Myths, Legends, and Folk Tales

The Legend noun 1. a non-historical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.

The Legend Atlantas Plato Around 350 BC, Plato wrote about a beautiful island in the Atlantic Ocean that went under the ocean waves in one day and one night. It took two books to describe the history and details of this almost magical island. For years people have been looking for this mysterious lost city, Atlantas. Living In Atlantis Plato describes the Atlantians as great engineers and architects. There were palaces, harbors, temples and docks. The capital city was built on a hill and surrounded by rings of water, which were joined by tunnels large enough for a ship to sail through. A huge canal connected the outer rings of water to the ocean. On the outskirts of the capital city there were huge fields where farmers grew the city's food. Past the field there were mountains where wealthy villagers lived. Plato goes great detail about the amazing buildings- complete with hot and cold fountains, shared dining halls and stone walls covered with precious metals.

The Folk Tale folk tale noun 1. a tale or legend originating and traditional among a people or folk, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people. 2. any belief or story passed on traditionally, especially one considered to be false or based on superstition.

Birth of Paul Bunyan retold by S. E. Schlosser Now I hear tell that Paul Bunyan was born in Bangor, Maine. It took five giant storks to deliver Paul to his parents. His first bed was a lumber wagon pulled by a team of horses. His father had to drive the wagon up to the top of Maine and back whenever he wanted to rock the baby to sleep. As a newborn, Paul Bunyan could hollar so loud he scared all the fish out of the rivers and streams. All the local frogs started wearing earmuffs so they wouldn't go deaf when Paul screamed for his breakfast. His parents had to milk two dozen cows morning and night to keep his milk bottle full and his mother had to feed him ten barrels of porridge every two hours to keep his stomach from rumbling and knocking the house down. Within a week of his birth, Paul Bunyan could fit into his father's clothes. After three weeks, Paul rolled around so much during his nap that he destroyed four square miles of prime timberland. His parents were at their wits' end! They decided to build him a raft and floated it off the coast of Maine. When Paul turned over, it caused a 75 foot tidal wave in the Bay of Fundy. They had to send the British Navy over to Maine to wake him up. The sailors fired every canon they had in the fleet for seven hours straight before Paul Bunyan woke from his nap! When he stepped off the raft, Paul accidentally sank four war ships, and he had to scramble around scooping sailors out of the water before they drowned. After this incident, Paul's parents decided the East was just too plumb small for him, and so the family moved to Minnesota.

The Myth noun 1. a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being, hero, or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature We read several in quarter 1!

Patterns of Stars People of ancient time saw the constellations as character or animals in the sky. They made up stories to explain how the object, animal, or character came into the night sky. A pattern or group of stars in the sky is called a constellation.

Constellations

Constellations Constellations group of stars that form a pattern in the sky The shapes you see all depend on your point of view. Stars in a constellation are NOT close to each other, but when viewed from Earth they seem to be grouped together

Constellations The sky seems to turn as Earth Rotates POLARIS: the North Star, directly above the North Pole You can use Polaris to figure out direction & location

Ursa Major Ursa Major is probably the most famous constellation, with the exception of Orion. Also known as the Great Bear, it has a companion called Ursa Minor, or Little Bear. The body and tail of the bear make up what is known as the Big Dipper. Most of the constellation is circumpolar, which means it can be viewed all year long. However, parts of the legs will disappear from the sky in the fall and reappear in the winter.

STAR CHARTS How can we identify constellations in the night sky? The use of a star chart can help us! A STAR CHART is a map of the stars in the night sky.

STAR CHARTS

STAR CHARTS On a star chart, lines often connect the stars that might make up a constellation. Different star charts must be used at different times of the year and in different places on Earth. Many stars visible from the Southern hemisphere cannot be seen from the Northern hemisphere.

Star Patterns

The Big Dipper

Ursa Major & Minor Immortals: Hera & Zeus Mortals: Myth: Calisto & Arcus Myth: Zeus loved Calisto, but Hera became jealous and turned her into a bear. Herson, Arcus, tried to kill her & Zeus turned Arcus into a bear as well.

Casseopia Nickname “The Queen” Another story says that for her bragging, Cassiopeia was chained to her throne and placed in the sky to circle the North Star.  At times she is hanging upside down in a most undignified position as a warning to all. The Romans called her the Woman of the Chair. To the Arabs, she was the Lady in the Chair. Cassiopeia is a northern circumpolar constellation, so it can be viewed all year long.

Cassiopeia

Orion Orion, the Hunter, is by far the most famous seasonal constellation. No other is more distinct or bright as this northern winter constellation. The famous Orion's Belt makes the hunter easy to find in the night sky. Orion looks very much like a person. First, you should spot Orion's Belt, which is made of three bright stars in a straight line. One of Orion's legs is represented by the bright star Rigel, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. His two shoulders are made of the stars Bellatrix and Betelgeuse. The famous Orion Nebula is located in Orion's sword, which hangs from the belt. It is so bright, that even the naked eye can see the fuzzy patch

Orion Immortals Mortals Summary Hera Orion Orion bragged that no animal could kill him. Hera sent a scorpion who did.

Scorpius More than any other constellation, Scorpius resembles it's given name. Scorpius crawls across the southern sky, close to the horizon. The bright star Antares marks the heart of the arachnid, and it's long curving tail trails to the south. The scorpion once had claws, but they were cut off by Julius Ceasar to form the constellation Libra. Scorpious is a Summer constellation.