Myths from Around the World

What is a myth?

A myth is a traditional story that explains a practice or belief of a group of people or an aspect of nature.

List two facts about myths:

A. ______________________________________________________

B. ______________________________________________________

A Greek Myth:

The baby Heracles lay fast asleep. Two deadly snakes approached his crib and raised their ugly heads. But the baby woke up, grabbed the giant snakes, and strangled them to death.

1- What happened to the baby? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heracles was the son of the great god Zeus and a mortal woman. This made Zeus's wife, the goddess Hera; angry as she was not the baby’s mother. It was she who had sent in the snakes. When Heracles grew into manhood, the Hera put a spell on Heracles. The young man became temporarily insane and committed a terrible crime: he killed his wife and children.

2- Why was Hera so angry at Heracles? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3- Why did Heracles kill his wife and children? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To make up for his terrible crime, Heracles was forced to perform 12 deadly labors. Any one of these tasks would have killed the strongest hero but Heracles was not afraid. He quickly sought out his first challenge and wrestled a ferocious lion to death.

4- Why did Heracles have to perform 12 deadly labors? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________`

Then Heracles covered his body in a lion's skin. He traveled through the swamp to find his next enemy: the dreaded Hydra. This hideous monster had the body of a wild dog and nine snake or serpent heads. Its breath alone was poisonous — and fatal. Heracles, armed with a club and sword attacked. But each time he chopped off one of the Hydra's heads, two more grew back. The battle raged while the hissing grew louder; the air was filled with the Hydra's venom. Finally, Heracles defeated the monster. Each time Heracles cut off a head, his servant cut the neck with a burning branch.

5- Why was the Hydra such a terrible enemy? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The peoples of many ancient civilizations bowed down to a remote or almighty god-king, whose rule they never questioned. The Greeks put human beings in this powerful position. Many Greek myths were about extraordinary, but mortal heroes (or half-mortal, like Heracles) from a past time. In their myths about the gods, the Greeks made their gods and goddesses immortal but gave them very human personalities!

6- How did Greek gods differ from other gods? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A Chinese Myth:

Huang Di, the ancient Yellow Emperor, stood bravely at the head of his army of gods, bears, tigers, and leopards. At the other end of the battlefield stood the giant Chi Yu, backed by his army of evil spirits.

7- Why was the Chinese emperor standing on the battlefield? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chi Yu wanted to be emperor. Huang Di decided to defend his imperial throne.

8- What did the giant want? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chi Yu sneezed loudly and a thick, white fog covered the battlefield. No one could see a thing. Huang Di's army fought blindly until his intelligent minister created a compass. Huang Di gathered the survivors and escaped.

8- Why could Huang Di’s soldiers not see? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9- How did Huang Di’s soldiers escape? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chi Yu was furious. The angry giant called in his evil spirits to help him. The winds blew wildly. The sky blackened and a fierce driving rain fell all over the battlefield. The Emperor's army was drowning.

10- Why were the Emperor’s soldiers drowning? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Huang Di called for his most powerful weapon — his daughter Ba.

Ba walked through the flood. A terrific heat spread from her body and dried up the waters. Huang Di then fashioned a drum out of a sea monster's hide. When he crashed down his huge, powerful drumsticks, a terrible thunder shook the mountains. Chi Yu's army was paralyzed with fear. The Emperor's army rushed forward... to victory!

11- Why was Ba a powerful weapon? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12- Why was Chi Yu’s army paralyzed with fear? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

China has the oldest existing civilization in the world. Its earliest myths date from more than 4,000 years ago. Chinese gods were closely connected to the emperors.

Of course, some myths explain the natural world. Since the natural world is part of the study of geography, let’s review important geographical concepts, regions, and geographical features that we have studied. I will provide the facts and you will provide the term.

A. ___________________________

· The Nile River is located in this continent.

· The Sahara Desert separates the northern part of the continent from the rest of the continent.

· It has few natural ports and harbors.

B. __________________________

· It is a peninsula.

· The Himalayas separate the peninsula from the rest of Asia.

· Monsoon winds bring needed rains.

C. __________________________

· The Huang He River is located in this land.

· Mountains isolated this land in the past.

· Flooding occurs.

D. _________________________

· Rain forests and mountains isolated this region in the past.

· The Amazon Rain Forest is a significant geographic feature in this region.

· The Andes Mountains are the second highest mountains on the surface of the earth.

E. ________________________

· It consists of a peninsula and islands.

· Mountains separated cities.

· The seas are used for trade.

F. ________________________

· It is a peninsula.

· It is located in the Mediterranean Sea.

· It has a fertile plain.

G. _________________________

· It is an archipelago or a series of islands.

· It is geographically close to China and Korea.

· The seas are used for fishing.

H. _________________________

· They are winds that bring the rains.

· They are vital for farming in South Asia.

· They provide water for farming.

I. __________________________

· It is the longest river in the world.

· Its flooding is regular and predictable.

· It made civilization possible in this land.

J. ____________________

· These mountains separate India from China.

· These mountains are the highest mountain on the surface of the earth.

· These mountains have passes that allowed cultural diffusion to occur.

K. __________________

· These mountains are the second highest mountains on the surface of the earth.

· The Incas developed a civilization on these mountains.

· These mountains separated indigenous peoples in the past.

L. __________________

· This sea was an important location for trade.

· It connected Europe, Africa, and Asia.

· The Romans fought the Carthaginians to control this sea.

M. ___________________

· These rivers made Sumerian civilization possible.

· The land between these rivers was called Mesopotamia.

· The rivers flooded violently.

N. ___________________

· This river is called “China’s Sorrow”.

· It is also called the Yellow River.

· It floods regularly.

O. ___________________

· It is the largest desert in the world.

· It separates North Africa from the rest of Africa.

· Nomads cross the desert.

P. __________________

· It is a peninsula in Asia.

· It is located next to China.

· It was a cultural bridge to Japan.

Q. ___________________

· It is the largest continent.

· Iraq, Iran, India, and Nepal are located on this continent.

· The countries of the Middle East are part of this continent as well as Japan.

R. __________________

· This term refers to the nations of Southwest Asia.

· Saudi Arabia and Israel are countries in the region.

· Many people in the region are Muslims.

S. ___________________

· This region was conquered by Spain and Portugal.

· Spanish is the dominant religion of the region.

· The Mayas and the Incas lived in this region.

T. ___________________

· This continent was home to the Greeks and Romans.

· The Alps are located in this continent.

· The Iberian Peninsula is located in this continent.

U. ____________________

· It is a tropical grassland.

· It exists in Africa.

· It has a dry season and a rainy season.

V. ____________________

· It has many trees and plants.

· Slash and burn farming occurs.

· It is tropical and rainy.

W. ____________________

· It experiences less than ten inches of rainfall a year.

· It is arid or dry.

· Farming is difficult.

X. ____________________

· It is the study of the earth’s surface.