Unit 4

1. Unit 4 Mythology

2. Big question Can anyone be a hero?

3. Big question journal • One should always act with honor and responsibility because _______________. (Explain your reasoning.) • Hope and integrity can help you persevere in difficult situations because _______________. (Explain your reasoning.)

4. Vocabulary 1 The ancient Greeks conceived of many gods and goddesses. Accordingly, we have some idea of the beliefs of the ancient Greeks. Most of the myths that survive today tell about the Olympians, a group of gods and goddesses who lived on the lofty heights of Mount Olympus. In some stories, like the myth of Prometheus, the gods become angered due to another immortal’s contact with mortals. Prometheus had to suffer the clawing of an eagle’s talons because he bestowed the gift of fire to human beings.

5. Vocabulary 1 There are countless stories about gods and goddesses transforming others into lesser beings. For example, when a young woman named Arachne boasted of her own excellence at weaving, the goddess Athena humbled Arachneby changing her into a spider. When a nymph ran through bramble bushes to get away from the god Pan, she was transformed into a reed. Other stories tell about different aspects of the universe. The ancient Greeks believed that Earth was a flat, round mass that was afloat in the ocean. They thought that the sun traveled around Earth in a golden bowl at night.

6. Vocabulary 1 • accordingly adv. as a result • afloat adv. floating on water • bramble n. bush or shrub that has thorns and may grow berries • conceived v. formed an idea • countless adj. very many • excellence n. quality of being excellent • lofty adj. high • talons n. sharp, curved nails on the feet of some birds that hunt

7. Vocabulary 2 A long time ago, a young god named Felix tried to prove his worth. Felix was the son of Rex, the king of all gods, but he and his siblings had to make their own way in the universe. Rex was not full of cruelty and meanness; rather, he wanted his children to know their own worth. Felix decided that he would travel around the globe and learn all about the world. Though he was ambitious, he was not an experienced traveler, and he was sensitive to discomforts. To make matters worse, he journeyed in a makeshiftcarriage that looked like it might fall apart any second. Felix was scorched by the sun in the great desert and drenched by the rains of the jungle. On his journeys, he met a beautiful woman named Lydia who served as his guide in exotic locales. He decided to marry her.

8. Vocabulary 2 Finally, Felix returned home with Lydia, telling stories of their great adventures. However, his brothers and sisters were full of treachery. They did not want Felix to impress the old king, their father, too much. Though they felt no reverence for Rex himself, they did respect and admire his power. While Felix told stories, they plotted against him, but they pretended that they loved him. Eventually, Felix grew aware of their deceit. He was saddened and hurt when he realized that his brothers and sisters were trying to prove that his travels never took place.

9. Vocabulary 2 Rex was as wise as he was old. He realized that while Felix had been educating himself, his other children had done nothing. He listened to their plots against Felix, and his heart hardened against them. Rex held a wedding feast for Felix and Lydia, who wore a beautiful garland of roses. During the wedding feast, Rex turned his other children, one by one, into parrots that talk but say nothing.

10. Vocabulary 2 • cruelty n. act of deliberately causing pain to others • deceit n. trickery • garland n. ring of flowers or leaves, sometimes worn like a crown • makeshift adj. crude and temporary • reverence n. respect and admiration • scorched v. burned on the surface • sensitive adj. easily affected, hurt, or damaged • treachery n. disloyal and dangerous actions

11. Big question journal What do you know about mythology? What gods do you know of and what do you know of their stories?