Topic 4
Heroes and Myths
This topic is an extension of Topic 3:
Rise of Civilizations.
Objectives
Knowledge 1. To acquire information from sources
2. To explore the formation of government in ancient times
Skills
1. To understand and cite information
2. To Infer and analyze sources
3. To have empathy
Attitude
To develop correct values
Teaching Flow
Item
Format
Objective
Content
1
Question to
Ponder
Questioning
How were government formed
in ancient times?
2
To know
more
Introduction
3
Task 1
Data-based
questions
4
Task 2
5
Extended
activity
Role play
(Students need
to practice
before class)
and group
discussion
Short essay
To guide the
students to explore
the question
To enable students
to know the
relationship
between the work
of archaeologists
and historical study
To let student learn
to acquire
information from
sources
To enable students
to train their
thinking and
inferring ability
through myths
6
Conclusion
Summary chart
Great people in ancient times
Finding great people from a
panel discovered from a tomb of
the city Ur
Exploration of the power of
kings from stories of Greek
myths
To deepen students’ Further exploring the power and
knowledge and
responsibilities of Zeus
understanding of
the topic
Consolidation
Summary of the major issues
discussed in this topic
1
Question to ponder
How were government formed in ancient times?
To know more
Every society had its great people. Some were thought of as kings and queens, so that
their descendants might continue to be kings and queens. When writing appeared, their
names and deeds were recorded in writing. Before writing appeared, how do historians
know that they existed? Based on Topic 3, historians can extract information from
sources by making reference to ancient historical sites and remains excavated.
Task 1 : Finding great people in ancient times
The pictures in Source A and Source B were found on the two sides of a panel in a grave at the
city of Ur in Mesopotamia and dated to 2600-2400 B.C.
2
Study Sources A and B. Then work together in groups of 2 to 4 to complete the questions below.
Source A (one side of the panel mentioned above)
Top
Middle
Bottom
Source： http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Standard_of_Ur_-_peace_side.jpg .
Topic 4
Source B
Heroes and Myths
(another side of the panel mentioned above)
Top
Middle
Bottom
Source： http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Standard_of_Ur_-_War.jpg .
1.. Fill in the people, animals and activities of the top, middle and bottom parts of the panel in
the table below.
Suggested answers:
Source A
Source B
Top
The third from the left is the king,
others are the servants.
The king is standing in the middle. On
his two sides are his soldiers and
chariots.
Middle
Cattle, sheep, businessmen, trade
and transportation
Foot soldiers
Bottom
Slaves, goods and food
Chariots
2. Where is the great man in Sources A and B?
Suggested answers:
The great man can be found from the third of upper left in Source A and the middle of top
row in Source B.
3. In what ways are the great people in ancient times important? Explain your answer with
reference to Sources A and B.
Suggested answers:
In order to find resources to build their army, kings of ancient government had to ensure the
growth of crops and to balance the interests of powerful people under his rule. Source A
symbolizes the economic strength of the king. Its middle and bottom parts show the trading
activities and the social classes of the time, such as the servants bringing the animals and
supplies. Source B shows his army, which consists of foot soldiers and chariot, as shown in
the bottom and middle parts. Bodies of the enemies are seen lying beneath the chariots,
symbolizing victories in wars.
2
Task 2 : Heroes and Myths
Beliefs in great men, including kings, have also come down to us in the form of stories. As you
know, every society has many such stories. They include stories of creation, stories of the great
flood, stories of war and stories of law giving. In the following, you will find a simple story of a
mother looking for her daughter told by the ancient Greeks. The mother, Demeter, was “Mother
Earth”, the goddess who looked after the earth and the crops.
Read the story below and then complete the two activities.
Tales from Greek Myphology
THE SORROW OF DEMETER
(Persephone was missing!)
In the fields of Enna, in the happy island of Sicily, the beautiful Persephone was playing
with the girls who lived there with her. She was the daughter of the Lady Demeter, and
2
every one loved them both; for Demeter was good and kind to all, and no one could be
more gentle and merry than Persephone. She and her companions were gathering
flowers from the field, to make crowns for their long flowing hair. They had picked
many roses and lilies and hyacinths which grew in clusters around them, when
Persephone thought she saw a splendid flower far off; and away she ran, as fast as she
could, to get it. It was a beautiful narcissus, with hundred heads springing from one
stem; and the perfume which came from its flowers gladdened the broad heaven above,
and the earth and sea around it. Eagerly Persephone stretched out her hand to take this
splendid prize, when the earth opened, and a chariot stood before her drawn by four
coal-black horses; and in the chariot there was a man with a dark and solemn face,
which looked as though he could never smile, and as though he had never been happy.
