Greek Mythology Summer Course
Week 1 - Introduction and Creation of Man
Day 1: Read the introduction in Greek Myths. Also read the Introduction to Ancient
Greece handout.
Day 2: Read “Creation of Man,” pg. 69 and “The Coming of Evil,” pg. 73. As you
read, think about the biblical Creation and Fall of man. Make a list of similarities and
a list of differences between the two.
Day 3: Read “The Great Flood,” pg. 76. List the similarities and differences between
this and the flood in the Old Testament.
Day 4: Write a short paragraph about how these three stories compare to those in the
Bible. Is it strange that two vastly different religions and cultures would have such
similar stories? What conclusions can you draw from the fact that they are so similar?
Week 2 - Meet the Gods
Day 1: Review the table at the beginning of Greek Myths to familiarize yourself with
the gods of ancient Greece. Read the handout “How the Gods were Born.”
Day 2: Read “The Loves of Apollo,” pg. 9, and “Phaethon, the Son of Apollo,” pg. 12
Day 3: Read “Athene’s City,” pg. 18, and “Arachne,” pg. 22. Review “The City of
Athens” on pages 54 and 55 of Ancient World. Find Athens on a map.
Day 4: Write a short paragraph about your perception of the Greek gods and how they
differ from God of the Bible.
Week 3 - The Loves of the Gods
Day 1: Many of the myths of ancient Greece were stories to explain how things came
to be. Keep that in mind as you read “The Spring Flowers,” pg. 59. They are using
this story to tell how which things came to be?
Day 2: Read “Psyche and Cupid,” pg. 43 and complete the worksheet.
Day 3: Read “The Origins of the Seasons,” pg. 28. What other stories does this make
you think of?
Day 4: Choose one of the Greek gods that appeals to you, then research a myth about
them to share when we meet. (Write it down or print it out.)
Week 4 - The Heroes of Greece
Day 1: Read “Theseus,” pg. 193. Complete the worksheet as you read.
Day 2: Fun Day! Watch Disney’s Hercules to prepare for tomorrow’s tale.
Day 3: Read “Heracles,” pg. 213. Note the vast differences between the hero’s tale
and the Disney retelling.
Day 4: Write a short paragraph using either of these: 1) Do you think that Heracles
should be considered a hero? Why or why not? 2) From the perspective of a Christian,
is Heracles a good man? Why or why not?
Week 5 - Men of the Ancient World
Day 1: Study together and discuss pages 50-57 of Ancient World.
Day 2: Work on the “Men of the Ancient World” research handout. Use Famous
Figures of the Ancient Times and the internet to find as much information as possible
on the assigned men.
Day 3: Read “The Brave Three Hundred” on page 194 of Connecting with History.
The movie The 300 was based off of this legendary battle.
Day 4: Read “Pericles and his Age,” pg. 194 and “How Phidias Helped the ImageMaker,” pg 198, both in Connecting with History.
Week 6a - The Wrath of the Gods
Day 1: Read “Niobe,” pg. 81, and “Daedalus,” pg. 87
Day 2: Read “Midas,” pg 93 and complete the worksheet.
Week 6b - The Philosophers
Day 3: Read “Two Philosophers, Socrates and Plato,” on page 201 of Connecting with
History.
Day 4: Read the two stories of Diogenes in Connecting with History, pages 210-211.
Many of the teachings of the Greek philosophers can, and have, been used in
conjunction with Catholic teachings. In fact, many seminarians study philosophy. Do
a little research and find a few examples of how philosophy is used to support
Catholic teachings.
Week 7 - The Loves of the Heroes
Day 1: Read “The Great Musician,” pg 105. The Greeks were lovers of all things
beauty, romance, drama. Orpheus’ love for his lost lady caused his emotions to
overflow into music beautiful enough to calm the god of death himself. But when
Hades sent him back to then land of the living, Orpheus didn’t trust him to keep his
word and send Eurydice after him. How does this differ from our relationship with
God?
Day 2: Read “The Lover of Beauty,” pg. 111
Day 3: Read “The Fortunate King,” pg. 114
Day 4: Read “Pyramus and Thisbe,” pg. 124
Week 8 - Adventures of the Heroes
Day 1: Read “Atalanta’s Lovers,” pg. 135
Day 2: Read “The Killing of the Chimera,” pg. 146
Day 3: Read “Medusa’s Head,” pg. 154 and complete the worksheet.
Day 4: Alexander the Great was a real life hero of ancient Greece. Do a little more
research and write a short paragraph about one of his adventures.
