Myths Janet Lanham Fairdale Elementary

Myths are… Legendary stories with supernatural characters, typically gods and goddesses.

Myths … Often have a hero, who must perform a task or complete a quest.

Myths … Usually explain a spiritual belief, custom, or something that occurs in nature. They were believed to be true and sacred stories to the original tellers.

Myths … Occur in many cultures, but some of the most famous are the Greek and Roman myths. The Romans actually based many of their stories on the Greek myths which they heard when they captured Greece. They just changed the names of the characters to sound more Roman.

Myths … In the original Greek myths, the gods and goddesses lived on Mount Olympus. The Greeks believed they looked down upon the world and “played” with people around the way one might move pieces on a chess board. This seemed to explain the way sometimes bad things like floods or illness might happen for no apparent reason. Now we have the science to understand weather and germs.

Myths often … Contain a transformation of some type. (Someone is changed into something else.)

Myths were often … Related to what people saw in the night sky. These sky pictures are called constellations. Many Native American myths are connected to constellations.

Myths … Many myths can be found in the Religion section of the Dewey Decimal System at : But some can be found here as well: