Year 7 Drama
Greek Mythology
Lesson TWO
Lesson Two
Aims
1. To learn about Sisyphus: a Greek
mythological character
2. To show you can change and
control your voice and movement
in your performance
3. To show you can create extra
scenes from stimulus.
4. To develop our acting ability and
confidence
5. To understand how these ancient
myths still influence the English
language today!
How messy is
your room?
Does is seem
like every
time you clean
it...it just needs
cleaning again
and again and
again...
Sisyphus was a cruel, clever
and deceitful man who
tricked and killed many
travellers to gain his
fortune. He even bragged
that he was smarter than
Zeus himself!
Zeus didn’t like this one bit
and ordered Thanatos the
god of death to chain
Sisyphus in the lowest part
of Hades (hell)
However Sisyphus (being
clever and cunning)
asked Thanatos if he
could just feel the weight
of the chain he was to be
bound in. Thanatos
agreed and instead,
Sisyphus chained up the
god of death and escaped
Hades!Whilst Thanatos
was chained up, no
human could die on
earth!
Zeus was furious with everyone
but especially with Sisyphus!
How dare a mortal think he is
more intelligent than a god!
He cast Sisyphus into Hades and
forced him to push a boulder
up a hill for the rest of eternity.
The boulder would always roll
back down the hill and
Sisyphus would just have to
start again...and again..
If there is a task that seems
pointless, repetitive, neverending and difficult, it is
called a Sisyphean task.
***Ancient peoples
used to use stories to
try and understand
things that they
couldn't explain.
What else is spherical
and rises and falls
everyday?***
TASK 2 Re-tell the story of
Sisyphus in your own way.
Characters:
1. Sisyphus
2. Thanatos – the god of death!
3. Zeus – king of the gods
4/5. Travellers and other
humans.
Creative Focus
Achieve lv5 by showing
that you can add your own
ideas, lines, movement
and scenes to this story.
Use additional actors
(travellers) to create these
Literacy Focus.
Can you answer this
question?
•Immature, impossible,
immortal.
•What does the prefix ‘im’
mean?
Lesson Two-Plenary
How did we do?
Aims
1. How many Mythological
characters can you name?
Can you name five?
1. To learn about two
mythological characters
2. To show you can change and
control your voice and
movement in your
performance
3. To show you can create extra
scenes from stimulus.
4. To develop our acting ability
and confidence
5. To understand how these
ancient myths still influence
the English language today!
2. Who in that class really
succeeded in this way today?
What were the best
performance moments? How
could we improve out
characters?
3. Who created the best extra
scenes? Why were they
successful?
4. Who feels they have made
progress in their confidence
and ability today? Do you feel
anyone else has made a leap
forward today?
5. What is a Sisyphean task?
What does tantalise mean
What does the prefix ‘im’
mean?