1. HEROES Chapter 9: Perseus (pp. 196-207)
Chapter 10: Theseus (pp )
Chapter 11: Hercules (pp )

2. Modern Day Epithets
Big Butt Kardashian, Crying Kim, Selfie Rainer, Plastic Queen Kim
Economy Killer Obama/Money wasting Obama
Fast and furious cheetah
Bad A$& Neeson/ Liam the Vengeful
Clueless Homer, doughnut loving Simpson
New York the sleepless city, brightly lit city
Steve Life Changer Jobs/Smart Apple Steve
Shake it off Swift
The Wooden Toothed George
Twerking Cyrus
Rule Breaker Bieber,
Fast moving Cadillac
Weather predictor groundhog
Wall builder Trump, Socialist Sanders
Dark Vadar

3. Bell ringer Match the hero to the monster he had to kill!
1. Hercules A. Medusa
2. Perseus B. Hydra
3. Theseus C. Minotaur
A. Medusa B. The Hydra C. The Minotaur

4. Find the Epithets “So over the sea rich-haired Danae’s son,
Perseus, on his winged sandals sped,
Flying swift as thought.
In a wallet of silver,
A wonder to behold,
He bore the head of the monster,
While Hermes, the son of Maia,
The messenger of Zeus,
Kept ever at his side” (Hamilton 204).

5. Answers: “So over the sea rich-haired Danae’s son,
Perseus, on his winged sandals sped,
Flying swift as thought.
In a wallet of silver,
A wonder to behold,
He bore the head of the monster,
While Hermes, the son of Maia,
The messenger of Zeus,
Kept ever at his side” (Hamilton 204).

6. Objectives:
SWBAT reenact a character’s thoughts and actions (questions on student page) CHARACTERIZATION
SWBAT compare heroic traits from different cultures.
Students will recognize the elements of magic in a story and evaluate Perseus’ heroic qualities, relating the myth of Perseus to the fairy tale of Cinderella.
Students will point out the value of an intellectual, compassionate hero as through the story of Theseus.
Students will discuss the value society places on strength, as seen in the story of Hercules.
Students will identify a heroic trait found in their hero and give two examples from the text to support their choice. (constructed response)

7. AGENDA:
Bell ringer: Volunteers to play the heroes during an interview.
Group work: Divide into your hero groups and follow directions to complete the task! Be prepared to share your answers with the other groups to help them understand the stories. (2 sides!)
Divide and Conquer: Enlighten the others/prove why your hero is the greatest!
Closure: Turn in your completed constructed response.

8. Talk Show Interview with the HEROES!
The three great Greek heroes-Perseus, Theseus, and Hercules- are acclaimed for their brave deeds and wondrous abilities. Their magnificent tales continue to be told today in literature, drama, and on television/cinema.

9. HERCULES 1. How did you get into an argument with Apollo?
2. Who was the first person you killed?
3. Explain the circumstances surrounding the deaths of your wife and children.
4. Why didn’t you kill yourself after the tragic death of your family?
5. What was the purpose of the twelve tasks you completed for Eurystheus? Which task proved the most difficult?
6. How did you come to wed Deianira, your second wife?
7. Why did you travel to Hades and retrieve Queen Alcestis?
8. How did Deianira die?
9. Were you and Hera ever reconciled?

10. Hercules
How can you interpret the following quote said about Hercules: “Intelligence did not figure largely in anything he did and was often conspicuously absent”?
What happens to Hercules when Hera sends madness to possess him?
Does Theseus, his friend the King of Athens, consider him guilty of his crimes? Why or why not?
What are four examples of Hercules great strength?
How does he die and why is he allowed onto Mt. Olympus?

