Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. List 6-8 Ancient Greek gods and goddesses. What are some key beliefs that the Ancient Greeks had about their gods and goddesses?

Teaching Suggestion: Although The Hidden Oracle takes place in contemporary times, students will understand its action and characters more fully with a basic background in Ancient Greek mythology and religion. This prompt might be used initially to gather data on what students already know and to activate their existing schemas. These and similar resources might be helpful in establishing additional context and knowledge. After some investigation time, students can revise their answers to demonstrate their increased understanding.

• This 12-minute video introduces the most important Greek gods and goddesses.
• This 3-minute video from National Geographic explores religious beliefs of the Ancient Greeks.

2. Who is Apollo? Based on legends, myths, and stories that include this figure, what are his traits? What is he the god of?

Teaching Suggestion: The Hidden Oracle features several gods and demigods, but its main focus is Apollo. If students watch the first video linked above, they will have some information about Apollo that they can use to offer a preliminary answer to this prompt.