TDA Mythology Unit 3 OA 1 Name ARIES March 21 - April 19

TDA Mythology Unit 3 OA 1 Name___________________________________________

ARIES March 21 - April 19

Directions: Start at dot number 3. Counting by 3s, connect the dots. Continue until you reach 123.

Constellation myth:

One day Zeus looked down from his

throne on Mt. Olympus. What he saw on

Earth made him very angry. A cruel king

and queen were about to burn a little boy

and girl to try to win Zeus’s favor. Zeus’s

voice rang out through the heavens as he

called for his beautiful pet ram. “You must

save these young and innocent children

from these wicked plans,” he thundered.

Just as the cruel king was about to light the

fire under the children, there was a flash of

lightning above his head. From the center

of the flash, the ram appeared. He gently

picked up the children, nestled them

between his horns, and soared high up into

the sky. He set them down in a faraway part

of the world, safe forever from the wicked

king and queen. But before he left them, the

ram whispered softly to the children, “If you

ever need help in finding your way, just

look up at the sky, and I will always be

there.” And to this day the ram has kept his

word – his outline appears in the sky as a

constellation to safely guide the steps of

young children who need his help.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20


Constellation myth:

Oknos was a juggler and an

acrobat. He sailed around the

waters of Greece with his

dancing pig and trained monkey.

He’d bring his wonderful show

to each of the many islands that

surround Greece. Oknos would

tell the people tales of wonderful

adventures that happened away

from their tiny island.

One day some young girls

were waiting on the shore for

Oknos. When he got to their

island, he spent the day with

them. The girls watched his

magic tricks and played with the

monkey and dancing pig. They

all had a wonderful time. All too

soon, it was time for Oknos to leave. “Where are you going now?” asked a fun-loving girl named Europa.

“Over the horizon,” was his answer. Europa would have given anything to go with him. “Oh Zeus,” she prayed. “Let me sail over

the horizon someday like Oknos!” Then she sadly went looking for her friends. At the edge of the beach, she found a snow-white

bull. He was very gentle and even allowed her to climb on his back. Then all of a sudden he took off over the beach and into the sea.

“Faster!” cried Europa. “Take me as far as you can – over the horizon!” so the bull swam faster and faster until he reached the end of

the world. He got down on his knees so Europa could climb down. Europa looked up and there, standing before her, was Zeus

himself. “Welcome,” he said. “Your prayer has been answered. You have traveled to the place that lay over the horizon. Your

adventure is about to begin.” Europa was so grateful to the bull that she begged Zeus to place the form of the bull among the stars, to

remind children everywhere that the world is full of adventures.

GEMINI May 21 - June 21


Constellation myth:

Zeus had twin sons, called Castor

and Pollux. They were wonderful

athletes who spent their days playing

all kinds of sports. One day whle they

were boxing, a terrible storm was

raging on Earth. A tiny boat was being

tossed on the waves like a toy. Its

frightened sailor was a boy named

Iphus. He was all by himself on the

dangerous seas. The sky was so dark,

he couldn’t tell where to look for

safety. “Help me, Zeus,” he prayed.

“Please send me some light.” At once,

two rays of light sparkled in the night

sky. The lights moved across the sky

in a flash. They gave just enough light

to show Iphus a safe place to hide

between some rocks until the storm

had ended. Zeus had answered the

sailor’s prayers. He sent his twin sons

to guide Iphus in the form of

constellations. If you look carefully,

you can still see them in the sky today,

guiding other lost sailors through the

night with their twinkling lights.

CANCER June 22 - July 22


Constellation myth:

Hera, the wife of Zeus, was a very

jealous goddess. She was especially

jealous of Hercules, Zeus’s mortal son,

because Zeus was so fond of him. To

prove to Zeus that Hercules was

unworthy of Zeus’s love, she decided

to give Hercules twelve labors to test

his strength and courage. One of his

labors was to kill the deadly monster,

the Hydra. The Hydra had a the body

of a dragon and nine snakelike heads.

No one could kill it. If one of the

Hydra’s heads was cut off, another

would grow in its place!

To make sure that the Hydra would

defeat Hercules, Hera found a huge

crab with razor-sharp claws. Hera told

the crab to sneak up behind Hercules,

grab him, and hold him so the Hydra

could kill him.

On the day of the fight, Hercules

brought along his nephew Iolaus. One

by one, Hercules cut off the Hydra’s

heads while Iolaus seared each neck with a torch, so that no new heads could grow back. Just as they were about to finish off the

Hydra, the crab sneaked up behind Hercules and grabbed his foot. Hercules stamped his other foot down on the crab’s shell and

smashed the shell to bits. The crab was crushed to death. Then Hercules quickly turned back to the Hydra and cut off its final head.

Zeus, who had been watching the whole time, took the body of the crab back to Olympus. He turned it into a constellation to remind

Hera forever of her terrible failure.

