What Do You Know about Myths?

Write: What do you think of when you hear the following names?
Zeus Venus Cupid Hercules Achilles

Discuss: What myths do you know?

The Twelve Labors of Hercules White Buffalo Woman The Cyclops Arachne

Which of the following stories are myths?

Theseus and the Minotaur The Odyssey Pygmalion The Tortoise and the Hare Pandoras Box Romeo and Juliet The Trojan Horse Paul Bunyan The Coyote

Think about These Questions

Why do people have
myths? Why do different cultures have similar myths? Are myths important?

Make a Venn Diagram: What are the characteristics of each of the kinds of stories below?
Have gods and goddesses Explain nature

Myth s

Have a moral

Fable s

Have supernatural events Handed down over time

Have animals

Often written by a specific person

Have folk heroes

Tall Tales

Old Stories