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AQUiLA MAGAZINE
GREEK MYTHS
RETELL A GREEK MYTH
If you enjoyed reading about tall tales in AQUILA’ s May issue, then this activity is for you!
WORDWORM’ S MISSION
What do you like about ancient Greek myths? Is it the crazy stories, with the huge range of gods and heroes? What about the classic‘ good versus evil’ theme? That plus supernatural forces and frankly bizarre animals and creatures make them really fun to read! Don’ t forget there’ s life lessons to be learnt from them, too – and with all these elements combined, you can see why they have endless appeal and have been told and retold in various books and films. Now, it’ s your turn! Your mission is to select a Greek myth you really love and retell it as if it was happening right now, in the modern day!
ACTIVITY SKILLS 1 hour +
DIFFICULTY
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Step 1: Select your myth Before you start writing you need to choose a Greek myth to retell. What’ s your favourite? I rather like the Minotaur and the labyrinth. Once you’ ve picked it, make sure you have read it a few times so you know it really well. And maybe read a few different versions so you have loads of scope for your story!
Step 2: Identify the characters Isolate the characters from the storyline and note them down so you can begin developing them. You’ ll need to start imagining them as existing in the present day, so for example, if you were writing about Medusa, her snake-hair could instead be wild untameable curls – maybe a couple of hair accessories with a snake motif would be enough of a nod to her origins! How could you modernise, say, Zeus? Maybe his immense strength is conveyed through his clothes – is he the captain of the school wrestling team perhaps?
YOU WILL NEED
o Books or internet( supervised by an adult) for research
o Pen and paper or computer
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