1. Religion played an important role in the daily life of the ancient Greeks. Families began their day with prayers at an altar in the courtyard of their homes. The major gods were called the Olympians. People believed Zeus and his family of gods lived high above the clouds on Mount Olympus. No humans could visit Olympus unless they received a special invitation.

2. Myths were an important part of religion. They were tales of the lives of the gods. Others explained acts of nature. To please the gods, people built beautiful temples for the gods and goddesses to live in when they visited earth. Example: Athenians built the Parthenon for goddess Athena. Greeks thought that the gods had magical powers and lived forever. They thought that the gods created disasters, made people go to war, or even helped people fall in love. Each of the Gods had a symbol to represent them in some way.

3. The Greeks offered prayers, gifts and animal sacrifices to the gods so they would help and protect them in their everyday lives. They believed that Zeus sat on a golden throne atop Mount Olympus and ruled the family of gods. Hades, god of the Underworld, was also considered a main god. However, his brother Zeus did not often welcome him on Mount Olympus.

4. 1.You will be assigned a god/goddess, or monster to research. You need to include the back story of their lives (biography). Why were they important? What were their powers? Who were they related to. *For monsters what did they do to people? Why were they horrible/scary? (minimum of 4 paragraphs typed up) 2. You will create a pennant for your chosen person. It must include a picture of your god/goddess and key describing words or a quote from your chosen person. 3. You will create your own myth based on your knowledge of mythology (minimum of 4 paragraphs typed up). Think Biography