Greek gods and myths

This workshop is a series of three two-hour sessions, introducing KS2 children to the subject of Ancient Greek gods, myths and temples. The workshop incorporates the use of woodland resources, storytelling and resource cards, offering an engaging combination of focused concentration, open discussion and child-led creativity.

The first session describes how the Ancient Greeks wove a polytheistic belief system into their daily lives, including the building of temples. The children are then invited to select details on one of the gods, from their resource pack, and use natural materials in the woodland to create a small temple that represents the individual attributes of that god. The session ends with a discussion on the other gods depicted in their resource cards.

The second session begins with the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Following the story, the children are invited to consider the role of storytelling in cultures and whether elements of this story may have had connections to earthquakes in the geographical area. The link between myth and reality is also discussed through details of archaeological finds in the area. The children are then invited to create the layout of a maze on the woodland floor, using available, natural materials, and to create a clay monster to place at the centre of their maze. They can then inspect each other’s mazes and test them.