High School Students Compare Modern Day Celebrities to the Gods on Mt. Olympus

Nearly all high school freshmen are required to read Homer's THE ODYSSEY. Teachers are expected to include some lessons on Greek mythology in this unit, which can be difficult for students to comprehend. Some of the complicated, hard-to-pronounce names, such as Dionysius, Aphrodite, and Poseidon, often immediately perplex students.

Once students get beyond the names, they often find some of the myths entertaining. They can relate to Zeus' infidelity, Aphrodite's vanity, and the eternal punishments of Prometheus and Tantalaus. The story of Icarus has also been a favorite of my students throughout the years.

Even though students seemed to enjoy the story of the gods, the scores on the unit test were very poor. The biggest problems regarded the names of the various mythological characters. When asked to write an extended response summarizing two mythological stories, many students struggled. Many left it blank, even though I was certain most of them knew at least two of the stories. Others seemed to describe the myth without using specific names, referring to the characters as simply he or she.

For the last several years I have used a lesson designed to get students to familiarize themselves with the various Greek gods and goddesses. I photocopy drawings of the various deities, leaving half of each page blank. Students are then required to think of a modern equivalent for each god. For example, next to the drawing of Aphrodite, a student would place a photo of an attractive movie star. An equivalent to Hercules could be a photo of a strong athlete, such as a football player or Olympic weightlifter. I keep a lot of old magazines and newspapers in the classroom, so we can usually do the assignment on site.