Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, Greek Mythology (Waxman) (5th – 6th)
This morning in Greek Mythology: Myth to Modern Legend, we picked up where we left off with our study of the Hercules myth and how it compares to the animated film. After finishing our socratic-style seminar, students split into groups and created their own “deleted scene” to make the film more accurate to the original myth. Students created their own props and costumes, and we had lots of laughs as everyone performed their scenes!
This morning we also discussed what makes someone a “hero.” Students came up with an excellent list, and then we studied Joseph Campbell’s “12 Steps” of the hero archetype. From there, we began to explore the myths of individual heroes, starting with Cadmus and Perseus, two of the oldest heroes in the mythology canon. Since Perseus is most famous for his defeat of Medusa, we also took some time to compare different versions and interpretations of Medusa’s story in modern day. Students particularly enjoyed analyzing some clips from the Percy Jackson film and TV show series.
Today, students also had time to continue working on their board games that interweave the myths we have been studying. Some students are starting to finish up this project (the first of two culminating projects this week), so I hope that students will have a chance to play the board games either tomorrow or Friday!
Some dinner table questions:
- What scene did you add to the Hercules film and why?
- What does it mean to be a “hero”? What are the main elements of the heroic journey?
- Why does Perseus fit the heroic trope?
- What were some of the similarities and differences in how Medusa was portrayed in the different versions of the myth that we studied?
Have a great evening!
Warmly,
Ms. Waxman