Greek Myths Knowledge Organisers

1. Gods
Zeus Vengeful King of the Gods. Father to Hercules, Perseus, Athena
Poseidon God of the seas. Zeus brother. Cursed King Minos with The Minotaur
Hera Jealous wife of Zeus. Tricked Hercules to kills his children
Hephaestus Blacksmith God. Son of Zeus. Crafted Pandora on Zeus’s command.
Hades God of the Underworld. Zeus’ brother. Owner of the hell-hound Cerberus.
Athena Zeus’ daughter. Cursed Medusa. Friend of Prometheus. Champion of Perseus.
Titans
Atlas Fought in the war against the gods. Cursed to hold up the heavens for eternity.
Prometheus Stole fire from mount Olympus. Cursed to have liver eaten by vulture daily
Epimetheus Brother of Prometheus. Owner of ‘Pandora’s box’. Married Pandora
Heroes
Perseus Son of Zeus and Danae. Slayed the Medusa, assisted by Athena.
Theseus Son of King Aegeus of Athens. Slew The Minotaur. Betrayed Ariadne.
Hercules Cursed by Hera. Gained immortal glory after completing 12 labours.
Kings
Minos Cruel and powerful King of Crete. Took sacrifices from Athens to feed the Minotaur
Aegeus King of Athens. Through himself into the ‘Aegean’ sea after seeing the black sail.
Eurystheus Mean and spiteful king of Argolis. Sent Hercules on his labours.
Polydectes Tyrannical king of Seriphos. Married & mistreated Danae. Turned to stone by Perseus.
Important Mortals
Pandora Beautiful, married to Epimetheus. Opened ‘Pandora’s box’.
Daedalus Master architect, inventor and craftsmen. Built the labyrinth.
Icarus Son of Icarus. Flew too close to the sun.
Ariadne Son of Minos. Fell in love with Theseus and used ‘Ariadne’s thread’ to assist him.
Sisyphus King punished by the Gods to roll a boulder uphill forever.
Monsters
Medusa Cursed by Athena. A petrifying glare and poisonous snakes for hair.
The Minotaur Half brother to Ariadne. Half bull half human. Inhabitant of the Labyrinth.
Cerberus Hades’ three headed hell-hound. Guarded the gates of the underworld.
The Sirens Beautiful women who lured ships to crash on rocks with the power of their song.
Themes
Wrath of the Gods As well as being powerful and wise, the Gods were also mean and spiteful.
Which characters were punished by the Gods. How? Why?
Heroes and Monsters Many heroes were locked in battles against strange and dangerous monsters
Death & The
Underworld
Hades and Persephone ruled the underworld, which features in several stories
and quests.
Tricks and
Transformations
Many monsters were transformed by the Gods as part of their vengeance.
Battles and Quests All great heroes need a great quest. Some are long, arduous and take many
years.
Prophecy and Curses Myths often involve prophecies about the future. Gods often curse mortals as
punishment
Trust and Betrayal Many characters place their trust in eachotehr only to be betrayed. Betrray the
Gods at your peril!
Stories
Prometheus and
Pandora
The titan, Prometheus, created man. He tricked Zeus who
punished him by stealing the son. Stole light from Mount
Olympus and was punished being chained to a mountain
where a vulture would eat his liver daily. Zeus cast his
revenge on man through Pandora, who married Epimetheus
and released the evils within ‘Pandora’s box’.
Perseus and The
Medusa
Perseus’s mother, Danae, was taken as wife by cruel
Polydectes. Perseus swore to deliver a Gorgon’s head for
the ceremony. With the assistance of Athena, he slew the
Gorgon, returned to Seriphos, and rescued his mother by
turning cruel Polydectes to stone.
Theseus and
The Minotaur
Theseus could not stand his father sending sacrifices to
Crete to be feasted on by the Minotaur, so he volunteered
to go instead. With Ariadne’s help, he navigated the
Labyrinth and slew the Minotaur. On his return, he
betrayed Ariadne, and forgot to change the sail of his ship,
causing his father to leap from the cliff face into the sea.
Hercules and
the 12 Labours
Cursed by Hera, Hercules kills his wife and six children. As
penance, he undertakes 12 fierce, and difficult labours,
demonstrating his superhuman strength, guile and bravery.
Having completed the labours, he earned eternal glory and
was strung amoung the stars by the Gods.
Daedalus and
Icarus
Daedalus, designer of the Labyrinth, helped Ariadne assist
Theseus navigate its design. As punishment, Minos locked
Daedalus and his son inside the labyrinth. They escaped,
and Daedalus constructed wings so they could escape the
isle of Crete. Ignoring his father’s advice, Icarus flew too
close to the son and perished.
Vocabulary
Audacious
Betrayal
Courageous
Deceptive
Devious
Devotion
Envious
Hubristic
Labyrinth
Malicious
Oppressive
Perilous
Repulsive
Tyrannical
Valiant
Vengeful
Vindictive
Wrath
Zealous

2. Week Possible teaching Sequence
1 • Introduction to Topic and questioning and current knowledge.
• Read contextual information with comprehension activities /
questions
• Read Prometheus and Pandora and assess for comprehension
2 • Recap / Quiz on Contextual Information and Pandora Myth.
• Explore themes in Prometheus and Pandora focussing on
betrayal and Wrath of the Gods
• Read Perseus and Medusa and check for understanding
3 • Recap / Quiz work so far including both myths
• Explore concept of heroism, and look for heroic aspects of
Perseus and Medusa.
• Milestone Task: analysis of Perseus Heroism.
4 • Recap concept of heroism
• Read Hercules and the 12 labours, exploring elements of
character and heroism.
• Initial comparisons of Perseus and Hercules as heroic characters
• MCQ: Recap plot, and characters in first three myths.
5 • Read Theseus and The Minotaur. Check comprehension
• Explore idea of ‘monsters’ and how The Minotaur and Medusa
came into being.
• Explore links between monsters and wrath of the Gods
• Explore concept of heroism comparing three main heroic
characters
6 • Milestone task: Discursive analysis of heroism (possible use of
key extracts from each story.
• Read Daedalus and Icarus check for comprehension
• Use ‘fall of Icarus painting and ‘Musee de Beaux Arts’ to explore
attitudes to suffering as represented by Icarus.
7 • Recap / Quiz on all myths and characters
• Choice (Read Achilles and explore further myth)
• Individual project / research on specific myth, relevant themes
and influence on popular culture (art, poetry, etc.)
Assessment Opportunities
• Comprehension / multiple choice quizzes
weekly understanding of myths and
characters.
• Use of Show My Homework to check for
gaps in understanding
• Book / Code marking for extended tasks
(week 2/5)
Milestone Assessment Tasks
Week Three: Using extract of Perseus and
Medusa and linking to wider textual
knowledge. “How heroic is Perseus”
• Focus on language analysis (AO2)
• Selecting relevant details from across the
text (AO1)
Week Six: Discursive task. “Hercules is by far
the most heroic of all characters in Greek
Mythology.” To what extent do you agree with
this statement?
• AO3 (Language) Evaluate texts critically
and support this with appropriate textual
references.