Chronological Mythology Study?

[Just Another Jen]

Is there a curriculum or list that anyone knows about to help my 5th grade daughter study mythology? We're almost finished with SOTW 4 and she says she'd like to read just mythology for the last quarter of this year. I'm putting together a list on my own, but I'd rather not re-invent the wheel.

 

Thanks!

[mcconnellboys]

Well, when you say "comprehensive", I tend to think you mean mythology from all over the world. I don't know of a study like that. I did see a study last year at convention that Memoria Press has put together using the D'Aulaire's book, and with the time you have left, that might be all you'd have time for.

 

Here's a link for that:

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/classical/daulaires.htm

 

And if you want names of some other good mythologies from other parts of the world, I can give you book names. These don't have study guides to go with them, that I know of, but you might find some online for at least some of them.

[AngelBee]

:lurk5:

[Lovedtodeath]

Tales of the Greek Heroes has all of the Greek Myths in Chronological order. The idea is that you can make connections, but IMO the reading was very boring and I gave up.

 

Ancient Explorations currently has the Illustrated Book of Myths along with Tanglewood Tales and a few separate myth picture books along with some public domain myths all put into chronological order, and of course the Iliad, The Odyssey and the Aeneid are included in that. (It won't have it much longer, as it is being revised.)

[Just Another Jen]

I don't actually want a study guide. I'll rephrase:

 

I'm looking for names of mythology books that you've read that were really good. Here is a list of what we have at home:

 

Greek Myths

Norse Myths

Various Irish Myths

Tales from India

King Arthur

 

We'll probably hit the library and see what they have. If anyone knows of any other books that are really good I'd love to hear about it. Picture books are fine too because I have a 4year old listening in. We may extend this into the Summer.

[MelanieM]

Here's a great thread with lots of recommendations for world mythology: http://welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153427 Also, click the mythology tag on this thread for some other similar discussions.

[Lovedtodeath]

I don't actually want a study guide. I'll rephrase:

I didn't figure you did. ;) The free e-book has some in it... as does the booklist. The sample might help you to put some in order. The story about Europa and her brother from Tanglewood Tales, for example is a Phoenician myth that would come before any of the Greek Myths as it was before the early Greeks lived on Crete.

 

The Illustrated Book of Myths has myths from all over the world, and though it is not chronological it is fairly easy to line up that way since they are listed by civilization.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[Satori]

We're studying Egypt now and a good place to start would be Egyptian Myths.

 

Here's one book that we found at our library that we like (although it is out of print now):

http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Myths-Books-Jacqueline-Morley/dp/0750026073/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266592925&sr=8-5

 

Also covering 5000 years ago is the fascinating Gilgamesh epic. There's a trilogy of books by Ludmila Zeman, here's the first:

http://www.amazon.com/Gilgamesh-King-Trilogy-Ludmila-Zeman/dp/0887764371/ref=pd_sim_b_2

 

We'll know more as we work our way through history!

[pooh bear]

Ganesha Goes to Lunch

 

Hanuman: The Heroic Monkey God

 

How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head

 

The Children of Odin

 

D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths

 

Sea of Trolls

 

Aeneas: Virgil's Epic Retold for Young Readers

 

Gilgamesh the Hero

[Spy Car]

:lurk5:

[swimmermom3]

Thanks to Melanie for linking to the previous thread. My 6th grader is spending the year studying mythology along with ancient history. We started with creation stories and then moved in a chronological/geographical fashion. I really can't say enough good things about the compilation books that Geraldine McCaughrean and Finn Bevan have written.

 

Finn Bevan's Landscape of Legends series helps place the myths in context. For example, in Mighty Mountains, Bevans writes:

 

Mighty Mountains

Because of their great height, age, and awe-inspiring appearance, mountains have always played a part in people's beliefs. In many ancient cultues, mountains are seen as the center of the universe, where all life was created.

 

With peaks that rise so high, mountains are also believed to be the closest points on Earth to Heaven, forming a link between Heaven and Earth. Because of this, mountains are often worshiped as the homes of gods and spirits, who watch over the world far beneath them.

 

Bevans proceeds to give the student actual facts about Mount Olympus and a brief run-down on who is who with regards to the Olympians. Finally, the reader is treated to a myth about Hephaestus.

 

The next section presents facts on the Himalayas,a brief explanation of who Shiva is, an actual quote from The Mahabharata, and an Indian tale.

 

My son loves the mix of facts and myth. The series includes 6 books and is wonderfully illustrated so your younger child will enjoy them as well.

