Characteristics of Greek Myth
(with examples from Prometheus and Io)
Hero with a fatal flaw
Prometheus gives fire to mortals
Adventures of a hero
Prometheus and how he gets where he is, chained to a rock as a punishment by Zeus
Intervention of gods and goddesses
Hera intervenes with Zeus and Io, Zeus does not intervene with his wife’s wrath and lets Io become a cow, Hera takes the eyes after the monster is killed
Supernatural Activity (underworld, superhuman tasks)
Zeus causes black clouds to cover the land, Hera turns Io into a cow
Problem caused by greed and jealousy
Zeus likes Io and is so greedy he has to have her, Hera is jealous and turns the girl into a cow
A woman is responsible for causing problems
Io was pretty and so Zeus liked her, Hera became jealous- catalyst
Explanation of how things are now
Prometheus is chained to the rock as a punishment, Zeus restores Io eventually, Hercules descends Io, Hercules frees Prometheus eventually
References to the natural world
Ionian Sea, Bosphorus Sea, Fire used by man
Not always a happy ending
(several possibilities)
Lesson in the story for the reader
(several possiblities)
