myths and legends
TRANSCRIPT
Myths & Legends
What is a Legend?Set in the present or
recent past.
Are supposedly true, and used to scare, teach, inform, or entertain.
May be based on true events, but are changed or
exaggerated over time.
Handed down from generation to generation,
usual through an oral history.
Explain why a natural occurrence occurs
Possibly based on an actual person, or even several people, in ancient Britain.
Stories were told, retold, exaggerated, changed, and added to over hundreds of years.
Used to teach moral lessons about chivalry
Example: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
What is a Myth?
A traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some hero or event, that people believe is true at
the time.
Usually contains non-human characters (gods,
demons, demigods)
Explains some practice, rite, phenomenon, or why something is the way it is.
Example: Pandora’s Box
Example: Persephone & Demeter
Example: Orpheus
Myths do not need to have happy endings.
In fact, most of them end very, very badly.