Demystifying Greek myths
Our Year 9 Elective History classes have been examining the connectivity between creation stories and the ancient Gods of Greece.
They mapped out their research findings, attempting to create a Greek mythology family tree. This provided a valuable exploration of the skills required for deep History research, including a collaborative process of enquiry.
Katie learned that in Greek mythology, many deities married their siblings and had many lovers on the side, which created a complicated family dynamic. She also learned “that the majority of Greek mythology stories are tragedies and end in death to teach a lesson to the people of Greece. Often the lesson was to not defy the gods.”
Francesca gained an understanding of how messy and complex the relationships between the gods were. “By physically creating the tree, it made me appreciate the complexity of Greek mythology and how much thought was put into it. By the end there was string flying in every possible direction and several different colours covering the wall!”
This task allowed students to reflect upon the interconnected nature of Greek mythology and acknowledge how myths changed and evolved over time, to suit different contexts and serve multiple purposes.
Moving forward, the students will now examine how certain mythological figures from the tree have been appropriated and used in a modern context – imbued with traditional, as well as new meanings, to impart specific messages.