Michelle Morneau

Professor Warner

English 112B

4 December 2012

Unit of Study: Greek Mythology and Hero Myths

Introduction

            Greek mythology and hero myths are present in classic literature from antiquity through the present. Their timelessness and universality are evident with the popularity of novels such as James Joyce's Ulysses and Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain in addition to a number of films, television, and fiction for young adults. The study of Greek mythology in the classroom prepares students for academic reading and writing in the higher grades because it provides the foundation of Western literature. Reading and knowing these myths helps students to discover literary allusions and find the underlying connections between texts. While Greek mythology might appear unfamiliar and possibly daunting to students at first, it is important to remind them that they may have already been exposed to these stories through modern retellings.

            This unit of study provides students with an overview of classical literature with a focus on Greek hero myths. Of the hero myths, I chose Homer's epic poem The Odyssey as the central text because of its prevalence in high school English curriculums and because of its many literary and film adaptations. With this unit of study, students will gain a greater understanding of Greek mythology and recognize its significance in contemporary works of literature. To expand the unit, I have included texts that are frequently taught in the higher grade levels in addition to listing resources from film, television, and young adult literature. The unit should ultimately prepare students for future academic reading in addition to helping them develop an appreciation for Greek mythology and hero myths. Ideally, the young adult literature that I have included within the unit will spark their interest in the subject and encourage their own literacy.

Launching the Unit

      Begin this unit with a classroom activity: ask students what they know about Greek mythology or Greek heroes and list their responses on the board. Discuss why they are important to know and how they are relevant to their own lives. It may be useful to ask them thought-provoking questions that relate to the hero myths and to The Odyssey in particular such as "how far would you be willing to go to return home to your friends and family?" and, conversely, "for how long would you wait for a loved one to return home? What if you were the only one who believed that he or she was still alive and that he was still coming home?"

      Introduce widely read books of Robert Fagles' translation of The Odyssey such as "Book One: Athena Inspires the Prince"(77),"Book Nine: In the One-Eyed Giant's Cave"(211), "Book Ten: The Bewitching Queen of Aeaea"(230), "Book Twelve: The Cattle of the Sun"(271), "Book Twenty-One: Odysseus Strings His Bow"(424), and "Book Twenty-Two: Slaughter in the Hall" (439). Plan to read one or two of these weekly either in class or as homework. It might be a good idea to choose significant selections from these books or find them in an academic textbook such as The Language of Literature by Arthur Applebee et al. If time allows, introduce them to the stories of Theseus, Perseus, Hercules, Eurydice, Psyche, and Persephone. These tales can be found in Ovid's Metamorphoses or in an illustrated anthology such as Thomas Bulfinch's Myths of Greece and Rome.

      As the class reads these selections, they can respond to the following related prompts from The Language of Literature. These could be for sustained silent writing or classroom activities with partners or small groups.

 

      For The Odyssey:    

 

      Book 9: "Write one or two diary entries in which one of Odysseus' crew describes the events of this episode" (915).

 

      "How might the Cyclops have viewed the events? Experiment with writing a draft of the episode as Polyphemus might tell it" (915).

 

      "If Polyphemus had not brought the rams into the cave, how might Odysseus and his men have escaped?" (915)

 

      Book 10: "Describe Circe's capturing of Odysseus's men in a news story that might appear in a tabloid newspaper at the supermarket" (927).

 

      Book 22: "Think of a modern-day equivalent of the suitors--a serious one, such as a group of terrorists or a street gang, or a humorous one, such as a carload of unwelcome relatives. Then...create a plot outline for a story of epic proportions, relating how you, as an epic hero or heroine, get rid of the intruders." (966).

 

 

 

For additional myths (see selection above):    

 

      Many hero myths present monsters and monstrous creatures as challenges to test the hero's courage and abilities. As we read these myths, we can determine that these monsters represent real-life challenges and obstacles. What is the monster in your life? What will you do or how will you plan to do to overcome it?

      Heroes such as Odysseus and Perseus receive divine aid from a god or goddess who favors them; for example, Athena guides Odysseus homeward and Hermes lends Perseus his sandals and helmet to face Medusa. Who is a similar helping figure in your life? How has this figure helped you, and what role or roles did he or she play?

      Consider the adaptations of hero myths that you've seen or read of in the past. What makes an effective adaptation of a classical work? Which elements are essential to keep, and which elements can be easily changed or omitted?                                                                       

 

Book Talk: Students read a contemporary work that retells or connects to one of the hero myths and presents it to the class along with the original myth. Selections from young adult literature are acceptable and encouraged (see Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing.) The presenter describes how his or her selection applies to the class reading.

 

Literary Allusions: In this in-class activity, students find references to hero myths in more recent works of literature. Shakespearean plays, eighteenth-century novels, and Romantic poetry frequently include allusions to Greek heroes and myths, and students could look for these in excerpts or in an anthology. Students create a list of the references they find and discuss how the references contribute to the literary work.

 

Expanding the Unit

      Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Great Expectations tells the story of Pip, who comes of age after travelling to London with the aid of a mysterious benefactor. In Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics, Leila Christenbury explains that Pip undergoes a hero's journey similar to that of Odysseus. She writes that "Pip...does, as all mythic heroes do, leave the familiar, the home place, the tribe, to venture out toward a test" (121). In this way, Great Expectations serves as a Victorian parallel to The Odyssey with Pip's own voyage of self-discovery and subsequent return home.

      Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. In this contemporary novel, Frazier sets The Odyssey in the Civil War with an outlying Confederate soldier named Inman travelling alone across the Blue Ridge mountains to rejoin his beloved Ada. This might be better suited to eleventh and twelfth grades due to its dark content and sometimes difficult language.

      Ulysses by James Joyce. Joyce retells The Odyssey through the eyes of a group of Dubliners as they go about their day. Like Cold Mountain, Ulysses would be more appropriate for the higher grade levels, and it would be advisable to assign only certain excerpts for study.

       Selections from The Broadview Anthology of Poetry: "The Lotos-Eaters" and "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson presents scenes from The Odyssey with lyric, characteristically Romantic language. Because "The Lotos-Eaters" is fairly long, it would be wise to introduce only sections of this poem.

Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing (All Product Reviews from Amazon.com)

Fiction:

      Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. "Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the thinnest. But then Cassie suffers the ultimate loss-her life-and Lia is left behind, haunted by her friend's memory and racked with guilt for not being able to help save her. In her most powerfully moving novel since Speak, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia's struggle, her painful path to recovery, and her desperate attempts to hold on to the most important thing of all: hope" (Amazon). This novel provides an intriguing parallel to the story of Persephone in the underworld.

      Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block. "Psyche has known Love—scented with jasmine and tasting of fresh oranges. Yet he is fleeting and fragile, lost to her too quickly. Punished by self-doubt, Psyche yearns to be transformed, like the beautiful and brutal figures in the myths her lover once spoke of. Attempting to uncover beauty in the darkness, she is challenged, tested, and changed by the gods and demons who tempt her. Her faith must be found again, for if she is to love, she must never look back" (Amazon). This collection of stories set in Los Angeles provides a modern retelling of some of the most popular Greek myths.Show More Show Less

      The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. "In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love"Show More Show Less  (Amazon). Students could discover the parallels between The Hunger Games and the myth of Theseus and the Labyrinth.

      Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey by Jamake Highwater. "Anpao is young and Handsome and Brave -- a man any maiden would be proud to call her husband. Any maiden but Ko-Ko-Mik-e-is, that is, who calims she belongs to the Sun alone. And so Anpao sets off for the house of the Sun to ask permission to marry the woman he loves. But Anpao's journey is not an easy one. Before he can reach the Sun, Anapao must travel back in time to the dawn of the world. He must relive his own creation, venture through The World Beneath the World, and battle the many magical mystical creatures of Native American legends. For only by doing so can Anpao discover who he really is, and rove to the Sun why he alone is worthy of the fair Ko-komik-e-is"Show More Show Less  (Amazon).

      In Adolescents in the Search for Meaning: Tapping the Powerful Resource of Story, Mary Warner explains that "This book would be a good companion with a study of Greek and Roman mythology...If you have students write a myth, adding a culture from the United States may help students find more relevance" (253).

      Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis.  "Haunted by the myth of Cupid and Psyche throughout his life, C.S. Lewis wrote this, his last, extraordinary novel, to retell their story through the gaze of Psyche�s sister, Orual. Disfigured and embittered, Orual loves her younger sister to a fault and suffers deeply when she is sent away to Cupid, the God of the Mountain. Psyche is forbidden to look upon the god�s face, but is persuaded by her sister to do so; she is banished for her betrayal. Orual is left alone to grow in power but never in love, to wonder at the silence of the gods. Only at the end of her life, in visions of her lost beloved sister, will she hear an answer" (Amazon).

       Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. "After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus" (Amazon).

Films:

      Clash of the Titans (1981). "Harry Hamlin portrays the Greek hero Perseus who battles the deadly Medusa in order to save a beautiful princess from the monstrous Calibos" (Amazon). This is a fairly accurate film adaptation of the Perseus myth.

      O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). The Coen brothers' adaptation of The Odyssey sets Odysseus and his men in the rural Depression-era South. Because of its "R" rating, it would be best to show select scenes from this film.

      Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010). This is a film adaptation of the first of Rick Riordan's popular young adult book series.

Television:

      The Odyssey (1997). This is a more classic presentation of Homer's original epic with many relevant scenes.

      The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1990). In this brief series, Jim Henson adapted popular Greek myths with puppetry and other special effects. This would be ideal to show to students in the  lower grades.

Works Cited

Amazon.com. Amazon, 1 December 2012. Web. 1 December 2012.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls. New York: Viking, 2009. Print.

Applebee, Arthur et al. The Language of Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell Inc, 2006.

Block, Francesca Lia. Psyche in a Dress. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Print.

Bulfinch, Thomas. Myths of Greece and Rome. New York: Penguin, 1979. Print.

Christenbury, Leila. "Leaving Home to Come Home: The Hero's Quest in Great Expectations       and Three Young Adult Novels."Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the Classics.        Vol.1. Ed. Joan F. Kaywell. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers Inc, 1993.       Print.

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Bantam, 2003. Print.

Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997. Print.

Goldrick-Jones, Amanda, and Rosengarten Herbert, ed. The Broadview Anthology of Poetry.         Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press, 1993. Print.

Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Joyce, James. Ulysses. New York: Vintage Books, 1986. Print.

Lewis, C.S. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. Orlando: Harcourt, 1984. Print.

Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. New York: Hyperion,       2006. Print.

Warner, Mary L. Adolescents in the Search for Meaning: Tapping the Powerful Resource of          Story. Lanham, MA: The Scarecrow Press Inc, 2006. Print.