What Greek myths can tell us about Ancient Greece
I can describe some Ancient Greek myths and suggest what they tell us about Ancient Greek culture.
What Greek myths can tell us about Ancient Greece
I can describe some Ancient Greek myths and suggest what they tell us about Ancient Greek culture.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The Greeks had many gods and goddesses and lots of stories and myths that surrounded them.
- The Ancient Greeks believed in 12 major gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus.
- Greek Gods were associated with different things, e.g. Hera, Queen of the Gods, was associated with marriage and family.
- The popular myth of Persephone and the Underworld shows us how the Ancient Greeks explained the change of the seasons.
- Another myth concerned the Moirai, the Fates, which suggests the Ancient Greeks believed in a type of natural order.
Keywords
Myth - a myth is a traditional story, usually about heroes and gods, that is fictional
Culture - culture is the language, customs, ideas, and art of a particular group of people
Mount Olympus - Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece
Underworld - in Ancient Greek mythology the Underworld was where people went after they died
Common misconception
That the Ancient Greeks could go up Mount Olympus to find the gods or see the gods and talk to them there.
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, reaching almost 10,000 ft. There were no paths and there was no climbing equipment like we have today. Climbing the rough, rocky terrain was so dangerous it could cost the life of anyone who tried.
To help you plan your year 4 history lesson on: What Greek myths can tell us about Ancient Greece, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 4 history lesson on: What Greek myths can tell us about Ancient Greece, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the Ancient Greek civilisation: what do we know about ancient Greece? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
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Adult supervision recommended
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Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
a river in Sparta
a mountain in Sparta
a city-state that was the enemy of Sparta
Sparta enslaved the people of this place to become their farmers