Pegasus in the Second Grade Classroom Sample Mythology Resource Handout Marianna Mayer's Pegasus retells the classical Greek myth of Pegasus, the winged horse, and his rider Bellerophon. With help from the goddess Athena, Bellerophon befriends Pegasus, and the two work as a team to defeat the chimera. This children's mythology book would be an effective text for a second grade classroom to provide material for lessons in history, literature, geography, and art. The unit begins with a literary focus on the story of Pegasus.
Students mark Greece on the world map on the west wall of the classroom with a picture of Pegasus.
Lessons on ancient Greek religion use blocks to build columned temples and make charts of gods, goddesses, and their realms. Then, using red clay and black acylic paint, they make their own black-figure vases to illustrate their favorite scenes from Pegasus. In the second part, students examine the late Roman style of Craft's illustrations, focusing of the portrait of Athena on page 20. Craft uses patterned borders and varied tones of the same colors in each illustration. Each portrait should have a patterned border, one dominant color, and an identifying symbol of the god.