Week 9 - The Golden Fleece
Day 1: Read “Part I,” pg. 166
Day 2: Read “Part II,” pg. 173
Day 3: Read “Part III,” pg. 184
Day 4: Last assignment! Do one of the following: 1) Write a summary of the journey
for the Golden Fleece. 2) Prepare notes to give an oral report on the journey of the
Golden Fleece. In either case, be sure to include all important people, places, and
challenges, and be sure that it is in the correct order of events. You will be presenting
these to Mom and Christian.
How the Gods were Born
Before the gods of Olympus, there were the Titans. They were not the first
gods, but the children of the firsts. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, the primordial
gods were personifications of nature, such as the parents of the Titans: Gaia (earth)
and Uranus (heaven). These had twelve children, six male and six female. Cronus was
the youngest, and the one chosen by his mother Gaia to enact her revenge on Uranus
for his treatment of their children (he had thrown some of them into Tartarus). Once
Cronus had defeated his father, he freed his brothers and sisters and they fought
together to overthrow the first gods.
The following passages are taken from the article “The Greek Gods: The Full List and
Background” on greektraveltellers.com.
The Titans represented for the Ancients the forces of nature as well as natural
phenomena. These forces ruled the world from the earliest times of creation. Only
Themis and Mnemosyne represented more mental states, justice and memory. During
the battle of the gods that followed (the so-called “Titanomachy"), Themis and
Mnemosyne were the only two of the first Titans that did not side with their siblings
in their war against the Olympians, and continued their course alongside the
Olympian gods.
When Rhea became pregnant with the 1st child of Cronus, Uranus prophesized that
Cronus’ children will overthrow him as he overthrew Uranus. When Rhea gave birth
to their first child, Hestia, Cronus could not get Uranus’ prophecy out of his mind.
Overcome with fear and madness, and trying to avoid the fate his father had, he
swallowed the newborn! The same happened to their next four children; Cronus
devoured all five of his newborns! The only one who survived was the sixth and
youngest child, Zeus. Rhea tricked Cronus into eating a rock instead of the baby and
left Zeus to the island of Crete, to be raised away from his mad father. Zeus grew
older and stronger and eventually sought to free his siblings, leading to the epic battle
between the Titans and the Olympians who the latter eventually won thus,
overthrowing the previous generation of Greek gods.
It is worth noting that there were many more Titans than the aforementioned,
descendants of the first twelve.
The Olympian Gods
The Gods of Olympus were the main Greek gods who lived on the top of mount
Olympus. The Olympian gods rose to power by defeating the Titans in the War of the
Titans (also called the Titanomachy). They were the children of Cronus and Rhea.
Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia and Demeter, Hades, and later on Apollo, Artemis,
Hermes, Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite and Ares. Over the years, the Demi-god
Dionysus became part of their group on Olympus.
It is very common to refer to the Greek pantheon as “the 12 Olympian Gods”.
However, the ancient Greeks did not worship specific twelve gods. Instead, there
were many more, major and lesser - but nonetheless important - gods and others that
were worshiped locally.
The rule of Zeus was not absolute. To obtain it, Zeus and his kind had to wrestle with
the Titans and then with the Giants. The Battle of the Giants was more formidable and
lasted more years. The greatest Olympians took part in the battle. The Giants were not
as immortal as the Titans. But they had tremendous power and a monstrous form.
After a long and ferocious war, the Greek gods managed to defeat all Giants with the
help of Zeus’ demi-god son, the hero Hercules.
The Olympian gods had the same inclinations and the same desires, the same flaws
and strengths as the mortals, even sometimes living in similar conditions. They looked
like humans, but they were, almost always, prettier and stronger than humans. The
gods could be transformed as they wished or teleported to any place they wished to.
This was also a motivation for the famous Greek hospitality, which was a very
important institution in ancient Greece. The Greeks would always welcome with
special joy any foreigner, who could, after all, be a god in disguise!
As can be seen from many myths, the gods of the Greeks were not indifferent to
humans. On the contrary, they often came in contact with them, traveling secretly,
transforming themselves into ordinary people, rewarding the good and punishing the
unjust. The gods did not find a better way to be happy than to live as humans. But
they were freed from two great sufferings of mankind: the fear of deprivation and the
fear of death. Indeed, the privilege of the gods is carefree. They never think about
illness, old age, death. The nectar, the wine of the gods, and the ambrosia, the divine
food of Olympus, ensure beauty, health and happiness for the immortals.
The immortal Greek gods settled on the peak of Olympus. There, they built their
divine palaces and from there they looked upon the whole world. The ancient Greek
religion is based on wisdom. People admired the gods immensely, without envying
them. Famous temples were built for them and famous works of art were inspired by
them. The gods reflected the ideals of the ancient Greek people.
