming, pantheons “are metaphors for the human attempt to make sense of existence itself and assign ultimate cause.” In addition to presenting the complicated family tree, pantheons are essential to discuss since it reflects their societies – for example, the Egyptian Nine Gods pantheon.
- The Egyptian Nine Gods pantheon reflects the importance of the sun and pharaohs to Egyptian society. Moreover, the myth of Osiris and Isis suggests the significance of life, death, mummification, pyramids, and the promise of eternal life in Egyptian society. According to the myth, Seth murdered his brother Osiris out of jealousy, and he placed him in a chest and threw him in the river. When found, Seth cut off Osiris’ body into 14 pieces, and Isis collected 13. Another version was that Ra sent Anubis to help Isis and Nephthys perform the funeral rites. When Isis flapped her wing over the body, Osiris revived and became the god of the underworld.
- Much of what we know about the reflection of mythology with the ancient Egyptian life and society are from fragments of papyrus such as the Book of the Dead, which we can present to our learners for analysis.
- As mentioned, mythology touches varied disciplines such as anthropology, literature, sociology, history, and religion. In addition to being an entertaining subject, studying mythology opens our learners to cultures across the world. There was a time when mythology took a massive part in societies’ religion. The line between mythology and religion was blurred in complex societies such as the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Japanese, and the Egyptians.
- Despite the existence of Christianity and Judaism in the Roman Empire, many Romans worshiped deities. Both public and privates spaces were designed and adorned with the images of their gods and goddesses. As we know, most Roman culture, including mythology, was adapted from the Greeks. If the Greeks had Zeus, the Romans had Jupiter, who oversaw all aspects of Roman life. Today, we can tour Roman ruins of temples built to honor and worship Juno, Diana, Mars, and Pluto.
- Another aspect of mythology is the presence of mythical creatures and monsters, which are often characterized by transgression. In Eastern and Western mythology, dragons and serpents are two of the most common mythical creatures. In Asian mythology, dragons control all kinds of water and symbolize divine power, and dragons are also considered heroes’ helpers. Unlike Western mythology, dragons are predominantly depicted as treasure-hoarding, fire-breathing monsters to be defeated by heroes.
- Another theme to look into is the presentation of wise old women in patriarchal societies. Many myths include witches or ugly hags with evil powers (such as turning people into stones). In Norse mythology, a hag is called a Mare or Mara who gives people bad dreams. In Celtic mythology, a hag is called the Cailleach, making everybody miserable. In Greek mythology, the Gorgon Medusa had venomous snakes in her head and was known for turning a person into stone with eye contact.
- Not all mythical creatures are scary and dangerous. Some such as fairies, unicorns, airavata, alicanto, and nymphs have majestic features.
- Away from the scary theme of mythology. Many mythologies teach morals of love, bravery, and atonement. Moreover, mythologies also show consequences for arrogance, disobedience, jealousy, desire, and greed. Perseus, Odysseus, and Hercules are among the bravest heroines in Greek mythology.
- Perseus is known for killing Medusa and saving the beautiful Ethiopian princess Andromeda. From Troy, Odysseus surpassed years of adventure to be reunited with his wife, Penelope. Hercules is probably the most famous demigod known for his twelve labors.
- Most myths survive time through oral tradition rather than written texts. When we say oral tradition, stories are passed from one generation to another by spoken words. By the time people began to record and write, authors such as Homer and Virgil became known for adopting older stories into what we know today as mythology.
- Greek author and poet Homer was known for writing the Iliad and the Odyssey. Iliad narrates the classic myth of the Trojan War and how Helen’s beauty launched a thousand ships. The epic poem included the participation of Athena, Hera, and Poseidon (for the Greeks) and Aphrodite and Ares (for the Trojans). Meanwhile, the Odyssey tells the adventures of Odysseus, king of Ithaca.
- Popular culture had been a great inspiration to blockbuster movies. The Norse myth about the curse of Andvari’s ring inspired Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Moreover, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based on the Viking Denmark myth Amleth. From Greek mythology, Hercules, the Titans, the Trojan War, Perseus, and the Spartans had been depicted in many films.
- Many animated films are also adapted from myths and mythical creatures. The animated movie Kubo and the Two Strings was inspired by the Japanese myth, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Shrek is an Ogre, while Ariel is a mermaid. From Aztec mythology, the story of Coco explains the Mexican holiday Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
- Teaching mythology also touches the semantics of a language. For example, Avatar is from the Hindu concept of “incarnation,” particularly to god Vishnu’s ten avatars or Dashavatara. Kids love to eat cereals for breakfast, and the term cereal is derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, fertility, and motherliness.
- The days of a week are also derived from the name of Norse gods and goddesses. Monday comes from mondandaeg or moon’s day. Tuesday comes from Tiw (Tyr), the Norse god of war. Wednesday from wodnesdaeg or Woden’s Day in celebration of Odin. Thursday from the owner of the hammer, Thor. Friday originated from Frigg, the spouse of Odin and Queen of Asgard. Moreover, some Nordic authors relate Friday to another goddess, Freya.
- Terms such as hermaphrodite and Achilles heel are based on Greek mythology. The myth of Hermaphroditus tells the story of Hermaphroditus, the beautiful son of Hermes and Aphrodite, and Salmacis, a nymph. Because of Salmacis’ attraction to Hermaphroditus, she called out the gods to let them be united as one. The gods heard her and blended their bodies, creating a figure of both sexes. Meanwhile, the allusion Achilles’ heel refers to a person’s weakness despite an overall strength. A hero of the Trojan War, Achilles is the son of Nereid Thetis and Peleus, who was killed by an arrow in his heel. According to myths, Thetis dipped the young Achilles in the River Styx, except the boy’s heel, which became his only weakness.
- In psychology, God complex was coined by Welsh neurologist Ernest Jones to describe a person with inflated feelings of personal privilege and ability. Today, it is often called narcissistic personality disorder or NPD. Narcissism is derived from Narcissus, a charming young man who was punished by the goddess Nemesis. Narcissus falls in love with his image while seeing his reflection in a pond.
- In psychoanalysis, Oedipus complex is defined as a boy’s identification with his father as a rival to have his mother. The term Oedipus is derived from the Greek myth about Oedipus, who unknowingly killed his father Lauis, King of Thebes, and later married his mother, Queen Jocasta. Like Oedipus, Electra is also a mythological character in Greek tragedies. According to Sigmund Freud, Electra complex is a girl’s competition with her mother for the attention and affection of her father.
Learning outcomes
- For a time, myths provided early people with explanations for things they couldn’t control and as a means for social order.
- Amidst untrue stories, myths often had beautiful and meaningful symbolism, which ought to provide morals.
- Lastly, studying mythology opens our learners to the richness of varied cultures and their similarities and differences in explaining the world.
Mythology & Deities Curriculum Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Mythology & Deities Curriculum across 18 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Mythology & Deities which is a collection of stories called myths that often depict varied human conditions such as our origins, values, and concepts of good, evil, life, and death.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Teaching Seasons
- Short video explainer
- What to consider
- How to deliver?
- Learning outcomes
- Lesson Plan Template
- Suggested Worksheets
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