Mythology for Teens

Classic Myths in Today's World (Grades 7-12)

Zachary Hamby

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000494853
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Mythology for Teens: Classic Myths in Today's World takes classical mythology to a new level by relating ancient stories to the culture, history, art, and literature of today. By looking at topics instrumental to both mythology and modern culture, teens are encouraged to question topics such as the repercussions of war, vanity and greed, the workings of fate, the nature of love, the roles of women in society, revenge and forgiveness, the meaning of life, and national identity. The majority of high school humanities and Advanced Placement courses teach classical mythology by simply retelling myths. By using teen-friendly reader's theater scripts to tell the legends, in combination with activities, discussion questions, and exercises that help students apply what they've learned to real life, Mythology for Teens takes the classic myths taught in school and turns them into an engaging, interesting, and fresh way of looking at old material. Grades 7-12

CHAPTER 1
The Hero

DOI: 10.4324/9781003236856-2

The Tale of Perseus

Cast

Perseus (Young hero from Argos)

Acrisius (Elderly king of Argos, Perseus’ grandfather)

Danaë (Perseus’ young mother, Daughter of Acrisius)

Dictys (Kindly fisherman)

Wife (Wife of Dictys)

Zeus (Ruler of the gods)

Athena (Goddess of wisdom and battle)

Hermes (Messenger god)

Medusa (Evil creature who lives at the edge of the world)

Gorgon (One of Medusa’s foul sisters)

Sister One (One of the gray sisters)

Sister Two (One of the gray sisters)

Sister Three (One of the gray sisters)

Atlas (Titan that holds up the sky)

Polydectes (Evil king of a faraway realm)

Andromeda (Beautiful princess)

Oracle of Apollo (Prophetess of Delphi)

Man (Man in the crowd)

NARRATOR: Acrisius, King of Argos, traveled afar to the Oracle of Delphi seeking knowledge of the future. He had a beautiful daughter, Danaë, but, as all kings do, he desired a son. Because he was heavy with age and had no wife, he traveled to the oracle to ask it how he might procure a great heir to his throne.

ORACLE: (distantly) Enter …

ACRISIUS: Oracle of Apollo, it is said that you speak the word of the God of Truth. I have come begging a question of you. Please hear me, and answer me my riddle.

ORACLE: You may speak, Old Man. But, you may not find happiness in the answer.

ACRISIUS: (pausing) I have no son to receive my throne. If I do not produce a successor, my kingdom will fall into ruin. My wife has died many years before now. Tell me, Oracle, what must I do?

NARRATOR: At this, the oracle’s eyes grew white, and her voice became low, yet filled with the power of the gods.

ORACLE: (deeply) Your daughter shall have a son. He will be a great man, known by all of Greece.

ACRISIUS: (relieved) Thank you, oh, thank you. That is excellent news.

ORACLE: Halt! That is not all. This son of your daughter comes at a price. It will be at his hands that you will die.

ACRISIUS: (shocked) That cannot be.

ORACLE: I have spoken.

NARRATOR: King Acrisius returned to Argos in a stupor. What could he do? He desperately needed an heir, but in his heart he feared death more than anything. He therefore resolved to make sure his daughter would have no son.

DANAË: (surprised) Father? You’ve returned so soon?

ACRISIUS: (coldly) Danaë, come with me.

DANAË: Where are we going? What’s going on?

ACRISIUS: Guards, lock her below.

DANAË: Father! (weeping) What have I done to deserve this?

ACRISIUS: (to himself) I will put her where no man can touch her.

NARRATOR: So, the cowardly Acrisius had a house built for his royal daughter—a house that the light of the sun would never touch—hidden underground. And, there she dwelt, weeping day after day in her subterranean prison. It was there that Zeus, looking down from Olympus, saw her.

ZEUS: (amorously) What a beautiful maiden! Why does she weep? I must comfort her.

NARRATOR: Under the Earth, Danaë looked up and saw sparkling pieces of gold falling into her prison from nothingness. It was the form of Zeus.

DANAË: A shower of gold!

NARRATOR: She ran forward and let the gold fall upon her—touch her—caress her.

ZEUS: I am in the gold, Danaë. It is I, Zeus, Lord of the Sky.

DANAË: I don’t understand.

ZEUS: Do not be sad. You will bear a great son from me—a son who will set you free.

NARRATOR: At this, Danaë grew silent, and the gold continued to fall. Many months later, she found herself with child. She did not tell the guards who brought her food. She kept it hidden. And, when the day came to give birth, she did so as quietly as possible—for she feared her father’s wrath. And, so was Perseus born.

DANAË: I will name you Perseus. Zeus is your father, little one. You shall do great things in this world.

