Contributor: Suzanne Riordan. Lesson ID: 13971
Do you know who Pandora is? If Greek myths are your Achilles' heel, this lesson is for you! You're about to go on a great odyssey. It won't take a Herculean effort. You'll soon have the Midas touch!
Here are just a few.
Start with Pandora, the lady who made a lot of trouble for the world just by opening a box. Watch the video to learn her story.
References to Greek mythology are common in English writing. When an author refers to a Greek myth, this is called an allusion.
An allusion refers to a person or event from literature, history, or mythology.
If you know the myth referred to, you will understand the allusion. If you don't, you might be confused! So it's good to know at least a few of them.
Now that you've learned about Pandora, see if you can answer the following question.
When someone opens Pandora's box, they can't resist getting involved in something they probably shouldn't!
There are often results that they didn't expect and can't handle. It may be bad things (like in the myth), or it could just be something that brings some trouble or makes a mess.
For example, "Aunt Sally opened a Pandora's box when she allowed the children to make cookies by themselves!"
Look at another Greek myth, The Odyssey. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus.
Odysseus was a hero of the Trojan War and the king of Ithaca, who went on a long journey and had to overcome many obstacles when returning home. He had to overcome evil women, witches, one-eyed monsters, man-eating giants, wild winds, deadly seas, and even dangerous plants!
After his many adventures and ten years of fighting to get home, he finally returned to Ithaca and his wife and son, who also had many trials when he was gone!
After learning about Odysseus and The Odyssey, see if you can understand the following allusion.
Morgan said, "Our trip from Baltimore to Los Angeles was quite an odyssey!"
Another Greek character who had many adventures was Hercules. Hercules was known for his great strength.
When a goddess made him go crazy and kill some people, he was very sorry. He asked for a punishment and was told to go and serve King Eurystheus. The king gave him some nearly impossible tasks to perform.
These are known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules. Because of his great strength and wisdom, he accomplished these difficult tasks, such as cleaning out an enormous stable in one day, killing a monster, and capturing a bull with only his hands.
Now that you know about Pandora, The Odyssey, and Hercules, move to the Got It? section to review and learn about allusions to a few more Greek myths.