Hi there.

Welcome to today's history lesson.

My name is Ms. Roberts and I'll be guiding you through today's lesson, which is all about ancient Greek mythology.

Today we are going to explore what the ancient Greek myths were and we'll be thinking about what they can tell us about life in ancient Greece.

You're going to hear a lot of new words today, like the names of places and characters from the ancient Greek myths.

Don't worry if you are unsure of the meanings of anything at first because I'll be guiding you through the lesson step by step.

I'm very excited to get started today.

Let's go.

By the end of the lesson today you will be able to describe some of the ancient Greek myths and you'll be able to suggest what they tell us about ancient Greek culture.

I'd like to begin with showing you four keywords, which are words that are going to be important in the lesson today.

I'll show you the words first and then we'll look at the meanings together.

You've seen the first keyword already and that word is myth.

Can you say myth? Great.

You've actually also already heard our second keyword.

That's culture.

Can you say culture? Good job.

Now the next two keywords are both from the ancient Greek myths.

They're both the names of places that we are going to encounter in the stories.

The first of those places is Mount Olympus.

Can you say Mount Olympus? Good job, well done.

The second place is Underworld.

Can you say Underworld? Great, well done.

I'll explain what the words each mean now, but don't worry because I will highlight them and explain them when we meet them during the lesson.

So beginning with myth, a myth is a traditional tale or a story usually about heroes or gods, and they are fictional.

That means they are imagined.

The culture, and in this case, we're talking about the culture of ancient Greece, the culture is the language, the customs, the ideas, or art that belong to a particular group of people.

Ancient Greek myths are part of the ancient Greek culture.

Now, these two places that we find in ancient Greek mythology, the first place is Mount Olympus.

Mount Olympus is not actually a fictional place.

Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece.

The last of our key words is Underworld, and in ancient Greek mythology, the Underworld was where people went after they died.

Okay, we're going to be hearing about something that happens in the Underworld in the second half of the lesson today.

For the first half of our lesson though, we are going to be learning about the ancient Greek gods and goddesses.

They're the most important thing about the ancient Greek myths, so that's a logical place for us to start.

In ancient Greek culture, the people believed in many gods and goddesses and they told lots of stories about them.

Those stories are called myths.

Now, some people, as Izzy tells us, believe that myths are true and in ancient Greece, the people firmly believed that the stories about their gods and goddesses were based on true events.

Today we can agree though that myths are fictional stories.

They are imagined.

Greek myths are still told to this day and lots of the stories have actually been turned into very famous and well-known books, plays, TV shows, and even movies, and some people do refer to the ancient Greek myths as the greatest stories that have ever been told.

Mount Olympus, as you heard before, is the highest mountain in Greece.

It's actually a height of almost 10,000 feet above sea level.

It is a real mountain and it still exists.

It's still in Greece today.

The ancient Greeks believed that the 12 most important of their gods and goddesses lived at the top of Mount Olympus, so they called them the Olympians.

Lots of Greek myths are about the Olympians.

The highest point on Mount Olympus is called Mytikas Peak.

Notice the M-Y-T, at the start of the spelling of Mytikas.

Can you see a connection there with the word myth? Now, you may be wondering now if myths are fictional, they're imagined, but Mount Olympus is a real place, then why didn't the people in ancient Greece just go to Mount Olympus and look for those gods and goddesses there? Thousands of years ago in ancient Greece, there were no established footpaths around the mountain and the people certainly didn't have the kind of climbing equipment that we have today.

Things like ropes or strong boots or maps to follow.

In ancient times, climbing through the rough and rocky terrain of Mount Olympus was so dangerous that it could cost the life of anyone who tried.

It is believed that many people did indeed try and they did not succeed, which added to the strength of the beliefs that the gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus were the most powerful and important beings.

Let's have a quick check on what you have heard to make sure that we are all following so far.

This is a true or false question.

I will read a statement and I want you to decide if you think it is true or if it is false.

In ancient Greek culture, people believed in one god.

Is that true or is that false? Have you decided? Good.

Did anyone choose true, hands up? No, I didn't choose true either.

The correct answer is false.

It is false to say that in ancient Greek culture people believed in one god.

Now we can't make declarations about peoples from the past if we don't have some evidence or explanation to back up what we are saying, so we need something now to explain how we know that that is false.

I'm going to read you two possible statements.

I'd like you to decide which one best helps us in this situation.

Statement A says, that there were at least 12 gods and goddesses because there were 12 Olympians on Mount Olympus.

Statement B says, there were lots of ancient Greek myths that had gods as characters.

Which of those is most helpful to explain why we know that the first statement is false? (no audio) Have you chosen option A? Me too.

We know for a fact that there were 12 gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus and they were the most important of the gods and goddesses, so there must have been more than 12.

This helps us to explain why it is false to say that in ancient Greek culture, people believed in one god when there was at least 12 that we know of.

Let's move on now and find out some more about these Olympian gods and goddesses.

The 12 major gods and goddesses included Zeus.

He was the king of the gods and Hera, she was the queen of the gods.