LEO July 23 - Aug. 22.


Constellation myth:

A powerful lion once lived on the

moon. Unfortunately, there was very

little food on the moon. So the hungry

lion waited for Selene, the moon

goddess, to ride by in her chariot. The

lion thought that one of Selene’s horses

would make a tasty snack. But as he

tried to grab a horse, Selene hit the lion

sharply with her whip. The surprised

lion slipped from the moon and fell

through the sky. He landed on his four

huge paws in a little town called

Nemea. The hungry lion was much

happier on Earth. In fact, he got quite

fat on all the human beings he was able

to catch for food. Many brave fighters

lost their lives trying to kill this great

lion from the moon. The lion’s skin

was so tough that no arrow or spear

could harm him.

Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, gave

Hercules the task of slaying this

ferocious lion, as the first of his famous

twelve labors. Hercules bravely charged into the lion’s cave and strangled him with his bare hands. When Hercules came out of the

lion’s cave, he was wearing the lion’s skin as a coat. The people of Nemea were saved at last. Zeus called down to his son on Earth,

“Well done, Hercules. Now that you have destroyed the body of this terrible lion, I will place his form among the stars so that people

will always remember your brave deed.”

VIRGO Aug 23 - Sept. 22


Constellation myth:

Persephone was the daughter of

Demeter, goddess of the earth’s

fertility. When Persephone was

kidnapped by Hades, god of the

Underworld, Demeter stopped caring

for the earth. She missed her

daughter so much that she let the

plants die and the grass turn brown.

People began to starve. Zeus knew

that he had to do something quickly.

He ordered Hades (who was his

brother) to send the lovely

Persephone back to her mother. But

before Hades allowed Persephone to

leave, he made her eat four magic

pomegranate seeds. This meant that

Persephone would have to go back to

the underworld for four months of

every year – one month for each of

the seeds she had eaten! Those four

months, when Demeter loses all

interest in caring for the earth, are the

winter months. But when Persephone

returns each time, the earth blooms

once again.

This was the best that Zeus could do. But to remind people to get ready for winter and stock up on food and firewood, he placed

the constellation in the summer sky called “the Maiden,” which looks just like Demeter.

LIBRA Sept. 23 - Oct. 23


Constellation myth:

As Aphrodite was walking through the forest

one day, to her surprise she found a beautiful baby

hidden among the bushes. She pressed her lips to

the ground and called, “Persephone, come

quickly!” The ground split apart and Persephone

appeared. “Look what I found,” said Aphrodite.

Persephone and Aphrodite were charmed by

the baby boy. They decided to adopt him. They

called him Adonis, which means “prince.”

Persephone took care of Adonis for the months

that she was in the underworld. Aphrodite took

care of him for the rest of the year. This plan

worked out well for many years until Adonis

became a handsome young man. Then the

goddesses began to fight over him. The lovely

peacefulness of Olympus was broken. So Zeus

sent the two mothers to visit Themis, the goddess

of common sense. She settled the argument in this way: Adonis would spend four months with one mother and four months with his

other mother; the four months that were left would be his to spend as he wished. Everyone was happy with this plan.

Themis could always understand both sides of any problem. She would carefully weigh each side of an argument. Then she would

come up with an answer that would satisfy both sides. In honor of Themis, Zeus placed a constellation of stars in the sky that looked

like a balance, or scale, which the Romans called “Libra,” to remind us to use fairness and common sense.

SCORPIO Oct. 24 - Nov. 21


Constellation myth:

Zeus, Hermes, and

Poseidon decided to leave

Olympus for the day.

They dressed themselves

as humans and went for a

walk on Earth. After a

while, they wanted to

rest. So they knocked on

the door of a poor farmer

named Hyrieus. Hyrieus

invited them to supper.

To feed his visitors, he

killed his only ox, who

also happened to be his

beloved pet. Zeus was

pleased with Hyrieus’s

unselfishness. He told

Hyrieus that they were

gods. Then he said,

“Hyrieus, you may have

any wish you desire.”

Hyrieus always wanted to

have a son. So Zeus told

him to bury the skin of his ox. In nine months, it would turn into a handsome son. And so it did!

Hyrieus named his son Orion. Orion became a skillful hunter. One day, while he was hunting in the woods, he met Artemis, the

hunting goddess. They spent many days hunting together. One day Orion went hunting alone. To show Artemis what a fine hunter

he was, he killed all the animals in the forest. Orion did not know that Artemis was also the protector of animals and birds. Artemis

looked at the pile of dead animals and became very angry with Orion. She stamped her foot on the ground and a huge scorpion

appeared. “Kill that, Orion!” she said. But before Orion could lift his bow, the scorpion stung him. “To kill for food is allowed. To

kill for sport is not,” scolded Artemis. Orion died from the scorpion sting. Then Artemis lifted the scorpion to the sky to form a

constellation. “These stars will remind men to respect the lives of all living creatures other than themselves,” she said. And to this

day you can still see the form of the scorpion in the night sky.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22 - Dec. 21


Constellation myth:

Centaurs were strange-looking

beasts – horses from the waist down,

and men from the waist up. Chiron

was king of the centaurs. He was a

good and kind ruler. He was also very

good at healing. Many animals and

men who had been hurt would come to

him to cure their wounds.

