What Greek myths can tell us about Ancient Greece
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe some Ancient Greek myths and suggest what they tell us about Ancient Greek culture.
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.
Teacher tip
There are obvious links here with Mount Olympus, the gods and goddesses called Olympians and the sports event that we call the Olympics, which began in Greece. This is an ideal opportunity for finding out about the Olympics, or modern-day Olympians, or even to tie in to your own school sports day.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Where were the separate self-governing areas of Ancient Greece called?
Q2.Which two groups of Ancient Greek people fought in the Peloponnesian War?
Q3.Match the words to the definitions.
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
Q4.Complete the sentence. Sparta was ruled over by two , five powerful ephors and a council of 28 men.
Q5.What could women in Sparta do that women in Athens could not?
Q6.What was the main focus of teaching for children in Sparta?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Who was queen of the gods in Ancient Greece?
Q2.Where did the Ancient Greeks believe that the most important gods and goddesses lived?
Q3.Ancient Greek stories about their gods and goddesses are called .
Q4.The three sisters called the Moirai were also called the .
Q5.Which of these figures was king of the underworld?
Q6.What was the goddess Hera associated with?
To help you plan your 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 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.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the Ancient Greek civilisation: what do we know about ancient Greece? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.