Ancient Greece - Greek Mythology

Have you ever wondered why ancient people created myths? Perhaps it is because they had so many questions about the world. They might have wondered why the sun rose. Or maybe they wondered why lightning and thunder happen.

Ancient people didn’t always have scientific explanations for these things. Many of them told stories known as myths. These myths explained how things happened.

Many ancient people had myths that explained how the world began. These are known as creation myths. Creation myths are very important myths in a culture’s mythology.

One important ancient Greek creation myth is told in a poem called Theogony. The poem tells how the world began. First there was Chaos. Chaos means complete disorder. Out of Chaos came the mother of much creation, Gaia. She gave birth to Uranus, the king of the sky. He became the father of many important Greek gods.

What are creation myths?

• stories about lightning and thunder

• ancient religious groups

• stories of how the world began

• Greek plays for theater

Why does the author describe the Greek creation myth in Theogony?

• to explain how Greeks came up with the idea for myths

• to contrast Greek myths with myths from other peoples

• to describe the only Greek myth that we know about to give an example of a specific Greek myth

• to give an example of a specific Greek myth

Based on the passage, which of these answers would most likely be a myth?

• a diary entry of a real-life person

• a story about why it rains

• a news article about a war

• a report of a science experiment

Read the following sentences: “Perhaps it is because they had so many questions about the world. They might have wondered why the sun rose.”

The word wondered means

• created or invented something

• were curious and wanted to know more

• were confused and scared

• gave an answer for something

The passage “Greek Mythology” is mostly about

• which ancient cultures were real, and which were just myths

• which Greek gods were the most powerful and important

• why people created myths, and the ancient Greek creation myth

• how scientists today are learning from ancient myths