Updated Jul 10, 2024
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In ancient Greek society, myth means story. Today, myth refers to a story that is not true. There are four categories of myths: Divine myths, Legends, Folk Tales, and Fables.
Explains how a culture defines the spirit world. These stories deal with the big questions, like why am I alive?
The god Prometheus {proh-mee’-thee-uhs} and his brother Epimetheus (ep-ee-mee’-thee-us) were given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure. He then assigned Epimetheus the task of giving the creatures of the earth their various qualities, such as strength, cunning, fur, wings, etc. Unfortunately, by the time he got to man, Epimetheus had given all the good qualities out, and there were none left for man. So Prometheus decided to make a man stand upright as the gods did and gave them fire.
Prometheus was a trickster god who loved man more than the Olympians. So, when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they sacrificed to the gods, Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. During a feast, he created two piles out of the carcass, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick. Zeus knew of the trick and willingly chose the bones. Acting outraged, he took the fire away from the man. Prometheus felt bad for humans; without fire, human life would have become miserable. Deciding that he needed to put things right, Prometheus lit a torch from the sun and brought it back to man. Zeus was enraged that man had fire once again. He decided to punish Prometheus.
Zeus had Hephaestus create a mortal and give her a beautiful voice. Aphrodite gave the creation a goddess’s face and figure. Zeus then had Hermes give the mortal a deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This creation was called Pandora, the first woman. Zeus gave her a final gift, a jar which Pandora was forbidden to open. He then sent Pandora down to Epimetheus, who was staying amongst the men. Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Pandora's beauty was too great, and he allowed her to stay. Eventually overcome by curiosity, Pandora opened the jar and out flew all manner of evils, sorrows, plagues, and misfortunes. Afraid, Pandora closed the jar, trapping hope inside.
Zeus was angry at Prometheus for three things: being tricked on sacrifices, stealing fire for man, and refusing to tell Zeus which of Zeus's children would dethrone him. Zeus had his servants, Force and Violence, seize Prometheus, take him to the Caucasus Mountains, and chain him to a rock with unbreakable adamantine chains. Every day, a giant eagle would come and tear out his liver, then fly away, leaving Prometheus to heal and agonize over what was to come the next day. Zeus gave Prometheus two ways out of this torment. One was that he could tell Zeus who the mother of the child that would dethrone him was, and the other was that he must meet two conditions: First, an immortal must volunteer to die for Prometheus. Second, that a mortal must kill the eagle and unchain him. Eventually, Chiron (ky’-rahn), the Centaur, agreed to die for him, and Herakles killed the eagle and unbound him.
Legends are stories that don’t focus on the supernatural. The focus is on the human characters and the deeds done in their time. In the modern era, we consider legends to be history, although they are greatly exaggerated. The Twelve Quests of Herakles is a good example of a legend to the ancient Greeks. Modern legends are the tales of Robin Hood or King Arthur.
These are stories for the average person. They are full of adventure, and the good guy always wins. Folk tales existed to make the poor feel good and important. In today’s society, folk tales could easily be fantasy novels. Some folk tales are also called fairy tales. A common folk tale of today would be Jack and the Beanstalk.
A fable is a story that teaches a moral lesson.
A kid, returning without protection from the pasture, was pursued by a Wolf. Seeing he could not escape, he turned round, and said: "I know, friend Wolf, that I must be your prey, but before I die I would ask of you one favour: you will play me a tune to which I may dance." The Wolf complied, and while he was piping and the Kid was dancing, some hounds hearing the sound ran up and began chasing the Wolf. Turning to the Kid, he said, "It is just what I deserve; for I, who am only a butcher, should not have turned piper to please you."
- An excerpt from Aesop’s Fables
The moral of the story: In times of dire need, clever thinking is key to outwitting your enemy to save your skin.
The territory of Greece is mountainous, and as a result, ancient Greece consisted of many smaller regions, each with its own dialect, cultural peculiarities, and identity. Cities tended to be located in valleys between mountains or on coastal plains and dominated a certain area around them.
The ancient Greeks were a very religious people. They worshipped many gods whom they believed appeared in human form and yet were endowed with superhuman strength, ageless beauty, and who were all very tall. The gods could also appear to humans in their animal form so as not to be recognized.