[dragons in the flower bed]

http://mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/

 

Latino Stories to Read-Aloud

Korean Children's Favorite Stories

Japanese Children's Favorite Stories

Myths of Oceania by Anita Dalal

Native American Stories by Caduto and Bruchac

 

I think Gods Goddesses and Monsters by Sheila Keenan makes a good attempt at including a bit of everywhere and explaining the context for mythology. But I don't know that you will find a resource for chronological mythology. World mythology is how the study is presented. Depending on the maturity of your kid, maybe consider Joseph Campbell's DVD series, starting with Mythos I? It attempts to show the development of mythology as corresponding to the development of mankind.

[lovemykids]

http://mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/

 

.

:iagree:

This is the link that I am using to partially replace the Illustrated Book of Myths (in Ancient Explorations)! IMO the Illustrated Book of Myths is not appropriate for young children. There are horrible pictures in it that would give any child nightmares. It is just awful!!!

[meet me in paris]

If you go to the site for the National Mythology Exam they have a bibliography that they recommend for each study area. Great list.

 

Here's most of the text:

 

GENERAL MYTHOLOGY SECTION*

n The first 30 questions are required of ALL students who take the exam.

 

d’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar. d’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1962.

 

Myths and information on gods and goddesses pp.1 62

Greek and Roman names of gods and goddesses pp.186-187

 

Source recommended for more advanced students:

 

Guerber, H. A. The Myths of Greece and Rome. New York: Dover Publication, Inc., 1993.

 

Myths and information on gods and goddesses pp. 1-175

Greek and Roman names of gods and goddesses Index

 

HERACLES*

n The next ten questions are required of students in grades 5 through 9, and optional for grades 3 and 4.

 

d’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar. d’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1962.

“Heracles†pp. 132-147

 

(or for more advanced students)

 

Guerber, H. A. The Myths of Greece and Rome. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993.

Chapter XIX: Hercules pp. 188-207

 

LITERARY SUBTESTS*

n Students in grades 3 through 5 may choose to take no subtest, or one or more subtests.

n Students in grades 6 through 9 MUST take at least one literary subtest.

n Names on the exam will follow the spellings in the resources listed below.

n There will be 10 questions in each section.

 

Subtest on the Iliad Book 22 ONLY, Lattimore translation

Subtest on the Odyssey Book 9 ONLY, Fitzgerald translation

Subtest on the Aeneid Book 8 ONLY, Fitzgerald translation

 

Subtest on Native American Mythology

Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz. American Indian Myths and Legends.

New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.

 

“Native American Heroes†pp. 179-180

“Wakinyan Tanka, The Great Thunderbird†pp. 218-222

“The Flying Head†pp. 227-228

 

Subtest on African Mythology

Arnott, Kathleen. Tales from Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

 

“Tortoise and the Baboon†pp. 23-25

“Thunder and Lightning†pp. 33-35

“Unanana and the Elephant†pp. 69-74

 

Subtest on Norse Mythology

d’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar. d’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths. New York:

The New York Review of Books, 2005. pp. 72-95

[Lovedtodeath]

My son loves the mix of facts and myth. The series includes 6 books and is wonderfully illustrated so your younger child will enjoy them as well.

That sounds like a series I would love! I have got to remember this one for later.

 

IMO the Illustrated Book of Myths is not appropriate for young children. There are horrible pictures in it that would give any child nightmares. It is just awful!!!

Yes, I actually had the parents glue a couple of pages together in the instructions. I am so glad I have a partner to help me find replacements.

 

The OP is talking about a 5th grader, not a young child.:D

[lovemykids]

Yes, I actually had the parents glue a couple of pages together in the instructions. I am so glad I have a partner to help me find replacements.

:lol:

The OP is talking about a 5th grader, not a young child.:D

 

My fifth grader doesn’t care for that book either…..but everyone is different. Personally, I am glad it went OOP. ;)

[Just Another Jen]

Wow! Thanks everyone!

 

We school year round so after seeing all the great resources out there, I think we'll start in a few weeks and then continue into (throughout) 6th grade. I was actually thinking of buying sonlight core 6, but I can see us combining ancient/middle ages with mythology for a whole year. I'm working on my amazon cart and I think I may even post a schedule on my blog in a few weeks.

[Lovedtodeath]

Sounds good!

 

Okay, I pulled some specific suggestions out, sorry to be unhelpful earlier.

 

I get myths and folktales mixed up, like just about any book you come across, so I am not sure if these are what you are looking for:

 

Ideas for picture books:

 

Sumerian before Gilgamesh: Lugalbanda

 

Ancient African: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

 

Ancient Persian: Legend of the Persian Carpet

 

Atlantis; The Legend of the Lost City (I put this in the time period with Crete, but no one knows for sure.)