In a moment he got out of his chariot, seized Persephone round the waist, and put her on
the seat by his side. Then he touched the horses with his whip, and they drew the chariot
down into the great gulf, and the earth closed over them again.
Topic 4
Heroes and Myths
Presently the girls who had been playing with Persephone came up to the place where
the beautiful narcissus was growing; but they could not see her anywhere. And they
said, “Here is the very flower which she ran to pick, and there is no place here where
she can be hiding.” Still for a long time they searched for her through the fields of Enna;
and when the evening was come, they went home to tell the Lady Demeter that they
could not tell what had become of Persephone.
(Demeter was looking for her daughter everywhere)
Very terrible was the sorrow of Demeter when she was told that her child was lost. She
put a dark robe on her shoulders, and took a flaming torch in her hand, and went over
land and sea to look for Persephone. But no one could tell her where she was gone.
When ten days were past she met Hekate, and asked her about her child; but Hekate
said, “I heard her voice, as she cried out when some one seized her; but I did not see it
with my eyes, and so I know not where she is gone.” Then she went to Helios, and said
to him,” O Helios, tell me about my child. You see everything on the earth, sitting in the
bright sun.” Then Helios said, “O Demeter, I pity you for your great sorrow, and I will
tell you the truth. It is Hades who has taken away Persephone to be his wife in the dark
and gloomy land which lies beneath in the earth.”
(The anger and sorrow of Demeter made the earth lose its vigour and life.)
Then the rage of Demeter was more terrible than her sorrow had been; and she would
not stay in the palace of Zeus, on the great Thessalian hill, because it was Zeus who had
allowed Hades to take away Persephone. So she went down from Olympus, and
wandered on a long way until she came to Eleusis, just as the sun was going down into
2
his golden cup behind the dark blue hills. There Demeter sat down close to a fountain,
where the water bubbled out from the green turf, and fell into a clear basin, over which
some dark olive trees spread their branches. Just then the daughters of Keleos, the king
of Eleusis, came to the fountain with pitchers on their heads to draw water; and when
they saw Demeter, they knew from her face that she must have some great grief; and
they spoke kindly to her, and asked if they could do anything to help her. Then she told
them how she had lost and was searching for her child; and they said, “Come home and
live with us: and our father and mother will give you everything that you can want, and
do all that they can to soothe your sorrow.” So Demeter went down to the house of
Keleos, and she stayed there for a whole year. And all this time, although the daughters
of Keleos were very gentle and kind to her, she went on mourning and weeping for
Persephonê. She never laughed or smiled, and scarcely ever did she speak to any one,
because of her great grief. And even the earth, and the things which grow on the earth,
mourned for the sorrow which had come upon Demeter. There was no fruit upon the
2
trees, no corn came up in the fields, and no flowers blossomed in the gardens. And Zeus
looked down from his high Thessalian hill, and saw that everything must die unless he
could soothe the grief and anger of Demeter. So he sent Hermes down to Hades, the
dark and stern king, to bid him send Persephonê to see her mother Demeter. But before
Hades let her go, he gave her a pomegranate to eat, because he did not wish her to stay
away from him always, and he knew that she must come back if she tasted but one of
the pomegranate seeds. Then the great chariot was brought before the door of the palace,
and Hermes touched with his whip the coal-black horses, and away they went as swiftly
as the wind, on and on, until they came close to Eleusis. Then Hermes left Persephone,
and the coal-black horses drew the chariot away again to the dark home of King Hades.
The sun was sinking down in the sky when Hermes left Persephone, and as she came
near to the fountain she saw some one sitting near it in a long black robe, and she knew
that it must be her mother who still wept and mourned for her child. And as Demeter
Topic 4
Heroes and Myths
heard the rustling of her dress, she lifted up her face, and Persephone stood before her.
(Demeter was able to see her daughter again.)
Then the joy of Demeter was greater, as she clasped her daughter to her breast, than her
grief and her sorrow had been. Again and again she held Persephone in her arms, and
asked her about all that had happened to her. And she said, “Now that you are come
back to me, I shall never let you go away again; Hades shall not have my child to live
with him in his dreary kingdom.” But Persephone said, “O mother, it may not be so; I
cannot stay with you always; for before Hermes brought me away to see you, Hades
gave me a pomegranate, and I have eaten some of the seeds; and after tasting the seed I
must go back to him again when six months have passed by. And indeed I am not afraid
to go back; for although Hades never smiles or laughs, and everything in his palace is
dark and gloomy, still he is very kind to me; and I think that he feels almost happy since
I have been his wife. But do not be worried, my mother, for he has promised to let me
come up and stay with you for six months in every year, and the other six months I must
spend with him in the land which lies beneath the earth.”