Another of their beliefs was that the world was flat and had an edge. Picture the world as a dinner plate. This plate image they called Ge. There was a stream of water running around the Earth called Oceanos. Oceanos was there to hold the Earth in its dinner plate shape. The Greeks believed the sky was a dome over the dinner plate; they called this dome Ouranos. At the very top of the dome, but still inside it was Olympus, the place where the god’s lived. There was also a dome underneath the Earth called the Underworld. Just like the sky dome, the Underworld had a plane of existence where the dome peaked, called Tartaros. Tartaros is where the bad gods get sent to.
Ancient Greek men spent a lot of their time away from their homes and families, instead of wanting to partake in manly events such as wrestling, politics, working in the fields, hunting, and entering the Olympic Games. Any spare time they had, they used to get together and host male-only drinking parties, which, of course, their wives and daughters were not allowed to attend.
With the exception of ancient Sparta, Greek women had very limited freedom outside the home. The only events that they were allowed to attend were weddings, funerals, and some religious festivals. Every now and then, when they weren’t looking after the house, they could visit female neighbours for quick chats. But in their home, Greek women were in charge. Their job was to run the house and to bear children.
Most women in Ancient Greece had slaves to do the housework for them. Female slaves cooked, cleaned, and worked in the fields. Male slaves watched the door to make sure no one came in when the man of the house was away, except for female neighbours, and acted as tutors to the young male children. As for games, women were not allowed to participate, and married women were barred from watching the Olympic Games. Chariot racing was the only game women could win, and only then if they owned the horse. If that horse won, they received the prize.
The ancient Greeks considered their children to be 'youths' until they reached the age of 30! When a child was born to an ancient Greek family, a naked father carried his child in a ritual dance around the household. Friends and relatives sent gifts. The family decorated the doorway of their home with a wreath of olives (for a boy) or a wreath of wool (for a girl).
With the exception of Sparta, girls stayed at home until they were married. Like their mother, they could attend certain festivals, funerals, and visit neighbors for brief periods of time. Their job was to help their mother, and to help in the fields, if necessary. Young boys went to school or helped their father in the field.
Ancient Greek children played with many toys, including rattles, little clay animals, horses on 4 wheels that could be pulled on a string, yo-yo's, and terra-cotta dolls.
Popular pets in ancient Greece were birds, dogs, goats, tortoises, and mice. Cats, however, were not popular because they did not exist in Greece until Alexander the Great brought them over from Egypt.
Greek houses tended to be small. The average house was made up of two or three rooms, built around an open-air courtyard, and was made of stone, wood, or clay bricks. Larger homes could also have a kitchen, a room for bathing, a men's dining room, and perhaps a woman's sitting area if the builder had some wealth.
Although the Greek women were allowed to leave their homes for only short periods of time, they could enjoy the open air, in the privacy of their courtyard. Much of ancient Greek family life centered around the courtyard because that is where they hosted parties, told stories and fables, and it is where the women often went to relax.
Food in Ancient Greece consisted of grains, figs, wheat to make bread, barley, fruit,
vegetables, breads, and cake. People in Ancient Greece also ate grapes and seafood of all kinds and drank wine. They kept goats, for milk and cheese. They sometimes hunted for meat.
Greek clothing was very simple. In the summer, men and women wore linen, and in the winter, they would wear wool. Most families made their own clothes, which were simple tunics and warm cloaks, dyed a bright colour, or bleached white. They were often decorated to represent the city-state in which they lived. Now and then, they might buy jewelry from a travelling peddler, hairpins, rings, and earrings, but only the rich could afford much jewelry.
Hero, for the Greeks, means a lord or master. It tells the world that you have a high social status. 97% of Greeks were peasant farmers, and the other 3% were Upper class. Heroes usually were scarier, bigger, and stronger than normal men.
Most heroes lived in the Bronze Age, but some lived in the Dark Age. Stories about heroes are called legends. Most hero stories start out pretty basic and are true, but soon they snowball into an unrealistic story.
Snowballed stories often have:
There are two types of heroes: war and quest heroes. War heroes wanted to go to war to earn wealth and honour, and quest heroes went on a quest to find treasure.