 

Ancient China: The Dragon Prince, Fa Mulan, The Maiden of Yueh

 

Jewish: All About Passover (I put this in the time of the Hyskos, but no one knows for sure.) The same publisher has several that share the stories behind Jewish holidays.

 

Tales from Ancient Egypt is a good one because there are two that combine stories from Egypt and Greece. There is also a story about the sphinx. I love it, and it was a rare book without pictures that DD actually listened to.

 

This is a great unit study idea and an awesome thread.

[KristineinKS]

I've found this chapter: Fables, Myths & Fairy Tales from The Children's Reading to be very helpful. Granted it is a bit dated, but I think most of the suggestions are quite sound & the books she recommends are all excellent (and nearly all of them are public domain). I'm loosely following her proposed reading plan in the chapter Ballads, Epics & Romances & have been quite pleased with it.

[lovemykids]

I've found this chapter: Fables, Myths & Fairy Tales from The Children's Reading to be very helpful. Granted it is a bit dated, but I think most of the suggestions are quite sound & the books she recommends are all excellent (and nearly all of them are public domain). I'm loosely following her proposed reading plan in the chapter Ballads, Epics & Romances & have been quite pleased with it.

 

 

I love this one! Thank you. :)

[Just Another Jen]

Sounds good!

 

Okay, I pulled some specific suggestions out, sorry to be unhelpful earlier.

 

I get myths and folktales mixed up, like just about any book you come across, so I am not sure if these are what you are looking for:

 

Ideas for picture books:

 

Sumerian before Gilgamesh: Lugalbanda

 

Ancient African: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

 

Ancient Persian: Legend of the Persian Carpet

 

Atlantis; The Legend of the Lost City (I put this in the time period with Crete, but no one knows for sure.)

 

Ancient China: The Dragon Prince, Fa Mulan, The Maiden of Yueh

 

Jewish: All About Passover (I put this in the time of the Hyskos, but no one knows for sure.) The same publisher has several that share the stories behind Jewish holidays.

 

Tales from Ancient Egypt is a good one because there are two that combine stories from Egypt and Greece. There is also a story about the sphinx. I love it, and it was a rare book without pictures that DD actually listened to.

 

This is a great unit study idea and an awesome thread.

 

Thanks! These are very helpful!

[Just Another Jen]

I've found this chapter: Fables, Myths & Fairy Tales from The Children's Reading to be very helpful. Granted it is a bit dated, but I think most of the suggestions are quite sound & the books she recommends are all excellent (and nearly all of them are public domain). I'm loosely following her proposed reading plan in the chapter Ballads, Epics & Romances & have been quite pleased with it.

 

 

What a treasure trove of ideas- thanks for the resource!

[mcconnellboys]

The line between myth, legend, fairy tale, etc. becomes blurred in many stories, so you will see various titles here other than pure "mythology".

 

How about some Russian, Magyar, etc. from that middle area of Europe bordering on Asia? It doesn't look like you have that area.

 

E. M. Almedingen has several that are older:

 

A Picture History of Russia (good pictures) - more a narrative history, really, but great.

 

The Knights of the Golden Table - the Rus version of King Arthur's knights, but no leachery in the volume we've read, at least, LOL.....

 

Those are two good ones to get you started and Almedingen has lots of others, too.

 

Kate Seredy's White Stag is about the Magyars.

 

I found the most wonderful, oversize Golden book with the most gorgeous illustration! It's simply called Russian Fairy Tales. Translator: Marie Ponsot; Illustrator: Benvenuti. Published in 1960 and 1973, there is no ISBN number on it. I've been having great luck this year finding tons of wonderful used books very cheaply online.

 

I also like Forests of the Vampire: Slavic Myth, Charles Phillips and Michael Kerrigan, but it might be better for older childern. It incorporates a lot more history and geography along with legends. It's really not a "story book".

 

Lisa already told you all about McCaughrean's mixed stories from around the world and all time periods (Bronze Cauldron, etc.) and the Bevan books, which are great for younger children, too, because they are so short and to the point......McCaughrean has written prolifically across all cultures so you can find books by her for most cultures.

 

How about some Native American books?

 

These will be North, Central, and South America:

 

The Legend of Lord Eight Deer, An Epic of Ancient Mexico, Pohl (Aztec, I believe, or maybe Mayan)

 

Mesoamerican Myth, Anita Ganeri (another one of those fact/fiction books)

 

The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales, John Bierhorst

 

And I keep looking in my feeble brain for the two specific titles I have by Chief Lalooska. They are published by DK. They have CD's to go along with them. He's a Shaman from a NW tribe and tells a lot of their origin legends, etc. They are great. Spirit of the Cedar People is one of them, I think. If you could see my piles of books, LOL, you'd understand why I can't just run and pull them out to get the proper titles.

