48

Photo of Thomas taken when he was around nine.

What's the difference between a god and a hero in Greek and Roman mythology? The heroes seem so much more likable and approachable. While both gods and heroes had human flaws, the heroes seemed to accept their flaws and learn to adjust their lives around them. The gods had flaws, but they didn't see them as real issues that needed to be dealt with.

As I begin the unit on Traditional Tales, I need to think how I really feel about these stories. I like stories, but my interests really lie in folktales and stories passed down from the lips of Southerners who usually have a natural "gift of gab." 

Greek and Roman myths can't hold a candle to the stories that I love. I love the cadence and rhythm of a good story told by a true Scots-Irish American. These stories are so much more romantic than the glorified stories of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

But alas, I must teach the curriculum, so I have grown to enjoy these tales of gods, heroes, and monsters. But many of my students do not have enough prior knowledge to appreciate the literary value of these myths, so it's up to me to share with them what I know about this subject. Needless to say, I've had to do some researching of my own to learn all I can about these characters.

While researching this subject, I found my best information on the History Channel. The video directly above is part of a series about gods and goddesses that I highly recommend as viewing for both you and your students.

The fact that many other types of literature allude to Greek and Roman mythology makes it even more important that students learn these valuable stories. In fact, any time I'm teaching a poem or some other piece of literature and I notice an allusion to mythology, I always point it out. I do believe that a deeper understanding of Greek and Roman mythology would have helped me as an English major in college.

While in ninth grade, both of my kids had to read books and do research projects on mythological gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters. It was a great learning experience for me, also. I've used much of what I teach my own students from helping my own two kids with their research.

Teaching Greek and Roman mythology will as easy or as hard as you make it. I suggest that you grab the Minotaur by the horn and climb on.

Mrs. Etheridge