Zeus was seen as the ruler, protector and the father of all gods and humans.

Hera was married to Zeus and she was associated with marriage and the family.

The statues in this photograph are what people believe Hera and Zeus looked like.

Other gods and goddesses are associated with different things.

Hera and Zeus' son, Ares, who also lived on Mount Olympus with them, was associated with war and fighting.

Another goddess called Aphrodite who was a daughter of Zeus and also lived on Mount Olympus was associated with love and beauty.

Were you paying attention there? Let's check.

What was Hera, the queen of the gods associated with? Was she associated with war and fighting, marriage and family, protecting and ruling, or love and beauty? Have a think and make your choice.

Have you decided? Good job.

Okay, did anyone choose option A, war and fighting? No, good.

I didn't choose A either because I know that Ares Hera's son was the god that was associated with war and fighting.

How about option B, marriage and the family? Did you choose that one? Yes, that's the right one.

Hera, the queen of the gods was associated with the marriage and family.

It was Zeus who was the protector and ruler as in option C, and option D, love and beauty are associated with Zeus's daughter Aphrodite.

Good stuff.

The next activity is a note making activity.

On this chart, you can see the names of four of the gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus, four of the Olympians.

You need to make notes about them.

When you finish making your notes, share and compare them with a partner.

You can see if you've written the same things or different things, and how much can you remember together.

Pause the video now while you complete the activity.

(no audio) Have you finished? Great.

Let's look at some example notes together.

Starting with Zeus, I have written that he was the king of the gods, that he was married to Hera and that he was the father of Ares and Aphrodite, and of course he was one of the Olympians.

Then I wrote about Hera because she was the queen of the gods and she was married to Zeus.

She was the mother of Ares and she was associated with marriage and the family.

She was also one of the Olympians.

Ares was the son of Hera and Zeus, he was associated with war and with fighting, and he was also one of the Olympians.

Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus.

She was associated with love and beauty, and she was also one of the Olympians.

Good work.

Let's move along now to the second part of today's lesson.

We're going to think about what the ancient Greek myths tell us about ancient Greek culture.

The ancient Greeks had myths to explain almost everything they wanted to understand.

From how the earth came to be, to why we have seasons and why momentous events like earthquakes and volcanoes happen.

Many of these myths are about something that happened to one or more of their gods or goddesses.

Ancient gods and goddesses and their myths was so important in ancient Greece that the people also told their stories in paintings, in mosaics and in sculptures that they made.

This is a statue of a goddess called Persephone.

One of the most famous Greek myths tells her story.

Persephone was the daughter of a goddess called Demeter.

Demeter was the goddess of the harvest.

The ancient Greeks used this story to explain the changing of the seasons throughout the year.

The myth explains that it was Demeter, Persephone's mother that was responsible for creating the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter and bringing good harvests with the weather.

If you look at the statue, this is what people believe Persephone would've looked like.

She was believed to have had beautiful long curling hair.

The story tells us that Persephone was taken to a place called the Underworld to live with another god called Hades.

Hades was the king of the Underworld, and he wanted Persephone to be his queen.

Now, Demeter was very unhappy to be away from her daughter, so she ruins the harvest, and then the people had nothing to eat.

So to help the ancient Greeks, Persephone returned back to her mother for six months of the year, and during that time they were together, spring and summer came and the harvests were good, but when Persephone went back to the Underworld again at the end of those six months Demeter was very sad and she was unhappy.

So the seasons of autumn and winter arrived.

This is what the ancient Greeks believed brought the seasons and caused the harvests.

So were you paying attention to the details there? Who was it that was taken to the Underworld? Was it A, Hera? Was it B, Persephone? Was it C, Demeter, or D, Hades? Have you chosen one? Good, well, we know it wasn't Hera because she was the queen of the gods.

She was up at the top of Mount Olympus.

Was it Persephone, option B? That's right.

It was Persephone that was taken to the Underworld to become queen.

Demeter was Persephone's mother, and Hades was the king of the Underworld.

Now we know it was Persephone who was taken to the Underworld, but what happened when she returned from the Underworld? A, the harvest was bad, B, autumn and winter returned, C, spring and summer returned or D, the harvest was good.

Now be careful here because there could be more than one right answer.

Have a think now and make your decision.

(no audio) Have you chosen? So when Persephone returned, was the harvest bad? No, it wasn't bad because Demeter was happy when Persephone came back.

Did Autumn winter return when Persephone came back? No, because Demeter was happy.

What happened when Persephone came back was that spring and summer returned and the harvest was good.

Did you choose both of those options? C and D.

Well done.

I'd like to tell you about some more women from ancient Greek mythology now.

Another famous myth is about the Moirai or the Fates.

They were called Atropos, Clotho and Lachesis, and they were sisters.

The sisters held great power over both gods and humans.

Each of them had a very special role in making sure that life and death and everything in between happened exactly as destiny meant it to.

Destiny is a belief that the future is already decided, even though we don't yet know what it will be.

This picture shows what the ancient Greeks believed that the three sisters looked like.

This is the ruins of a mosaic and the names are inscribed above them in Greek writing.