Cupid and Psyche Worksheet Answer Key
1. How does Psyche compare in beauty with her sisters?
-Psyche is the youngest and most beautiful of her two sisters. Psyche is so beautiful
that one cannot even begin to describe her beauty. People come from all over just to
see Psyche and they refer to her as Venus herself.
2. What plan does Venus have for Psyche?
-Venus plans to have her son Cupid fly down into her room and put a potion on her
that would make her fall in love with an unworthy man. Venus does this because she
is both angered and jealous of Psyche for getting praised when she is only a mortal.
3. What happens when Cupid meets Psyche?
-When Cupid meets Psyche he is stunned by her beauty and touches her with his
arrow. When he touches her side with his arrow she wakes up startled and Cupid
accidentally pokes himself with his own arrow, making himself fall in love with
Psyche and not an unworthy man.
4. How does “the mildest of winds” help Psyche?
-“The mildest of winds” helps Psyche because she believes her parents when they
consult the oracle of Apollo and goes up to the mountain and comes across a beautiful
place. Psyche is surrounded by servants and has a husband without even having to do
anything.
5. When and why does Cupid appear to Psyche?
-Cupid would only appear in the hours of darkness and he would flee before dawn of
the morning because he did not want Psyche to see him.
6. How do her sisters create doubts about Psyche’s future husband?
-Her sister’s find out that Psyche had never seen her husband so they plant in her
mind that he must be a monster. They tell her if she doesn’t believe them that she
should find out herself in the middle of the night with a lamp and a sharp knife and if
he is a monster to cut off his head.
7. What are the consequences of Psyche’s betrayal?
-When Psyche betrays her husband he gets out of bed and flies away. He tells Psyche
that she is foolish and should have never questioned his love or believed her sister
when they thought him to be a monster. Cupid punishes Psyche by leaving her alone
to wander confused and lost.
8. To what lengths does Psyche go to make amends?
-Psyche goes to Venus herself and voluntarily surrenders herself to her and asks for
forgiveness in the hope that she will be reunited with her husband again. Venus puts
Psyche through a number of tasks that she completes with the helps of others, but
nonetheless does everything she was asked to do.
9. How does the myth end?
-In the end Cupid recovers from his wound he had and flies down to rescue Psyche
from unconsciousness after opening the box of beauty. Cupid asks Mercury to bring
Psyche up to the heavenly assembly and make her immortal. Psyche becomes
immortal and united with Cupid again. Cupid and Psyche later have a daughter,
Pleasure.
Cupid and Psyche Worksheet
1. How does Psyche compare in beauty with her sisters?
2. What plan does Aphrodite have for Psyche?
3. What happens when Cupid meets Psyche?
4. How does “the mildest of winds” help Psyche?
5. When and why does Cupid appear to Psyche?
6. How do her sisters create doubts about Psyche’s future husband?
7. What are the consequences of Psyche’s betrayal?
8. To what lengths does Psyche go to make amends?
9. How does the myth end?
Theseus Worksheet
1. Why did the city of Athens have to obey King Minos?
2. Who is Theseus?
3. Why did Theseus volunteer to go to Crete? Why did this surprise every
one else?
4. Does he defeat the Minotaur? How?
5. What was the purpose of the ball of string? Who gave it to him?
6. What happens to Adriadne?
7. Does Theseus ever return to Athens?
8. What happens to King Aegeus?
Midas Worksheet
??. According to the story of King Midas, is greed forgivable? Midas does get into a
messy situation with his greedy wish, but he also gets off the hook pretty easily. What
do you think?
??. Does Midas deserve a reward for aiding Silenus? Why or why not?
3. Should Dionysus have granted Midas's wish even though he apparently knew it was
a bad idea from the start?
4. Is there a way that Midas could have made his wish without getting in trouble for it?
If so, how?
5. What do stories like King Midas teach us about the role of wealth in ancient
cultures? How is wealth similar and/or different in modern culture?
??. Why do you think the story bothers to tell us about the flakes of gold in the river
Pactolus? Is this important for some particular reason?
Medusa’s Head Worksheet
1. Who takes pity on Danae and showers her with gold?
2. Why does Polydectes treat Perseus so poorly?
3. What did the Nymphs give Perseus?
4. What curse did Poseidon put on Ethiopia? Why?
5. How does Perseus save Andromeda?
6. How and why is Medusa turned into a gorgon?
7. How does the prophecy about King Acrisios come true?
8. In your opinion, is Perseus worthy of being called a hero? Why or why not?