THE OLYMPIAN GODS Student Worksheets
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CLIL COURSE MATERIALS CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS Student worksheets Pilar Torres Carmona December 2008 CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS UNIT 1. MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY What is a myth? A myth is a story about gods and other supernatural beings and how they made or shaped the world and humanity. The events told in these stories happened in a very remote past. Myths are a part of religion, and they give an explanation of the world from a moral point of view; there is an ideology under every myth. Myths are also metaphorical; they do not try to explain the world in a logical or scientific way, but through imagination. However, we can still use myths to understand and explore culture: its viewpoints, activities and beliefs. Who made up Myths are very old stories. They are so old, that we do not know who myths? made them up: they are anonymous. People told these stories over the years and this is why we have many versions of them. Sometimes these stories –or parts of them—were written down and now we can enjoy them. Where does the The word ‗myth’ comes from the ancient Greek word μῦθος ―mythos‖. It word ‗myth‘ means ―word, story‖ and it reveals the oral origin of these stories. come from? ‗Mythology’, from the Greek words μῦθος ―mythos‖ story and λόγος What is ―logos‖ collection or study means both collection of stories/myths and study mythology? of the myths. Why classical Every civilization has its myths. We call classical mythology the body of mythology? myths of ancient Greece and Rome. We are going to study them because of their importance and influence on European culture: art, literature, music… even on everyday products and publicity! Look at two instances below: The birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli (1485-86) Gillette Venus, a brand of disposable razors for women, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence (Italy). From at http://www.gillettevenus.com/uk/. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Botticelli_ Visit it! Venus.jpg Pilar Torres Carmona IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS UNIT 1. MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY. ACTIVITIES Look at the picture below. What do you see? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Image from http://nikeid.nike.com, 2007 In pairs, go to the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and find out the answer to the following questions: a) Where does the name of the brand in the advertisement come from? b) The man in the advertisement is wearing a pair of wings; why do you think he has been represented in that way? c) What is the logo of this brand? Draw it. d) What is the logo’s name? What does its name mean? To find it out look up the word in the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary CD. You can also listen to the pronunciation. Does it have any relationship with the wings? e) In your opinion, do many people know what ‚nike‛ means? Why do you think they do/don’t? f) Think of two reasons to choose ‚Nike‛ as a sports brand name. Pilar Torres Carmona IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS STAGE 3. SUMMARY CHART (Whole group oral activity except ‚Further thinking‛) TRADEMARK LOGO SHAPE NAME AMERICAN MEANING SPORTSWARE WHAT DOES THE WINGS = V _ _ _ _ _ y BRAND WING STAND FOR Therefore, if you wear this brand, you are wearing wings, (=)? therefore you are a w_ _ _ _r. GREEK Have you ever tried to catch a winged being –butterflies, MYTH flies, birds...? Look at the Was it easy or difficult? picture. It Once you caught it, was it easy or difficult to keep? represents the According to ancient Greeks, Victory had wings, therefore Greek goddess Greeks thought that victory was of Victory. d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to reach and to keep. Does she seem Musée du Louvre, Paris (France) from to be running http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Bronze_Nike_Louvre_Br1679.jp away? Why? g - Is there any difference between the versions? According to the American sportswear brand, is victory easy or difficult to reach? AMERICAN Remember its motto: Just do it! VERSION According to the ancient Greek myth, victory was _____________________ because VS. she __________________. GREEK Therefore ancient Greek and contemporary Americans have a VERSION d_ ff_ _ _ nt point of view about victory. They have different i_ _o_l_g_es. In ancient Greek μεταφορά, ‚metaphorá‛ meant ‚transport‛. Therefore metaphor occurs when we ‚transport‛/transfer the meaning from a concept (‚wing‛) to another (‚victory‛). MYTH AS However, concepts mean different things to different people; in this case, ‚wings‛ METAPHOR meant ‚difficulty‛ to Greeks while