Achilles (UN-KIL’-EEZ), son of the sea-goddess Thetis and the mortal hero Peleus. Achilles is known as the greatest of all of Greece’s Heroes under Herakles. He was spun two threads of fate: one of which said that he would win great glory in a war, but the cost was that he would have a short life, and the other foretold that he could choose not to go to war and live a long life tending his father’s herd. To prevent his death, his mother dipped her baby in the river Styx (located in the Underworld), holding him by his ankle. His flesh became impenetrable to all weapons except in that one spot, which is where he got shot by Paris with a poisoned arrow.
Aeneas (AY-NAY’UHS), Prince of Troy, would one day become the founder of Rome. Aeneas is also Hector’s second in command.
Agamemnon (AG-UH-MEM’-NAHN), King of Mycenae {mahy-see-nee} and brother to Menelaus, the King of Sparta. When called to war by his brother, Agamemnon brought 100 warships and thus was commander-in-chief of the army. In the ninth year of the war, Agamemnon angered Achilles, which caused the warrior to pull out of the war effort.
Ajax (A-JAK), a Greek warrior and his companions Nestor and Odysseus tried to convince the mighty Achilles to rejoin the fight.
Antenor (AN-TE-NOR), a Trojan advisor who was allowed to live because he was very much in favour of returning Helen, the Queen of Sparta, to Menelaus, the King of Sparta, in the first place.
Cassandra (KUH-SAN’-DRUH), sister to Paris and Hector. Cassandra and her brother, Helenus, are gifted in divination and warned Paris that his journey to Greece would bring the downfall of Troy.
Diomedes (DY-OH-MEED’-EEZ), a mighty Greek warrior so inspired by Athena that he even managed to injure Aphrodite and Ares as well as slay many Trojans. He also confronted Apollo before being driven back.
Eris (EE’-RIS), goddess of discord, she threw the golden apple into the wedding celebration.
Hector (HEK’-TUR), is the mightiest warrior of Troy and is also the city’s prince and heir to the throne. Hector is Achilles' most hated enemy because he killed Patroclus, Achilles' childhood friend. Hector knew he was fated to die in the Trojan War.
Helen (HEL’-EN), princess of Sparta and the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen is married to the King of Sparta, Menelaus. Aphrodite makes her fall in love with Paris, and together, they run off to Troy. The Trojan War is fought over her.
Helenus (HEL’-UH-NUHS), brother to Paris and Hector. Helenus and his sister, Cassandra, are gifted in divination and warned Paris that his journey to Greece would bring the downfall of Troy.
King Priam (PRI’-AM), is the King of Troy and father of Hector and Paris.
Menelaus (MEN-UH-LAY’-UHS), the King of Sparta {spahr-tuh} and brother to
Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae. Menelaus defeated Paris in single combat and succeeded in bringing the Trojan War to a temporary halt.
Myrmidons (MUR-MI-DON), Achilles’ legendary warriors from the island of Aegina (ee-jahy-nuh).
Neoptolemus (NEE-APH-TAHL’-I-MUHS), son of Achilles, who fought with the Greeks.
Nestor (NES’-TUR), a Greek warrior and his companions Ajax and Odysseus tried to convince the mighty Achilles to rejoin the fight.
Odysseus (OH-DIS’-EE-UHS), son of the King of Ithaca (ith-uk-kuh), is known as the wisest of all Heroes. He designed the Trojan Horse.
Pandarus (PAN-DAR’-UHS), the best archer on the Trojan side. He was tricked by Athena to fire an arrow at Menelaus in hopes of killing him. However, Athena didn’t want Menelaus to die, so she steered the arrow wrong. However, Pandarus’ act caused peace between the Greeks and the Trojans to come to an end.
Paris (PAR’-IS), a Trojan who was known for his honest opinion. He judged the beauty contest and stole Helen away from Greece. Paris is also the son of King Priam, and his older brother is Hector.
Patroclus (PA-TRO’-KLUHS), a beloved friend of Achilles, who wore the mighty warrior’s god-made armour and drove the Trojans back from the Greek ships and makeshift walls. Hector slew him, which is the main reason Achilles rejoined the war. Some depictions in classical and archaic Greek literature portray Patroclus and Achilles as lovers.
