Tag: Greek myths

120 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians Episode Eight

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How well did this episode wrap up the onscreen adaptation of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan? How many Snapes did the episode earn for its faithfulness to the source material? Did Percy’s big moment with his dad hit the same way it did in the book? Find out!

Activity: The Nature of the Greek Gods

Students can research the more practical side of Greek Mythology. The gods of Olympus were believed to have real physical bodies, which flowed with ichor rather than blood. The gods ate and drank ambrosia and nectar, which were forbidden to mortals with very few exceptions. Research what happened when gods were wounded and how they felt about the sight of seeing these wounds. Find out how ambrosia and nectar were served to the gods and which deities served it. Learn which mortals were given the privilege of the sight or smell of divine food, and what happened to naughty mortals who tried to steal it!

117 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians Episode Seven

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Percy and his friends take a tour of the Underworld, meeting Uncle Hades and getting set up for the big final conflict in the series finale. But how faithfully does “We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of” interpret chapters 17 through 20 of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan?

Activity: Make a Map of the Underworld

After watching episode 7 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, have your kids research the Ancient Greek view of the Underworld. Draw a map with important figures and locations such as the River Styx, Persephone’s Garden, Charon’s boat ferry, and of course, Cerberus. (You can draw him cute or scary.)

116 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians Episode Six

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians is starting to drift farther away from its source material in The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The show is still good, and most of the changes are good for abridging the story. But not all of the changes are working.

When grown-up filmmakers take control of a story written for kids, unfortunately they can forget that the story was written for kids. The filmmakers of Percy Jackson and the Olympians keep adding more grown-up characters to the story and, worse, removing children.

Find out how many Snapes I awarded this episode based on how faithful it was to the source material. And if you’ve seen it, let me know what you thought!

114 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians Episode Five

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians is beginning to diverge from its literary source, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Many of the changes are good examples of abridgment, and this episode’s depiction of Ares is wickedly fun and very faithful to the attitude of the original character on the page. But huge portions of the story are being rewritten, and extra adult characters are being shoved unnecessarily into a story that is supposed to be for and about kids.

Find out how many Snapes I gave this episode, based not on how much I enjoyed the episode, but how faithful it was to the literary source. I’ve chosen Snapes as my rating system in honor of Alan Rickman’s superb translation of the character of Severus Snape from the page to the screen.

The podcast is now on YouTube, Pandora, and Stitcher, giving you more places to subscribe to the show.

113 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians Episode Four

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How close is the fourth episode of the new series Percy Jackson and the Olympians to its literary source? Not terribly, but that doesn’t mean the episode isn’t good. There’s just one big change that I really disapprove of, as it takes away a big choice that Percy makes in The Lightning Thief. Lots of the other changes were great, though, and are good examples of how to abridge a text well for translation to the screen.

Are you watching Percy Jackson and the Olympians with your family or classmates? What did you think of this episode and the changes it made to the story? Do you agree with how many Snapes I awarded? (I give one to five Snapes to onscreen adaptations based on how faithful they are to the books they are based on. My rating system is named in honor of Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Severus Snape, which stands as an excellent example of how to bring a character from page to screen well.)

Activity: Draw Your Own Chimera

Have students research Chimera, a monster from Ancient Greek legend. Begin with the etymology of “chimera” and then research what animals were combined in her form. Find images of Chimera made in ancient times in painting, mosaic, pottery, and other art forms. Then have students draw their own version of Chimera. If time allows, ask students to make another drawing of an original creature that combines various animal parts and has its own unique name.

An interesting thing to note is that the word “chimera” indicates that the animal is female, yet frequently depictions of the Chimera show the lion portion of the animal as having a male lion’s mane. This often happens when the artist did not come from Ancient Greece and likely would not have spoken Ancient Greek, making it difficult to know that “chimera” indicates a female animal. Students can observe this mistake in art sources from various times in history.

111 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians Episode Three

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Here’s my review of Episode Three of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, “We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium,” which is based on chapters 9 through 11 of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Find out how many Snapes I awarded the episode based on how faithful it was to the source material, and find out what I thought of the major changes to the character of Medusa.In the novel, Medusa is a straight up monster who attacks Percy and his friends. Percy kills her in complete self-defense and there is nothing really symapthetic about the character. The show makes Medusa much more complex and interesting, but the problem is that that’s not what the plot of the story needs her to be.

Activity: Devotion or Rejection?

Parents and teachers can discuss Medusa’s choices and viewpoints, exploring ideas that John Milton covered in Paradise Lost. Medusa rejects the idea that the Greek gods deserve eternal, unquestioning devotion, even when they don’t play by fair rules, fail to return love, and can be unfathomably cruel when it suits them. Ask students what they think of Medusa’s point of view, and if they think it’s better to fear the gods in hopes of pleasing them, or to reject them and live a life free from both their help and their harm.