Students use temple format to link Greek historical events to mythological stories with similar themes.

Course:  6th Grade World History

Sequence: Ancient Greece
                  This activity can be a culminating activity for a unit on classical Greece, mythology, or Greek architecture.

Scope:  Five to seven days

Learning goals:   *To introduce architectural design elements of Greek temples through study of the
                               Parthenon.
                             *To analyze how temple design was influenced by the events which they were built to
                               commemorate.
                             *To demonstrate understanding of Greek mythology

Alignment with Standards California History/Social Studies Standards:

Analysis Skills: Research, Evidence, and Point of View
    1. Students frame questions that can be answered by historical study and research.

Analysis Skills: Historical Interpretation
    2. Students explain the sources of historical continuity and how the combination of ideas and event explains the
        emergence of new patterns.

Standard 6.4.4
Students explain the significance of Greek mythology to everyday life in the people and in the region.

Materials:  Photographs of Greek temples, including the Parthenon

                    Copies of Students Handouts on the Parthenon

                    Construction materials:
                         (ideas may include: Cardboard, index cards, toilet tissue or paper towel roll
                          cores, shoeboxes, construction paper, crayons or markers, etc.)

                    Information on attributes of Greek Gods

                    Optional: Video camera, VCR, and monitor, it taping presentations
                    Optional: Computers with Internet connection for student research.

Student handout: Background
 

Features of the Parthenon

The Parthenon was built to commemorate the victory over the Persians and to honor Athena, patron goddess of Athens.

There were three types of sculpture on the Parthenon:

 METOPES: Square blocks carved with mythological scenes related to a common theme of story

            Metopes on the Parthenon:
    East side metopes show a battle between gods and giants, with the gods victorious.
    South side metopes show a battle between humans and centaurs, in which rioting centaurs were defeated.
    West side metopes show the defeat of the Amazons by Greeks.
    North side metopes show scenes from the Trojan War.

            FRIEZE: A scene which wraps around the sides of the building
              Frieze on the Parthenon:
                    Depicts the Panathenaia, a citywide celebration honoring Athena (Some historians believe this
                    scene also honors the 192 Athenian soldiers who died at the Battle of Marathon.)

           PEDIMENTS: Triangular s[aces on each end of a temple roof
                    Pediments on the Parthenon show single scenes from mythology
                    East pediment shows the contest between Athena and Poseidon over which would protect the city of
                    Athens.

Figures were painted, like all Greek sculpture.  Women were pale skinned; men were tanned.  This was to show the difference in their lifestyles.

Questions:
1. What do the scenes on the metopes have in common?
2. If, as some historians believe, the frieze shows the soldiers from Marathon, how would this also relate to the metopes?
3. Explain why the scenes on the pediments might have been chosen for the Parthenon.

Activities:
 This lesson is designed to be a culminating activity, and as such may take many paths depending upon the unit under study and the ability levels of the students.  As such, I am offering more than on e possible activity.

A. Students create a temple of their own, based on the model of the Parthenon.
    1. Choose a god or goddess to honor with a temple.
    2. Select and illustrate two pediment scenes which depict important scenes from the mythology related to that god.
    3. Create metopes to show qualities of which the god would approve.

If this temple has easy access to its interior (in other words, it is a shoebox), students may also create a stature (clay?) of the god, including at least two of his or her attributes.

     Students should explain (in an oral presentation, or in writing, or both)
        a. Why they selected the god they did.
        b. Why they selected the scenes on the pediments
        c. How the metopes relate to the god

B. Students choose a Greek historical events to commemorate with the construction of a temple.

    1. Design a temple to match the lesson of feeling the Greeks might have gained from the event.
    2. Illustrate the pediments with scenes related to a god whom Greeks might have associated with the event.
    3. Illustrate the metopes with mythological scenes that share a common theme with the event being commemorated, and/or
        scenes from the event.

If this temple has easy access to its interior (in other words, it is a shoebox), students may also create a statue (clay?) of the god, including at least two of his or her attributes.

 Students should explain (in an oral presentation, or in writing, or both)
    a. Which historical event they selected, and how the Greeks might have felt about this event
    b. Why they selected the god they did.
    c. Why they selected the scenes on the pediments
    d. How the metopes relate to the event.
 
 

Great Buildings: The Parthenon
Peter Chrisp, Streck-Vaughn Co., 1997
ISBN: o-8172-4917-6

A Greek Temple
 Fiona MacDonald, Salariya Books, 1992.
 ISBN: 0-87226-361-4

The Golden Age of Greece: Imperial Democracy 500-400 BC
 National Center for History in the Schools, UCLA

Web Sites
 Mythology:
  http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/info/attributes.html.
  http://www.historyforkids.org
  http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/

 The Parthenon:
  http://www.Johnco.cc.ks.us/~jjackson/part.html
  http://greatbuildings.com/buildings/The_Parthenon.html.
  http://www.historyforkids.org