Percy Jackson & Greek Mythology

The Beginning
From the empty nothingness came the embodiment of night and darkness, Nyx and Erebus. They had offspring called Hemera and Aether, who represented day and the air to balance the parents. Then Gaia, Ouranos, and Tartarus came to be the earth, the sky, and the abyss. Gaia and Ouranos had children known as the titans. They also had two other sets of children- a race of giants called the three elder cyclops and the three hekatonkheires. The cyclops had only one eye, and the hekatonkheires had a hundred hands. 

Ouranos was so frightened by how hideous his children looked that he threw them into the abyss of Tartarus. Gaia was furious and she hatched a plan with her sons to banish him to the sky. She gave her youngest son, Kronos, a scythe and told him to chop up Ouranos with it while his brothers held him down. The oldest brother, Oceanus, wanted no part in the murder so he was banished to the ocean by his younger brother. Ouranos's physical form was destroyed, and Kronos became king.

The Titans
The Titans were the first, or elder, deities. There were twelve main titans, including the parents of Zeus, Kronos, and Rhea. They ruled during what was called the Golden Age. They were overthrown by their children...led by Zeus. This was called the titanomachy.

The Chimera 
The fire-breathing Chimera was a terrifying beast with a serpent for a tail, a goat's body and a lion's head! King Sisyphus has commanded the warrior, Bellerophon, to destroy it. Soaring above the monster on Pegasus, he shoots arrows at it. Bellerophon then attaches lead to his spear and thrusts it into the vicious beast. The hero’s actions kills the fiery Chimera.

Scylla & Charybdis
On both sides of a narrow stretch of sea, monsters lie in wait. On one side, Scylla thrashes around her six snakelike heads, ready to crunch on passing sailors. On the other, Charybdis creates a deadly whirlpool. No person has ever faced these beasts and escaped unharmed. Now the king, Odysseus, and his crew must pass them to get home. They edge around Charybdis' spiraling sea, saving the ship from being swallowed whole. Scylla swoops down and gobbles up six men, and Odysseus shouts, leading the rest of the crew past Scylla and out of the deadly channel. Having survived the dreaded beasts, Odysseus and his men continue their journey.

The Minotaur
Half-man, half-bull, the Minotaur lurks in an underground maze of king Minos waiting for his next meal - children sent to him as a tribute. Lost in the labyrinth, the kids will be devoured, but brave prince Theseus has had enough of his land living in fear of the Minotaur. He accompanies the group, and is prepared to fight. Hearing the Minotaur breathing nearby, he springs toward it. Dodging the monster's deadly horns, he thrusts his sword into the beast. The Minotaur is dead, and Theseus unspools a string given to him by the kings daughter Ariadne that he wound as he walked through the maze...he leads the remaining children out to safety.

Hydra
In a swamp, creeps a deadly nine-headed serpent called the Hydra. Heracles, son of Zeus, must kill it as punishment. After Shooting arrows into its eyes , the Hydra attacks, so Heracles hits its heads with a club, knocking them off, but more grow in their place! Heracles' friend, Iolus, then leaps to his aid with a flaming torch. After an epic battle, the men finally destroy the Hydra!

Medusa
This hideous Medusa has snakes for hair, terrifying tusks, and a face that turns anyone that looks at it into stone! To please his king whom his mother is hiding from, Perseus agrees to slay the beast. Wearing a Hades helmet of invisibility and carrying the adamantine sword given to him by Zeus (not adamantuim!),and a polished shield given to him by Athena, he sneaks up on Medusa. She's asleep, but one gaze at her face and Perseus would be a statue! He looks at her harmless reflection in his shiny shield and beheads her. Victorious, Perseus flies off on winged sandals.

Read

• Percy Jackson
• An adventure-quest with a hip edge. At first glance, Perseus Jackson seems like a loser (readers meet him at a boarding school for troubled youth), but he's really the son of Poseidon and a mortal woman. As he discovers his heritage, he also loses that mother and falls into mortal danger. The gods (still very active in the 21st-century world) are about to go to war over a lost thunderbolt, so Percy and sidekicks Grover (a young satyr) and Annabeth (daughter of Athena) set out to retrieve it. Percy is an ADHD, wise-cracking, first-person narrator. Naturally, his real quest is for his own identity. Along the way, such topics as family, trust, war, the environment, dreams, and perceptions are raised. 

Make / Do

• Lego Ancient Greece activity pack
• Make Greek Hoplite armor
• Make a Greek vase ; decorate it with mythological creatures

Watch

• Percy Jackson double feature DVD set

Define / Identify

• Zeus
• Hera 
• Poseidon 
• Hades
• Dionysus 
• Apollo
• Artemis
• Ares
• Athena 
• Hermes 
• Aphrodite
• Hephaestus 
• Demeter 

Think

• Why were the Greek myths important to the development of ancient Greece as a civilization?
• What is your opinion of the religion of ancient Greece?
• What role does pride play in Greek mythology?

Access all of the mythology units in the World Mythology Unit Studies Bundle!

Includes sixteen unit studies covering world mythologies. Each unit addresses a new topic, spanning ancient through modern history.

• Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand.
• There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available.
• After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students.
• You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon.
• There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify.
• Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included.
• We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life.

Product sample:  Percy Jackson & Greek Mythology

These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together. Our family has used unit studies as curriculum for many years, and we hope that your family will enjoy these, too!