 

Other European:

 

Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Spain, Virginia Haviland

Favorite Fairy Tales Told in France, Virginia Haviland (she has one for India, too)

Perrault's Fairy Tales

 

I know you said that you have Irish already, but I really liked Names Upon the Harp, which is a new book for me this year. Author: Heaney. The illustrations are beautiful, but some might be scarey for a little.

 

I like Scottish Myths and Legends, K. E. Sullivan (and there are a whole series of these books; but they might be better for older children). The thing I always hesitate about in suggesting myths and folklore is that sometimes there are mature themes, as there are in the Arthur legends. In the Indian Myth book in this series, for instance, I always have to recall that there's quite a bit thats pretty erotic and I tend to edit as I read. I don't just hand all these books over to my children to read alone, if that makes sense?

 

Celtic Myth, James Harpur, has historical stuff mixed in with the legends. This is another new book for me that I really like! I also really like: The Other World: Myths of the Celts, Margaret Hodges.

 

Mixed bag of stories: Medieval Tales, Mary Pope Osborne. Much better than Magic Tree House books!

And another mixed bag with a twist: Troubadour's Storybag: Musical Folktales of the World, Norma J. Livo.

 

Don't know if you have these Norse ones which I like:

 

Myths and Civilization of the Vikings, Hazel Martel (these are rather like the Bevan books Lisa mentioned).

East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon, George Webbe

Favorite Norse Myths, Mary Pope Osborne

Myths of the Norsemen, Roger Lancelyn Green - everything he does is great; but it might be better for older children.

D'Aulaire's Norse Myths and their book on Trolls

 

 

How about Asian?

 

Japan - Mysterious Tales of Japan, Rafe Martin

 

Spain under the Muslims - Castles in Spain: From the Allhambra, Washington Irving

 

 

Jewish:

 

It's not necessarily entirely for childern, and would have to be done as a read-aloud, but if you can get your hands on Louis Ginzberg's Legends of the Bible (there's a single volume edition), it is a tremendous compendium of ancient Jewish legend.

 

Also, for younger children: The Mysterious Visitor: Stories of the Prophet Elijah, Nina Jaffe

 

 

African:

 

Demons, Gods, and Holy Men: African Myths

West African Stories, Riordan

Kings, Gods, and Spirits from African Myth

 

 

Polynesian:

 

Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea and Sky, Vivian L. Thompson

Tales Told to Kabbarli: Aboriginal Legends

 

 

I think Lisa mentioned to you the Goddesses, Heroes, and Shamans book. I sort of used it as a spine for my mythology studies last year, but I think now that I've found the series Myths and Civilizations, I tend to like them even better. The GHS book set out little blurbs about various gods for each civilization's mythology, but they were so short and so few details were given that it was generally hard to get a good feel for a lot of the personalities mentioned. I guess for mythologies where there might be hundreds of gods, I'd rather read about the big 5, 10, 12, etc. and really know something about them than read little tidbits about dozens of them and still feel I don't know much. So I guess by the end of the year I came to feel that GHS was maybe a little too sketchy. I haven't read all the posts and just scanned Lisa's, so I don't know if she's been using it and what she might think of it in this regard. I think it's still certainly okay as an introduction, I just tend to find that I'm gravitating more toward those books that give lots of historical and geographical facts and then tell the legends that arose within those contexts. I get more out of them, so I tend to feel that my son must, too.

 

That's about all I can pull out of the old clapper right now, so hope that helps,

[Lovedtodeath]

http://www.archive.org/details/anthologyofchild00horoarch

 

This online book has a section on myths and legends that includes Greece, Norse, North American, South American, Hawaiian. It also has fables from seven different sources, folk tales from 27 countries and a section called Heroes of Epic and Romance that includes Jason, Hercules, Beowulf, St. George, etc. (from 10 countries). It aslo has a section called Sacred Writings.

 

I have the book in print. It is wonderful that they have it available online!

[mcconnellboys]

That sounds very intriguing. Does your hard copy have illustrations?

[lovemykids]

How about some Native American books?

 

These will be North, Central, and South America:

 

The Legend of Lord Eight Deer, An Epic of Ancient Mexico, Pohl (Aztec, I believe, or maybe Mayan)

 

Mesoamerican Myth, Anita Ganeri (another one of those fact/fiction books)

 

The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales, John Bierhorst

 

And I keep looking in my feeble brain for the two specific titles I have by Chief Lalooska. They are published by DK. They have CD's to go along with them. He's a Shaman from a NW tribe and tells a lot of their origin legends, etc. They are great. Spirit of the Cedar People is one of them, I think. If you could see my piles of books, LOL, you'd understand why I can't just run and pull them out to get the proper titles.