11. PERSEUS
1. How do you feel about your Grandfather, King Acrisius, after he locked your mother up in the bronze underground house?
2. Why did King Acrisius set you and your mother out to sea in a box?
3. Did you want to be a fisherman like Dictys or did you dream of being something else?
4. Why did Polydectes want to be rid of you?
5. Why did you pledge to kill Medusa and retrieve her head?
6. How did you get the Gray Women to tell you where to find the nymphs of the North?
7. What was the most resourceful weapon you had?
8. Who is Andromeda and why did you rescue her?
9. Why did you kill Polydectes?
10. Do you feel any guilt or remorse over the accidental death of Acrisius?

12. Perseus How is Perseus’ birth magical?
Compare the events in Perseus’ life to the following elements of a “Cinderella” story:
Cinderella’s fairy godmother gives her a ball gown and a coach.
Cinderella has certain rules to follow, such as leaving the ball by midnight.
Cinderella is rescued from a miserable life by her fairy godmother.
Cinderella gets the prince in the end.

13. THESEUS 1. When were you allowed to seek your father?
2. Why did Medea try to kill you?
3. Why did you kill the Minotaur?
4. What was the reason behind your father’s suicide?
5. What do you consider the greatest deed you did for Athens?
6. Tell us how you came to be friends with Pirithous.
7. Explain why there was a battle at Pirithous’ wedding with the Centaurs.
8. How did Pirithous die?

14. Theseus
Before Theseus can go to Athens and claim King Aegeus as his father, what great test of strength is he required to perform?
What two things does Theseus do to help the Athenians (tributes) in their conflict with King Minos (owner of the labyrinth)?
What kind of ruler is Theseus when he becomes King of Athens? What type of government does he establish? What title does he want for himself (not king)?
How does the story of Hippolytus, his son, and Phaedra, his wife, bring about the end of Theseus?

15. Group Work
Divide into your hero groups and follow directions to complete the task!
Be prepared to share your answers with the other groups to help them to understand the stories.
Divide and Conquer

16. DUE THIS FRIDAY!
Turn in your completed constructed response on your hero.
A-C-E it!
Explain one epic hero quality that your hero possesses. Cite two examples and explain how he displays this quality for each example.

17. Characteristics of the Epic Hero
Epic Hero-
*possesses super human strength, craftiness, and confidence (or
cleverness and deceit, also known as guile)
*sometimes has extreme confidence and a tendency to dismiss warnings
*is helped and harmed by interfering gods
*embodies ideals and values that a culture considers admirable.
*emerges victorious from perilous situations

18. ACE it: Answer the question. Cite two examples
ACE it: Answer the question. Cite two examples. Explain how the examples prove topic sentences.
Perseus possesses the hero quality of craftiness (cleverness). (TOPIC SENTENCE)
C-1. Perseus uses his shield to kill Medusa. (Cite one example)
E-1. He is quick-thinking and uses his resources to decapitate the snake-headed monster. He looks into the shield to see her, so that he won’t meet her gaze and turn to stone. He also throws the shield on a statue, so that she is distracted and shoots an arrow in the wrong direction.
(Explains how the example shows that he is crafty or clever.)
C-2. Perseus uses his owl, Bubo, to steal the witches’ eye.
E-2. He exhibits cleverness by ordering Bubo to steal the eye, and he keeps the stolen eye as insurance that he will get the information that he seeks. He then throws the eyeball between the witches so that they will fight over it and be distracted while he leaves safely from the witches’ cave.
Perseus is a hero for various reasons, but his craftiness is one trait that helped him succeed against the villains. (conclusion)

19. Are there patterns in the answers?
Is the hero a remote figure, or is he/she someone readers identify with?
Can you identify ways in which the behavior of the epic hero might be teaching the reader a lesson, or presenting an example to follow?
What is the hero’s relationship with his homeland?

20. Other elements of traditional epic poems:
Formal and florid language (excessively ornate or embellished)
Open with an invocation (prayer for guidance or aid)
Use of epithets (descriptive term/name/handle)
“Fleet-footed Achilles” “Ever-patient Metzger”
Odysseus:  Zeus' equal in his mind's resource; son of Laertes; nimble-witted; famous spearman; sacker of cities; much-enduring; loved of Zeus; great glory of the Achaians

21. Epithets
Throughout this book, Edith Hamilton refers to people and gods through the use of epithets. For example: “implacable Charybdis” implies that even as Charybdis’ whirlpool pulled ships under the water, the monster did not care.
‘Sharp-clawed eagle’ implies that the eagle’s claws are its most effective weapon.

