Storytelling 1 What is the role of storytelling

Storytelling 1. What is the role of storytelling in a culture? 2. What does a culture’s traditional stories tell us about them? 3. Does traditional storytelling still have a place in our society?

Types of Stories • Legend – story that has been passed down; believed to be based on true event • Fable – short, simple tale that demonstrates a moral; usually has animals • Fairy Tale – story for children about magical creatures • Folk Tales – traditional story • Tall Tale – wildly imaginative story about hero in realistic setting

Myth • Myth is a traditional story, rooted in a particular culture, that usually explains a belief, a ritual, or a mysterious natural phenomenon. • Myths are essentially religious because they are concerned with the relationship between humans and the unknown spiritual realm.

Greek Myths • Revolve around the gods and goddesses http: //www. history. com/videos/greek-gods • These myths affect all/most of the Greeks stories as well

The Olympians Mount Olympus, Greece

The Olympians Are the 12 Main Gods

1. Zeus, Chief of the Gods • aka Jupiter • sky and thunder • married to Hera • fathered MANY children

2. Hera, Queen of the Gods • aka Juno • marriage and family • married to Zeus • very jealous

3. Poseidon, God of the Sea • aka Neptune • sea and earthquakes • Brother of Zeus • violent mood swings

4. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest • aka Ceres • fertility, agriculture, nature & seasons • mother of Persephone • very close to the people

5. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom • aka Minerva • wisdom & warfare • sprang from Zeus’s head

6 a. Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth • aka Vesta • hearth & home • bless food

6 b. Dionysus, God of Wine • aka Bacchus • vine, wine & theater • drunkard

7. Apollo • aka Apollo • light, truth, poetry, prophecy, & music • twin of Artemis • ideal man

8. Artemis, Goddess of Hunting • aka Diana • moon, hunt, maidens, wild creatures • twin of Apollo

9. Ares, God of War • aka Mars • war, violence & bloodshed • son of Zeus & Hera • cruel, hated

10. Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty • aka Venus • love, beauty & desire • sprang from white beauty of seafoam • married to Hephaestus • many affairs

11. Hephaestus, God of Metalworking • aka Vulcan • forge & fire • son of Zeus & Hera • ugly, peace-loving

12. Hermes, Messenger of the Gods • aka Mercury • guide dead souls • son of Zeus • mischievous & clever

Other Gods and Goddesses

Helios, Sun God

Hades, God of the Underworld • aka Pluto • Lord of dead, does not kill • Kidnapped Persephone

Persephone, Goddess of Spring • aka Proserpine • springtime • daughter of Zeus & Demeter • forced to be queen of dead

Reading Myths • Strategies (see Handout) • Greek creation story (http: //www. classicsunveiled. com/mythnet/html/creation. html ) – Read together – Apply strategies • Your turn – Find another Greek myth – Read & apply strategies – Write short skit (include MLA citation)

Hades & Persephone Hades: Persephone: Hades: Persephone: Wow! That girl looks good. I want her. (kidnaps Persephone) Aaah!! Help! Mom! Shut up! I’m the God of the Underworld, and you’re coming with me.

Reflect In a well-developed paragraph, answer the following question. Be sure to mention specific information from the myths. Based on the Greek myths you’ve read/heard/seen so far, what information can you infer about the Greeks?

Our inferences – 3 rd period

Our Inferences – 5 th period

Write Your Own Myth Imagine life before science and technology. Hypothetically, how would you answer the following questions: Where does the sun come from? What is the purpose of the moon? Why does it rain? How big is the earth? How did we get here? Without science or technology to prove or disprove anything, the answers to such questions could get pretty creative. Write an original short story that explains how the world and mankind were created.

Revise Your Myth Revise as needed to make sure you have all of the following. Highlight & label each one. • 2 appositives/appositive phrases • 2 prepositional phrases that add description • 2 participial phrases that add description

Epic • An epic poem is a long narrative poem that “tells of the adventures of a hero who in some way embodies the values of his civilization” – A physically impressive hero of national or historical importance – A vast setting encompassing much of the known physical world and sometimes the Land of the Dead – A quest or journey undertaken in search of something of value – The involvement of supernatural forces – Glorification of (deification) the hero at the end – A basis in a specific culture or society

How Epics Were Told • Epics were told orally. • They followed basic story lines and incorporated formulaic descriptions. • Most of the words were improvised to fit a particular rhythm or meter. • Begin with an invocation to the muse • Minstrels had to be VERY talented • “Formulas” – Homeric epithets: compound adjective regularly used to modify a particular noun (gray-eyed goddess Athena) – Homeric/epic similes: compare heroic/epic events to everyday things

Allusions Allusion = reference to another story/event Name that allusion: 1. “You were Romeo when I first saw you and your daddy said stay away from Juliet. ” 2. You move as fast as a liger. 3. That’s about as smart as stealing Mike Tyson’s tiger. 4. Taking that candy from that baby was very Bane of you. 5. You sing as pretty as a mockingjay.

3, 000 years ago…. • in Ancient Greece, people sat around and told stories about the great Trojan war • Later, a man named Homer gathered all these stories together into 2 great epics which became the Iliad and the Odyssey

Homer • Later Greeks say he was a blind minstrel • Scholars say he’s a legend • Either way, he’s a model for the Rhapsodes – the traveling minstrels/mythmakers of the time

The Iliad Tells the story of the ten-year battle at Troy. According to Homer, this war “was fought between the people of Troy and an alliance of Greek kings… caused by sexual jealousy: The world’s most beautiful woman, Helen, abandoned her husband, Menelaus, a Greek king, and ran off with Paris, a prince of Troy” (640). http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=dk. TXVFRBUpc

Reflect Paris is a greedy young man, and much is made of the fatal repercussions of his greed. Is Helen equally guilty, or is she a victim? Explain your answer.

Helen of Sparta/Troy • Zeus had relations with a mortal woman and Helen, the “most beautiful woman on earth”, was born • Helen married Menelaus, king of Sparta • Paris, young Trojan prince, fell in love with her and carried her away • Menelaus got help from brother Agamemnon and others • Launched 1, 000 ships to Troy – “the face that launched a thousand ships” • Fought for 10 years but couldn’t get past walls

Wooden Horse Trick • Odysseus’s idea • Built big wooden horse with hollow belly • Left outside gates; pretended to sail away • Trojans brought into city • At night, Greeks crawled out of it, opened gate, and slaughtered

The Odyssey • In brief: the Odyssey is “the story of the attempt of one Greek soldier, Odysseus, to get home after the Trojan War” (640).

Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • Tried to draft-dodge by acting insane – they threw his baby in front of the plow, and he had to reveal his sanity to save his baby • Left wife (Penelope) and 2 year old son (Telemachus) at home to fight • Hero in Trojan War – thought of famous Wooden Horse trick • Now, he just wants to get home