Not all centaurs were gentle,

though. Some were wild and loved to

fight. One day Chiron heard the loud

noise of stamping hooves. He galloped

toward the noise. There, in a field, a

group of wild centaurs were attacking

Hercules and Pholus, who was another

centaur. Hercules had brought his bow

and poison arrows with him, and he

was shooting arrows at all the attacking

centaurs. When Chiron saw what was

going on, he bravely rode into the

middle of the battle. Hercules didn’t realize that Chiron was there, and he shot him by mistake. When the other centaurs saw Chiron

fall to the ground in pain, they ran off. “What medicine can I get to help you?” asked Pholus worriedly.

“There is none,” moaned poor Chiron. “The poison on Hercules’s arrows comes from the blood of the Hydra. For that, there is no

cure.”

“Will you die, then?” cried Pholus. “No,” answered the king. “Long ago the gods made me immortal. But I shall have to live in

pain forever.”

But Zeus had pity on the good king Chiron. To end Chiron’s pain, Zeus allowed him to die, and turned him into a constellation of

stars. This constellation is called Sagittarius, which means “archer.”

CAPRICORN Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

Directions: Start at dot number 1. Connect in order every dot labeled with a prime number.

Constellation myth:

Zeus’s father, Cronus, was afraid

that one of his sons would grow up to

be stronger than he was. So whenever

a new baby boy was born, he had it

killed. When Zeus was born, his

mother gave him to two young

nymphs. The nymphs promised to take

Zeus far away and to keep him safe

from Cronus. They took baby Zeus to

their tiny village where they cared for

him for several years, and fed him milk

from a special she-goat named

Amalthea. One day, while Zeus and

Amalthea were playing, one of

Amalthea’s horns broke off in Zeus’s

hand. Zeus realized that this was a

sign for him to break with this safe,

loving place that had been his home.

So he brought the horn to the nymphs

and solemnly told them, “This is a

magic horn of plenty. It will provide

you with all the food and drink you

need forever, as you and Amalthea

have always provided for me.” Then

Zeus left to fight his cruel father, and he won (just as Cronus had feared). One of Zeus’s first acts as king of the gods was to call

Amalthea up to the stars to take her place in the heavens. You can see her there today as the constellation that forms the outline of a

goat.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

Directions: Start at dot number 1. Connect in order every dot labeled with an odd number.

Constellation myth:

Ganymede, the simple shepherd, was the

most handsome mortal the gods had ever seen.

He was also very gentle and kind. One day

while Ganymede was tending his sheep, a great

eagle swooped down from the sky and startled

the gentle Ganymede. “Don’t be afraid,” said

the bird. “I’m Zeus’s eagle. My master has

sent me to carry you to Mt. Olympus.”

So Ganymede gracefully climbed onto the

sleek back of the eagle and was carried up to his

new home and immortal life among the gods.

On Olympus, he served the gods by bringing

them water when they needed it. To honor

Ganymede’s immortality, the gods placed his

form in a constellation of stars called Aquarius,

which means “water carrier.” You can still see

the form of Ganymede in the stars today.

PISCES Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

Directions: Start at dot number 2. Connect in order every dot labeled with an even number.

Constellation myth:

One day Cupid (know to the

Greeks as Eros) was playing with

his arrows in the woods. All of a

sudden, he heard a terrible roar.

Frightened, he ran back to his

mother and clung to her side.

“There’s a monster in the woods,”

he cried.

“Oh my,” cried Venus (whom

the Greeks called Aphrodite) as she

listened to the roars. “It’s Typhon,

the enemy of the gods. We must

get away as fast as we can, my

son.”

So Venus and Cupid ran for their

lives through the forest. As they

ran, they could hear the branches of

trees crashing around them. The

terrible dragon, Typhon, was

following fast behind them. Finally

Venus and Cupid had run so

quickly and traveled so far that they

reached the seashore, and there was

no place left to run. In despair, Venus called out, “Oh great god of the sea, save us from Typhon, our mortal enemy.”

Just as Typhon was almost upon them, a pair of dolphins swam past the shore. Neptune, the sea god (whom the Greeks called

Poseidon) rose up from the water. “Get on the backs of the dolphins!” he ordered. “The dolphins will save you.” And that is exactly

what they did.

To reward the dolphins, the gods brought them up to the heavens. They became a new constellation known as Pisces. The word

“pisces” means fish in Latin. (In those days people did not know that dolphins were mammals, not fish.)

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TDA Mythology Unit 3 OA 1 Name ARIES March 21 - April 19