What Do You Think?
Questions for Discussion

Have you ever been around a toddler who keeps asking the question “Why?” Does your teacher call on you in class with questions from your homework? Do your parents ask you about your day at the dinner table? We are always surrounded by questions that need a specific response. But is it possible to have a question with no right answer?

The following questions are about the book you just read. But this is not a quiz! They are designed to help you look at the people, places, and events from different angles. These questions do not have specific answers. Instead, they might make you think of these stories in a completely new way.

Think carefully about each question and enjoy discovering more about these classic myths.

1. Many of these stories tell of how something came to be. For example, the story “Demeter and Persephone” explains why we have winter. Can you create your own myth to explain how something came to be?

2. Heracles must perform many difficult tasks. What are some of the most difficult ones? Would you be able to complete any of these tasks? Which ones would you never even try?

3. What happens when Pandora opens the box that Zeus and Hera gave her? What did you think of Pandora after she opened the box? Have you ever been tempted to do something you were told not to?

4. In “Orpheus and Eurydice,” Orpheus journeys to the underworld to bring Eurydice back. How is Orpheus able to travel safely into the underworld? What are some of the creatures he confronts? If you were Orpheus, would you have gone down to the underworld to bring back Eurydice?

5. Many of the human characters in the stories have special gifts or talents. What are some of those talents? Which of those would you most like to have? What are your special talents?

6. In “Pygmalion and Galatea,” Pygmalion’s beautiful statue of a woman becomes a human. If you could sculpt something that would come alive, what would you most want to create?

7. In “Jason and the Golden Fleece,” many strangers help Jason complete his challenges. Why do these strangers help Jason? Can you think of a time when someone helped you do a task? Why did that person help you?

8. If you were Phaeton, would you have asked to drive Apollo’s chariot? Can you think of a time when you tried to do something that seemed impossible? How did you feel before you tried? How did you feel after? Did you ever try again?

9. In the story “Pegasus and Bellerophon,” the winged horse and the human hero develop a special friendship. Pegasus helps Bellerophon to defeat the Chimera, and they have many more adventures together. Do you have adventures with your pet(s)? What is special about your pet?

10. How do the Greek gods affect what happens to the main characters of the stories? Are they always helpful? In what ways are the gods just like humans?