I must say that this is pretty cool!
Mythology Issues
How different teaching Roman and Greek mythology to high-schoolers is than teaching the same myths to 6th or 7th graders!! I remember having to be very careful of what myths I taught and how far I went with giving background on the gods and goddesses. Now I am teaching the Aeneid to 11th graders. I would never have filled in the details on exactly why Pallas Athena killed Ajax or why Zeus snatched Ganymede for the middle school kids. I didn't even really deal with the fact that Zeus and Hera are brother and sister AND husband and wife. Just seemed wrong. Well, I have to admit that I was also not wanting to deal with angry calls from peeved parents. My 11th graders just jump right in though. I'm not saying that I dwell on the violence or sexual connotations, but sometimes seeing the whole picture and knowing the whole background of a myth really does make a difference. Knowing all of the myth about Athena and Ajax explains her vindictive behavior in the Aeneid. Knowing the whole story of Ganymede helps us understand Hera's uncontrollable jealousy. And knowing that the gods and goddesses reflect many aspects of the ancient culture, it helps us understand the Greek and Romans better as well. At least that's my take on it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)