Nobody had more power in ancient Greece than the sisters, not even Zeus.

This tells us that in ancient Greek culture as well as believing in those many gods and goddesses, people also believed that there was some sort of natural order to things, a natural order for all life on earth.

They believed in destiny.

You have heard so much today about ancient Greek mythology and all of the characters and the places it contains.

Let's put that learning to some use now with some more activities.

First, I'd like you to look at these photographs to answer a question for me.

You can see three figures from ancient Greek mythology, and I would like you to decide which of those three had the most power.

Was it A, Persephone? Was it B, the Moirai, or was it C, Hera? Have a think and make a decision now.

(no audio) Have you made a choice? Now, Hera, option C was very powerful because she was the queen of the gods, but somebody else was more powerful.

It wasn't Persephone.

She was also a queen, but she was a queen when she was in the Underworld, so that leaves us with the three sisters called the Moirai.

The Moirai or the Fates were the most powerful.

They had more power over life and death than even Zeus or Hera had.

Now, can you answer this question about the myths that you have heard? Why did the ancient Greeks tell myths? A, to explain everything they wanted to understand, B, as a way to entertain each other, C, to tell stories about their gods and goddess, or D, to show that there was a natural order for all life on earth.

Take a moment now to decide which of those you think is the correct answer, but be aware that there could be more than one correct choice.

(no audio) Have you decided? Let's look at the answer together.

Did you choose option A? Okay, how about B? And C? What about D? Did you choose all of them? So did I because they are all reasons why the ancient Greeks told myths.

They told them because they needed ways to explain why things were the way they were.

They told myths as a form of entertainment.

They told myths to explain about their gods and goddesses, and they told myths to describe what the natural order was for life on Earth.

Now, you're going to need to use your imaginative and creative thinking for the next activity because just like the ancient Greeks told their myths, you are going to retell one of the ancient Greek myths yourself.

I'd like you to work in a small group and together you're going to write your own version of the story of the ancient Greek myth about why the seasons change.

I've provided some information here to help you and do remember that your story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The characters in this myth are Demeter.

She's the goddess of the harvest.

Hades, he was the god and king of the Underworld and Persephone who was Demeter's daughter, and she is who Hades wanted to be Queen.

The settings for your play are Earth, where Demeter lives, where the ancient Greeks live, and the other setting is the Underworld, which is the place where Hades is the ruler.

Pause the video now and work together to recreate your version of this ancient Greek myth.

(no audio) Are you all finished? I hope you enjoyed that activity.

Some of the Oak Academy children are going to share their version of the myth with us now.

Alex, Sam and Sofia have been working together.

Alex is playing the role of Hades.

Sam is Demeter, and Sofia is Persephone.

The first scene of their play takes place on Earth and it features Demeter and Persephone.

Demeter says, "I'm so happy when we look after the harvest together," and Persephone replies, "Me too, mother.

I love helping the sun to shine and make the crops grow." Demeter says, "I would be so sad if you ever left." In the second scene of their play, we visit the Underworld and hear Hades talking.

"I need a queen to help me rule the Underworld.

Beautiful Persephone will be an excellent queen.

I will go to earth and fetch her to come and live here with me in the Underworld." On Earth, in the third scene, Persephone has now left and gone to the Underworld.

Demeter says, "I'm so sad.

I don't want to help the sun to shine and grow the harvest.

I will not do it without my beautiful daughter.

So come now, come rain, come snow.

I do not care." She's so sad.

Scene four takes us back to the Underworld.

Hades and Persephone are there.

Persephone is quite upset.

"The harvest on Earth is ruined," she says, "because my mother needs me.

Please King Hades, can't I go back to her?" "Hmm, I need you here as my queen," Hades replies, "but the harvest is needed too.

You can share your time instead.

Return to earth for six months to help with the harvest, but then come back here to the Underworld." Scene five takes us back to Earth where Persephone has returned to Demeter.

"Mother, I'm here.

I will stay with you for six months, so bring back the sunshine and we can grow the harvest together.

We shall have beautiful days and a harvest greater than ever before." I think Alex, Sam, and Laura did very well retelling their version of the myth.

Well done.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson about Greek mythology.

We've heard an awful lot of information, so let's have a quick review of everything we've covered today.

Today we have learned that in ancient Greek culture, there were many gods and goddesses, and that the Greeks told many myths about them.

We know that the ancient Greeks believed in 12 major gods and goddesses called the Olympians who lived on Mount Olympus.

We know that gods and goddesses were associated with different things that were important to the ancient Greeks.

For example, Hera, the queen of the gods was associated with marriage and the family.

The ancient Greeks used myths to explain things that they didn't understand.

The myth of Persephone in the Underworld explains how we have seasons.

Another myth about the Moirai or the Fates tells us that the ancient Greeks believed in a type of natural order or destiny.

It was so interesting to hear about all of those imaginative and incredible stories about the gods and goddesses.

I hope you enjoyed hearing them too.

I'm looking forward to seeing you again for another lesson to learn more about the ancient Greek culture.

Bye for now.

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