 

 

Mixed bag of stories: Medieval Tales, Mary Pope Osborne. Much better than Magic Tree House books!

,

 

 

So true, but Medieval Tales went OOP. If you own it or can find it at the library-great!

 

I love Native American myths.

 

Nice list. :)

[lovemykids]

http://www.archive.org/details/anthologyofchild00horoarch

 

This online book has a section on myths and legends that includes Greece, Norse, North American, South American, Hawaiian. It also has fables from seven different sources, folk tales from 27 countries and a section called Heroes of Epic and Romance that includes Jason, Hercules, Beowulf, St. George, etc. (from 10 countries). It aslo has a section called Sacred Writings.

 

I have the book in print. It is wonderful that they have it available online!

 

This is sweet; I had something similar checked out from the library recently. It did not have illustrations though. Maybe that was a good thing, depending on the illustrations. :001_rolleyes: :lol:

[Just Another Jen]

http://www.archive.org/details/anthologyofchild00horoarch

 

This online book has a section on myths and legends that includes Greece, Norse, North American, South American, Hawaiian. It also has fables from seven different sources, folk tales from 27 countries and a section called Heroes of Epic and Romance that includes Jason, Hercules, Beowulf, St. George, etc. (from 10 countries). It aslo has a section called Sacred Writings.

 

I have the book in print. It is wonderful that they have it available online!

 

This looks excellent! I just snagged a copy off of abe books!

[Just Another Jen]

The line between myth, legend, fairy tale, etc. becomes blurred in many stories, so you will see various titles here other than pure "mythology".

 

 

That's about all I can pull out of the old clapper right now, so hope that helps,

 

That was a most helpful list. I have a bunch of them in my abe books cart. I can see now that this is going to be way more fun than going the prepackaged "sonlight" route.

 

Thanks again for everyone who is contributing!

[swimmermom3]

I think Lisa mentioned to you the Goddesses, Heroes, and Shamans book. I sort of used it as a spine for my mythology studies last year, but I think now that I've found the series Myths and Civilizations, I tend to like them even better. The GHS book set out little blurbs about various gods for each civilization's mythology, but they were so short and so few details were given that it was generally hard to get a good feel for a lot of the personalities mentioned. I guess for mythologies where there might be hundreds of gods, I'd rather read about the big 5, 10, 12, etc. and really know something about them than read little tidbits about dozens of them and still feel I don't know much. So I guess by the end of the year I came to feel that GHS was maybe a little too sketchy. I haven't read all the posts and just scanned Lisa's, so I don't know if she's been using it and what she might think of it in this regard. I think it's still certainly okay as an introduction, I just tend to find that I'm gravitating more toward those books that give lots of historical and geographical facts and then tell the legends that arose within those contexts. I get more out of them, so I tend to feel that my son must, too.

 

That's about all I can pull out of the old clapper right now, so hope that helps,

 

Regena, you are soooo bad for my Amazon bill, :tongue_smilie: yet we love all your suggestions and I am glad you provided me with even more.

 

About GHS, my ds reads the intro part for the country and then about the various gods if he feels like it. We have found it to be most valuable when a character crops up in a myth and we aren't sure what their origins are or exactly what their purpose is. This year was really my son's first prolonged exposure to mythology. I like that we have used longer, more difficult works like Green's Tales from Ancient Egypt interspersed with books like McCaughrean's that are compilations. Often, we simply don't have the time for an entire book and that is where the short stories come into play. For some, this may not look very "scholarly" but we have many tough subjects and this is our one that we do for joy.

 

Have fun! Lisa, who is wondering how long it will take her to explore this list of Regena's. :D

[mcconnellboys]

Ahhhh, I'd love to buy an old house and deck it out with classic, beautiful books, and serve tea, of course. How can you look at books without tea, LOL? I love all the wonderful kids' books I've discovered while homeschooling! I'm not sure what I'm going to do about withdrawal when our school time is done.....

[Lovedtodeath]

 

That sounds very intriguing. Does your hard copy have illustrations?

There are illustrations in the middle of the book. They don't really add to it... unless you are wanting reviews and selections of old picture books. I have some old picture books from 1930 that are my favorite of all time... but they aren't in it. It also has poetry and nursery rhymes. There are reviews and selections from many stories and books... From the mixed up files... Johnny Tremain (those are the two that I remember).