This week’s theme:
Mysterious Places – Ancient Greece
Fact of the day:
Greek Mythology is the set of folk stories about envious gods, courageous heroes and epic adventures that were originally told by the ancient Greeks.
Resources list:
Paper, pens, magazines, glue; Masking tape; Maze download; Youtube; Bun cases, string, card or paper, scissors, stapler; floaty fabric or outfit; plastic box, plasticine.
Activity 1:
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a mythical creature with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man. The lived at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the hero Theseus.
Make a mishmash creature of your own, either by drawing the body of one animal and the head of an other, or by cutting out images from magazines and collaging weird creatures, such as one with the body of a washing machine, the tail of a horse and the head of a supermodel! Let your imagine run wild! Share your creatures with us on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or send it to melanie@purplepatcharts.org and we’ll put it online for you!
Activity 2:
The story of the Minotaur describes how Theseus found his way through the labyrinth maze after victoriously defeating the Minotaur.
Create a winding path through your house, you could mark it as a path between objects (such as cushions or cloth) laid on the floor, or a path marked by a line of winding masking tape on the floor. Follow the path to find your way to the end.
With a pen or your finger, try finding the line through these mazes.
Activity 3:
It’s believed that the Greek ‘Geranos’ dance was linked to the Minotaur story and the winding path Thesues took through the labyrinth. The dance involves winding from side to side like a serpent in a maze. Practice winding your body like a snake.
Ancient Greek inscriptions mention that the Geranos dance involves people holding torches and dancers carrying garlands. Make a garland (e.g. bun case flowers attached to a long necklace of wool or string) and a lantern (e.g. here or here) to carry, and dance your winding snake dance along to this song.
Activity 4:
In ancient Greek mythology, Sirens were mermaid-like creatures that sang with hypnotic voices that were so enchanting and beautiful that they led sailors, under the Siren’s spell, to crash their boats.
Sirens were believed to look like a combination of women and birds. In early Greek art, Sirens were represented as birds with large women’s heads, bird feathers and scaly feet. Later, they were represented as female figures with the legs of birds, with or without wings, playing a variety of musical instruments, especially harps and lyres.
Draw a Siren based on one, or both of these descriptions. Share your scaly footed Sirens with us on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or send it to melanie@purplepatcharts.org and we’ll put it online for you!
Activity 5:
Listen to this or this Siren song. How does the music make you feel? How do you think Sirens danced and moved to this mesmerizing music, can you find a floaty costumes to wear for your slow, gentle siren dance or hand/arm movements?
Activity 6:
In Greek mythology, Poseidon lives in an underwater palace in the sea instead of on Mt. Olympus with the other gods. Poseidon is god of the sea, and his palace on the ocean floor is made of corals and gemstones. In a plastic box create an underwater palace for Poseidon made from items that don’t float (plasticine, etc) for you to then submerge by filling the box with ‘sea’ water. Or, draw what you think Poseidon’s palace looks like.