22. Why use Epithets?
Characterization. Epithets identify individuals and give the audience an opportunity to recognize their favourites. Color and vividness in the narrative. They make it possible to visualize what is mentioned. In a long narrative, such as an epic poem, variation and detail must be introduced often to avoid tediousness. Formula is made by combination of name plus epithet. This acts as a mnemonic for the bard who is using oral tradition in telling folk tales learned by heart.

23. Epithets create images
epithet, an adjective or phrase that is used to express the characteristic of a person or thing, such as Ivan the Terrible.
In literature, the term is considered an element of poetic diction, or something that distinguishes the language of poetry from ordinary language.
Homer used certain epithets so regularly that they became a standard part of the name of the thing or person described, as in “rosy-fingered Dawn” and “gray-eyed Athena.” Think- Oscar the Grouch!

24. 3. Poseidon Earth-shaker 4. Odysseus, wrecker of cities
Think-Pair-Share: What image is suggested by the word or phrase found in these epithets?
1. Many ridged Olympus
2. Golden-throned Hera
3. Poseidon Earth-shaker
4. Odysseus, wrecker of cities
5. Harpies, hounds of Zeus
6. fleet-footed Antilochus
7. Hector, tamer of horses
8. death-dealing War

25. Pass it On!
These stories were originally passed on by bards, or professional poets who made their living by singing folk tales and epic poems to audiences.
Details of the poem often shifted from one telling to the next, the most important elements of the story always remained the same.

26. How did the bards do it?
Imagine some of the issues related to telling of stories by means of oral rather than written communication.
Imagine memorizing a novel, which you will then retell without having a text to refer to.
Would the story have been the same each time it was told?
With so much info. and detail to remember, how was it possible for bards to memorize thousands of verses of poetry?

27. Cinderella
Identify the most important characters, objects, and actions in this story.
List of elements for Cinderella:

28. Elements for Cinderella:
Wicked step mother/two evil daughters
The prince
The fairy godmother
The glass slipper
The pumpkin coach
Banishment of the night of the ball
Losing her slipper along the way
The moment when her foot fits the glass slipper
Why did most of you have the same elements?

29. What do these elements represent?
What do each of the elements symbolize?
Do these elements help you to remember the story in order?
Epic poems are much greater in length than fairy tales, bards must have used mnemonic devices to aid them in their telling.
EPIC HERO CYCLE-predictable story cycle helped bards to memorize the long poems.

30. Mnemonic device- formula used to aid memory
These elements act like memory markers in the telling of the story, helping the teller to remember how the story unfolds.
Breaking the story down into more easily memorized smaller pieces of narrative, and then memorizing the order of these smaller narratives, is a mnemonic device that has been utilized by bards since Homer’s time.
If the teller can remember these markers, he/she can then elaborate and expand the details of the story for specific audiences.

31. Cinderella’s dress pink? White? Blue?
Does changing the time, place, or details such as the style of dress in the “updated” story affect the main elements of the story, or the story’s message?

32. Closure
Make up an epithet for one of the following and explain how the epithet describes the noun or proper noun.
You may place the epithet before or after the name, and you may eliminate the person’s first name if it sounds better.
i.e. “blood-sucking Dracula” –This describes him because he is a vampire which are said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night.
Choose from:
George Washington, cheetah, Barack Obama, Grand Canyon, Muhammad Ali, the moon, New York City, Cadillac, Homer Simpson, Moby Dick, Genghis Khan, Miley Cyrus, Steve Jobs, Liam Neeson, Taylor Swift, Brad Pitt, Kate Upton, Darth Vader, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, ground hog.