Peleus (PE-LAY’-UHS), mortal hero, married to Thetis and is Achilles’ father.
Philoctetes (FIL-AHK-TEE’-TEEZ), a warrior who owned the bow and arrows of Herakles and fought with the Greeks to bring down Troy. Philoctetes shot Paris with a poisoned arrow.
Tenes (TEN-US), son of the Apollo and the King of Tenedos (ten-i-dos), he was slain by Achilles.
Themis (THEM-ISS), the goddess of order.
Thetis (THEE’-TIS), sea-goddess and Achilles’ mother.
The story of the Trojan War starts with the prediction from Themis (them-iss), the goddess of order. She told Zeus that any son of the sea goddess, Thetis, would become greater than his father. Fearful that someone could be stronger than him, Zeus quickly married Thetis off to a mortal hero. All the gods and goddesses were invited to attend the wedding except for Eris, the goddess of discord. No one wanted a troublemaker at the party. Furious at being left out, Eris threw a golden apple, with the words “For the fairest” carved into it, in the midst of the celebration. Three powerful goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, wanted the apple and thus the title of the fairest. They asked Zeus to decide which one of them was the most beautiful, but he wanted nothing to do with the contest because he knew the goddesses he didn’t pick would be angry with him.
Zeus chose the Trojan prince, Paris, to judge the contest because he was known for his honest opinion. Each of the goddesses offered Paris a reward if he would pick them. Athena offered to make him a great hero or general. Hera offered to make him the ruler of the richest and most powerful kingdom. And Aphrodite offered to wed him to the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, princess of Sparta. Foolishly, Paris chose Aphrodite and made enemies of the two powerful goddesses. But Aphrodite had a secret. She didn’t tell Paris that Helen was already married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta.
Paris sailed to Greece and arrived at Sparta. Aphrodite used her goddess powers and made Helen fall in love with the Trojan prince. They ran off to Troy, taking most of the treasures in Sparta with them. King Menelaus soon found out and gathered his friends and allies to him, amassing an army to go and bring Helen back. He then sought out two warriors who would be crucial in bringing about the fall of Troy: Odysseus and Achilles.
Thetis, the sea-goddess from Themis’ prophecy and Achilles' mother, predicted that her son would win great glory but die if he fought in the war. If he chose to stay at home, Achilles would live a long life tending his father’s herd. Achilles eagerly joined the army because he preferred a short but glorious life to a long life as a farmer. His father gave him his magical armour forged by the crafting god.
Meanwhile, in Troy, Hector, the Prince of Troy and heir to the throne, knew that war was coming as soon as his youngest brother, Paris, arrived with the beautiful, but married, Helen. Hector knew that he was fated to die in war, but as commander-in-chief of the Trojan forces and heir to the throne, he had no choice but to defend Troy, even though he thought that his brother was wrong to start this war.
When the Greeks arrived in Troy, Odysseus and Menelaus, King of Sparta, went to ask the Trojan King to return Helen to avoid a lengthy war, but Prince Paris refused. They were at war.
For nine years, the Greeks and the Trojans fought. The Greeks couldn’t get through Troy’s impenetrable walls, and the Trojans couldn’t force the mighty Greeks off their shore. During the ninth year, Agamemnon, a Greek King, angered Achilles, so Achilles withdrew from the war. The Greeks lost many men and much ground during this time. Achilles was one of their best warriors, and it seemed all was lost without him.
But still, the Trojans were getting their butts kicked, so Hector prayed and offered sacrifices to the goddess Athena who was supposed to be watching over Troy. However, Athena was still mad at Paris for not giving her the golden apple and ignored Hector.
The Trojans began to push the Greeks back. Patroclus, a beloved friend of Achilles, went to Achilles’ camp to persuade the warrior to help. Achilles would not return, but he gave Patroclus his god-made armour. He made Patroclus promise that he would return as soon as he drove the Trojans away. Patroclus agreed and rushed back to his own camp. By this time, the Trojans had broken through the makeshift Greek walls and stormed the camp. Hector even managed to set fire to one of their ships. However, Patroclus came charging in, and the Trojans saw the armour and thought that Achilles had rejoined the fight. They were scared because Achilles could never be killed; no weapon could pierce his skin.