(The earth has recovered its vigor and life.)
So Demeter was comforted for her daughter Persephone, and the earth and all the things
that grew in it felt that her anger and sorrow had passed away. Once more the trees bore
their fruits, the flowers spread out their sweet blossoms in the garden, and the golden
corn waved like the sea under the soft summer breeze. So the six months passed happily
away, and then Hermes came with the coal-black horses to take Persephone to the dark
land. And she said to her mother, “Do not weep much; the gloomy king whose wife I
am is so kind to me that I cannot be really unhappy; and in six months more he will let
me come to you again.” But still, whenever the time came round for Persephone to go
back to Hades, Demeter thought of the happy days when her child was a merry girl
playing with her companions and gathering the bright flowers in the beautiful plains of
Enna.
Source: George W. Cox, Tales from Greek Mythology, London: Longman, Roberts, & Green, 1863, pp.1-7.
2
1.
Role Play: Students are to rehearse before the class begins. Form into groups of about
10, and prepare a 10-minute role play based on the information table below
and the content of the story.
2.
Character
Related Information
Problems Facing
Demeter:
Mother Earth
The goddess who looked after
the earth and the crops.
To find her lost daughter.
Persephone
Daughter of Demeter
Unable to be with her mother.
Girls
Playing with Persephone
To find their lost friend.
Hades: God of
Underground
He took away Persephone.
Tried to keep Persephone.
Hekate: Goddess of
Wilderness
Did not know the whereabouts
of Persephone.
Unable to assist Demeter to find
her daughter immediately
Helios: God of the sun Provides news about Persephone
Iliad: Daughter of
King Keleos
Willing to help Demeter find her Unable to relieve Demeter’s
daughter
grief
Zeus
King of the gods. He ordered
Hades to let Demeter see
Persephone.
Hermes: Messenger of Despatched by Zeus to see
the gods
Hades.
2
Had to relieve Demeter’s grief
and anger as soon as possible so
that the land would resume its
original appearance and the trees
would blossom and bear fruit.
To carry out a difficult task.
Teaching Tips:
The teacher may arrange the activities in accordance with students’ learning
ability. The abler students may form groups to do a role-play competition in
advance. Students with average ability may be trained to do the role play.
Weaker students may be invited to read out the story.
2.
a.
Discuss in groups, and then answer the questions below.
Demeter is the Mother Earth, why do you think the story of her search for her daughter
might also represent changes in the season and of the annual cycle of farming?
Suggested answers:
Free answer. For example, the happiness of Demeter represents spring, summer and autumn,
during which plants in the fields would grow and blossom, and her sorrow represents winter,
during which plants would wither.
Topic 4
Heroes and Myths
b. Does Zeus possess unlimited power? Explain your answer with reference to the story.
Suggested answers:
Although Zeus is the king of the gods, other gods still possess power and responsibilities
that are beyond Zeus’ control. For example, Demeter was in control of the land, Helios
was the god of the sun, and Hades was in control of the underworld.
c. How does this Greek myth help us understand the power of kings in ancient times?
Suggested answers:
It can be inferred that in the ancient world each city had its own ruler. Although there was
a king above them, he had only limited power over the cities. For example, in the myth
when Demeter refuses to take care of the land, Zeus could not order her to return to her
post and had to solve her problem first.
Extended Activity:
Search for another Greek myth from the Internet or the library. Then write an essay with
no less than 150 words to further explore the power and responsibilities of Zeus.
Conclusion
2
Stories of heroes as recorded in pictures or told by word of mouth (and then written
down) are records of the exploits of kings. They tell historians something about ancient
government. Kings had to find resources to build armies; they had to make sure that
crops could grow, and they had to balance the interests of the powerful people under
their rule.
Summary Chart
How were government formed in ancient times?
Inference can be made from archaeological findings and Greek myths.
Great people (kings) in ancient times, similar to Zeus in the myths.
They led the rulers of various cities, similar to Zeus who was the king of gods.
They organised the army and raised taxes,
similar to Zeus who possessed power and responsibilities.
However, their power was limited. Similarly, Zeus did not completely control all gods.