Greek Mythology in Our World Today
Have you ever thought about the role Greek mythology still plays in our society today? From movies and TV to company and city names, Greek mythology still pops up all over in the world around us.
Check out these images below and see if you can figure out how they connect modern life to ancient Greek culture. |
How many do you think you got? Check the explanations at the bottom of the page to find out.
Meanwhile.... Let's look at the assignment
- The real goal of this unit is to connect Greek mythology to modern life. We'll do this in a few ways. First, in groups you'll read a Rick Riordan mythology book that you have never read before and do some literature circle worksheets to help you think about it and discuss the text.
- Then you'll work on creating a Google Site about one specific Greek character/person/creature/god/goddess. First you'll do some research on them. From there you'll write about some of the ways this character is still present in our modern world.
- For the second part, you'll write a fictional story that imagines that character in a modern day context by connecting it to whichever Rick Riordan book your group read. Once you've got the writing portion done, you'll compile it all into your Google Site. We'll put links to all of our sites on this website so that you can all read what the rest of your classmates created.
Picture Explanations
Amazon- An online store, but also, the Amazons were a legendary group of female warriors believed by the Greeks to exist.
Athens- A city in Wisconsin (and many other states), but also the name of a famous Greek city.
Atlas- A word we now use for a book of maps, but the name comes from the Greek titan Atlas, who was believed to hold the world upon his shoulders.
Cereal- This one's trickier, but our word for cereal actually comes from the name Ceres, the Greek god of Agriculture.
Cerberus- The three headed dog Fluffy from Harry Potter, but it originally was the name of the three headed dog in Greek mythology who guarded the gates of the underworld.
Echo- Amazon's voice controlled speaker now, and also the word for sound bouncing back, but it comes from a Greek woman named Echo, who was cursed so that she could only say the last few words of whatever anyone else said.
Hercules- You're probably familiar with the movie, but did you know that Greek stories of Hercules (or Heracles as he was actually called by the Greeks) date back hundreds of years?
Ithaca- Mostly known now as a city in New York, but originally the name comes from the Island of Ithaca near Greece.
Marathon- A city and county in Wisconsin, and also a popular racing distance, but originally it was the name of a Greek city.
Midas- A brand of tires today, a famous Greek king of legend of old. The story goes that anything he touched turned to gold.
Mt. Olympus- A fun theme and water park in the Wisconsin Dells, but originally the name of the home where the Greek gods and goddesses lived.
Narcissus- A flower, more commonly called a daisy, originally the name of a Greek man who fell in love with Echo, since she always said what he said.
Narcissism- The word we use to describe someone who is full of themselves, it comes from the same Greek character, Narcissus, who essentially fell in love with himself since what he loved about Echo was that she just echoed him.
Nike- Now a famous clothing and shoe company, but originally the name of the Greek goddess of victory.
Orion- This word has been used for many modern day businesses, but originally it was the name of a famous Greek huntsman.
Pandora- An app for listening to music today, but originally the name of the first Greek woman. She was told not to open a jar that would let out great evils. She did. This is also where we get the phrase "Pandora's Box".
Sparta- Another Wisconsin city, known for the Sparta Bike Trail, but originally it was another famous Greek city.
Spartans and Trojans- Several sports teams use famous Greek warriors as their mascots, including Spartans and Trojans.
Titans- Now the name of several sports teams, including the Tennessee Titans football team, but originally the name of the first generation of Greek deities, before Zeus and the like.
Venus- Another company name today, a Greek character of old. Venus is actually the Roman name of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Other Roman names in use today that originally started as Greek characters include the other planets, and the word volcano which comes from the Roman Vulcan, whose Greek counterpart was the god Hephaestus.
And there you go! So, how many did you figure out or know?
Athens- A city in Wisconsin (and many other states), but also the name of a famous Greek city.
Atlas- A word we now use for a book of maps, but the name comes from the Greek titan Atlas, who was believed to hold the world upon his shoulders.
Cereal- This one's trickier, but our word for cereal actually comes from the name Ceres, the Greek god of Agriculture.
Cerberus- The three headed dog Fluffy from Harry Potter, but it originally was the name of the three headed dog in Greek mythology who guarded the gates of the underworld.
Echo- Amazon's voice controlled speaker now, and also the word for sound bouncing back, but it comes from a Greek woman named Echo, who was cursed so that she could only say the last few words of whatever anyone else said.
Hercules- You're probably familiar with the movie, but did you know that Greek stories of Hercules (or Heracles as he was actually called by the Greeks) date back hundreds of years?
Ithaca- Mostly known now as a city in New York, but originally the name comes from the Island of Ithaca near Greece.
Marathon- A city and county in Wisconsin, and also a popular racing distance, but originally it was the name of a Greek city.
Midas- A brand of tires today, a famous Greek king of legend of old. The story goes that anything he touched turned to gold.
Mt. Olympus- A fun theme and water park in the Wisconsin Dells, but originally the name of the home where the Greek gods and goddesses lived.
Narcissus- A flower, more commonly called a daisy, originally the name of a Greek man who fell in love with Echo, since she always said what he said.
Narcissism- The word we use to describe someone who is full of themselves, it comes from the same Greek character, Narcissus, who essentially fell in love with himself since what he loved about Echo was that she just echoed him.
Nike- Now a famous clothing and shoe company, but originally the name of the Greek goddess of victory.
Orion- This word has been used for many modern day businesses, but originally it was the name of a famous Greek huntsman.
Pandora- An app for listening to music today, but originally the name of the first Greek woman. She was told not to open a jar that would let out great evils. She did. This is also where we get the phrase "Pandora's Box".
Sparta- Another Wisconsin city, known for the Sparta Bike Trail, but originally it was another famous Greek city.
Spartans and Trojans- Several sports teams use famous Greek warriors as their mascots, including Spartans and Trojans.
Titans- Now the name of several sports teams, including the Tennessee Titans football team, but originally the name of the first generation of Greek deities, before Zeus and the like.
Venus- Another company name today, a Greek character of old. Venus is actually the Roman name of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Other Roman names in use today that originally started as Greek characters include the other planets, and the word volcano which comes from the Roman Vulcan, whose Greek counterpart was the god Hephaestus.
And there you go! So, how many did you figure out or know?