Patroclus drove the Trojans out of the Greek camp, but Patroclus didn’t stop there as Achilles told him to. He broke his promise and kept pushing the Trojans back—almost to Troy’s walls!—But then he was killed by Hector, who thought that Patroclus was the mighty Achilles. Hector took the god-made armour and wore it to protect himself.
The battle began to favour the Trojans once again, but Achilles heard of the death of his friend. He wanted to rush to the fight but couldn’t honourably join without armour. Athena told Achilles to go to the top of the Greek wall, unarmed, and shout three times. Achilles did as he was told, and everyone on the battlefield heard his cries. With the sun behind his back, Achilles looked like the sun god himself. The Trojans were taken aback by this phenomenon and hastily withdrew to their city wall, ending the day’s fighting.
Achilles was grief-stricken by Patroclus' death. He realized that his pride had cost him his friend's life. He came back to the battlefield with new armour and shield from his mother, fashioned by the crafting god, and was determined to seek out and kill Hector.
The mighty warrior Achilles went on a rampage, slaying everyone in his path. Apollo disguised himself as a Trojan and taunted Achilles into chasing him so that the Trojans could flee behind the safety of their walls. Only Hector was left outside the walls. Achilles killed Hector and retrieved his original armour.
Many days later, Achilles led another charge to force the Trojans behind their walls yet again. As he was standing by the gates, Paris fired a poisoned arrow, which pierced Achilles' only weak spot, his heel. Achilles died from the poison.
Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, joined the war, as did Philoctetes, a warrior who owned the bow and arrows of Herakles. Philoctetes shot Paris with one of the arrows that the hero Herakles had dipped in the poisonous blood of the Hydra. Like Achilles before him, Paris died from the wound.
It was around this time that the Greeks realized that the only way they could capture the city of Troy was to find a way to get inside the impenetrable walls. Odysseus came up with the idea of building a great wooden horse, the Trojan Horse, and filling it with warriors. They left the horse on the beach, with the rest of the Grecian fleet appearing to sail away. The Trojans brought the horse inside their walls, thinking it a marvellous parting gift, and when night fell, the warriors crept out of the hollow horse and opened the city gates. The Grecian fleet returned shortly after dark, and the warriors marched through the open gates and finally captured Troy.
Fast Facts breaks down the teaching section into quick and easy-to-use points. Any of these bullets can be put on a card and placed around the camp area so your kids can learn while they are doing other activities.
| God or Goddess | Animal Representation | Animal Information |
|
Zeus |
Eagle | Majestic and regal. Looks down on the world and sees what’s below him. |
|
Hera |
Cow | Cows were considered a person’s wealth. |
|
Poseidon |
Horse | Horses could sense water. Often, Greeks saw the tides as horses charging out and then coming back in. |
|
Demeter |
Pig | Mother pigs are extremely protective of their young. |
|
Aphrodite |
Dove | Doves are beautiful and graceful. |
|
Hades |
Rooster | An ancient Greek legend states that if a rooster crowed three times meant someone was going to die. |
|
Ares |
Ram | Rams are aggressive and Ares liked butting heads with people. |
|
Hermes |
Tortoise | Hermes used the shell of a tortoise to invent the lyre. |
|
Hephaestus |
Donkey | The donkey is an awkward-looking animal that was made fun of, just like Hephaestus was made fun of. |
|
Athena |
Owl | Represents intelligence and wisdom, traits Athena possessed. |
|
Dionysus |
Panther | Represents the inner beast. |
|
Apollo |
Swan | Swans are beautiful but short-tempered and dangerous. Just like Apollo. |
|
Artemis |
Bear | Protector of young girls, just like a mother bear is protective of her cubs. |
As a third-generation Scouter, Pauline is a writer passionate about giving back to the Guiding and Scouting programs. She grew up making beaver buggies with the boys, selling popcorn as a Cub and practicing outdoor skills with the Scouts. Instead of moving on to Ventures, she became an assistant leader for Cubs, also known as a Kim. Pauline is proud to pass on her Scouting knowledge to an international audience.