NARRATOR: Danaë kept the baby a secret longer than any would imagine. He grew into a golden-haired toddler in the confines of the underground room. He learned to play quietly and to hide when the guards came with food. Danaë took little for herself, instead giving Perseus most of the food. But, it could not stay a secret forever. The guards heard laughing one day and reported it immediately to the king. Acrisius’ worst fears had come true. The son of prophecy had been born—right below his very nose.

ACRISIUS: (madly) Fool girl! Is this the respect I receive? Raising you from a babe? I should stick you with my own sword!

DANAË: Father! No! (weeping)

ACRISIUS: Harlot! Who is the father? Who could have reached you? I was so careful! I sealed you in! No one could have reached you.

DANAË: Zeus reached me, Father.

ACRISIUS: (quietly) Zeus …

NARRATOR: Acrisius could no longer put the boy to death as he had planned. This child was a son of Zeus. The king knew he would be struck down before he removed his sword from the scabbard. But, if the boy were to meet with an untimely accident, no one would be the wiser. Accidents happen after all—even to princes. And so, Acrisius made a great wooden trunk and placed Danaë and the boy inside.

ACRISIUS: Go to a watery grave! I curse you!

NARRATOR: He set the chest out to sea, sure that Poseidon, Lord of the Depths, would claim his human sacrifice. But, Poseidon was no fool and knew his Olympian brother’s wishes, so he guided the wooden trunk safely through the turbulent waters—to a faraway shore where he knew it would be found by the kind fisher folk that lived there.

DICTYS: Look! There in the surf!

WIFE: A bit of driftwood perhaps?

DICTYS: I will bring it in with the net. (scuffling sound, sound of door opening) Ahhh!

DANAË: Ahhh!

WIFE: A woman?

DICTYS: And her child!

NARRATOR: Danaë and Perseus were found by the kind fisherman Dictys and his wife. Having no children of their own, the poor pair took them in as their daughter and grandson. It was a happy time for mother and son—when they were able to forget the past. Over the years Perseus grew to be a handsome young man with the glory of his immortal father shining in his eyes. Danaë, free of her prison, had become more beautiful than ever, and word of her famed looks spread throughout the land. News of it even reached the ear of Dictys’ brother, Polydectes. Now, Polydectes had much more ambition than his kind-hearted brother and through cunning and force had become ruler of the tiny island kingdom. He was ruthless, and his greed knew no bounds. Upon hearing of Danaë, he came to claim this beauty for himself.

POLYDECTES: (imperiously) Hello, brother. How goes it down here in the filth?

DICTYS: (angrily) What do you want? Have you come to gloat?

POLYDECTES: You have been keeping secrets from me, Dictys. I hear you have a certain… treasure that you have hidden from my sight.

DICTYS: I assume you speak of our daughter.

POLYDECTES: You have no daughter, fool. Who is this woman you keep? I must see her for myself.

(sounds of footsteps; we hear Perseus laughing)

NARRATOR: As the two brothers spoke, the young mother and son ran into view up the narrow beach.

DANAË: (huffing/puffing) Perseus, you always beat me. What a fast son I have!

PERSEUS: Oh, mother, I was even lagging behind. I didn’t want to beat you too badly.

DICTYS: Danaë! Perseus!

DANAË: Oh, I am sorry. I didn’t know we had a visitor. Hello, sir, I am Danaë.

POLYDECTES: Beautiful—I am Polydectes, ruler of this realm.

DANAË: Your majesty, this is my son—

POLYDECTES: (interrupting) I have never before seen a woman as dazzling as you.

PERSEUS: (forcefully) And I am Perseus.

POLYDECTES: Surely, my sweet, you will come to my palace with me and be my wife.

DICTYS: (angrily) Polydectes!

DANAË: My lord, I have no need for a husband. My boy is my only love.

POLYDECTES: (pause) I see. (under his breath) An obstacle that can be easily removed.

NARRATOR: His advances thwarted, Polydectes left in a huff. After he was gone, Dictys and his wife stared at Danaë in shock.

DICTYS: You should not have refused him, Danaë.

WIFE: He is an evil man. He will try to harm you and Perseus.

DANAË: Why should he want to do that?

DICTYS: He wishes to have you as a trophy, and you have rejected him. His anger is legendary. He has sent many men to their deaths for his vanity.

PERSEUS: I’m not afraid of him.

WIFE: But, you should be. His greatest desire has been to have the head of the mon...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Teacher’s Guide
• Introduction Why Study Mythology?
• Chapter 1 The Hero
• Chapter 2 Battle of the Sexes: Women in Mythology
• Chapter 3 A Twist of Fate
• Chapter 4 Beauty: The Eye of the Beholder
• Chapter 5 War: The Iliad and the Trojan War
• Chapter 6 National Identity: The Aeneid
• Conclusion
• The Trojan War Find-It Answer Key
• Pronunciation Index
• References
• About the Author
• Common Core State Standards Alignment