the same concept means ‚ease‛ to Americans. That is why metaphors and myths are durable, because they can be adapted to different circumstances. This is the way myths work. Think about another trademark which uses the concept of wings in its advertisements/commercials. Try to justify this use. FURTHER THINKING Invent a new brand and logo for a product using the concept of wings. Which of the meanings above (‚difficulty‛/‛ease‛ or maybe a different one) would you choose and why? Go to the website http://youtube.com/watch?v=XeKDFGbCUGA and watch the video ‚Impossible Nike‛. What do you think is the meaning of this commercial? There is a JUST FOR clue here: FUN N_ _e wears Adidas, therefore V_ _ _ _ _ y wears Adidas, therefore if you want to be a w_ nn _r, you m_ _t wear Adidas (not Nike!). Pilar Torres Carmona IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS UNIT 1. MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY. Myth as explanation of the world. TEXT A: 1. With your partner, read the text and decide which column in the chart below matches your text. A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot, molten rock, ash and gases to escape from below the surface. Volcanic activity tends to form mountains or features like mountains over a period of time. Volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are pulled apart or come together. Cross-section through a stratovolcano: 1. Large magma chamber 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano 2. Bedrock 10. Throat 3. Conduit (pipe) 11. Parasitic cone 4. Base 12. Lava flow 5. Sill 13. Vent 6. Branch pipe 14. Crater 7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano 15. Ash cloud 8. Flank Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano Scientific discourse Mythological discourse Text___ Text ___ Descriptive Narrative Objective Metaphorical Exposition of facts Presentation of actions Intervention of physical laws Intervention of divine beings Use of observation, experiments and Need of faith demonstration General Particular Pilar Torres Carmona IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS Order the phrases below to write a summary of your text: ( ) are generally found. ( ) You can also ( ) of a volcano. ( ) what a volcano is, ( ) This text explains ( ) and where volcanoes ( ) forms mountains ( ) how volcanic activity ( ) see a cross-section Pilar Torres Carmona IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS TEXT B 1. With your partner, read the text and decide which column in the chart below matches your text. In Aztec mythology, Popocatéptl was a warrior who loved Iztaccíhuatl. Iztaccíhuatl‘s father sent Popocatéptl to war in Oaxaca, promising him his daughter as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl‘s father presumed he would not.). Iztaccíhuatl‘s father told her that her lover had fallen in battle and she died of grief. When Popocatéptl returned, and discovered the death of his lover, he committed suicide by plunging a dagger through his heart. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl‘s mountain was called ―La Mujer Dormida‖ (the ―Sleeping Woman‖). Popocatéptl became the volcano Popocatéptl, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved. Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popocatapetl Scientific discourse Mythological discourse Text___ Text ___ Descriptive Narrative Objective Metaphorical Exposition of facts Presentation of actions Intervention of physical laws Intervention of divine beings Use of observation, experiments and Need of faith demonstration General Particular 2. Order the phrases below to write a summary of your text: ( ) the story ( ) changed him into a volcano ( ) after he committed suicide ( ) of an Aztec warrior ( ) and how gods ( ) This text tells ( ) his beloved. ( ) because he had lost Pilar Torres Carmona IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY: THE OLYMPIAN GODS STUDENT WORKDHEETS TEXTS A AND B 2. Change partner and tell him/her what your text is about. Then compare your texts and match the text on the left with the text on the right. 1. Text __ is descriptive because a. there are gods in the story. 2. Text __ is narrative because b. a volcano stands for the rage of a warrior. 3. Text __ is objective because c. you can see a cross-section through a volcano. 4. Text __ is metaphorical because d. there is a presentation of actions. 5. There is intervention of physical laws in text __ e. no one can demonstrate that the story is true. because 6. There is intervention of divine beings in text f. there is an exposition of facts. __because 7. There is use of observation and demonstration in g. a volcano stands for a volcano. text __ because 8. There is need of faith in text __ because h. it cites volcanic activity and tectonic plates. 9. Text __ is general because i. it refers to a single volcano.