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The Olympian Myths
Cast: 12 narrators, one for each god. Together they are the Chorus.
Zeus
Hera
Athena
Poseidon (and Hades)
Dionysus
Hephaestus
Demeter (and Callisto)
Hermes (and pirate)
Apollo (and pirate)
Ares
Aphrodite (and Persephone)
Artemis
Chorus stands in two lines facing the audience at an angle at each side of the stage. Gods stand at the back of the stage
Chorus:
We welcome you to see our play
Of gods who never die
The greatest twelve of all did dwell
On Mount Olympus high
Narrator for Zeus:
The king of all the gods is Zeus.
Enter Zeus
Zeus is the most powerful of all the gods, and he is master of the sky. With his
thunderbolt he can destroy anything, and make any god do whatever he wants. Zeus
is the father of many gods, including Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis,
Hermes, and Dionysus.
Narrator for Hera:
Zeus’s wife is Hera, the queen of the gods.
Enter Hera, standing next to Zeus
Hera is the goddess of wives and marriage. Her husband’s many love affairs make
her furious, and she has often punished his lovers and his children. She sent a
snake to kill baby Heracles, but Heracles was so strong he strangled it.
Narrator for Athena:
The wise goddess of war and crafts is Athena. She was born from Zeus’s head
already armed with helmet, shield and spear.
Enter Athena
Narrator for Poseidon:
The god of the sea is Poseidon, brother of Zeus. He can start storms and
earthquakes with a stroke of his trident.
Enter Poseidon next to Athena, strokes ground with trident. Everyone makes a
storm noise.
Narrator for Athena:
Poseidon and Athena both wanted to be the god of
Narrator for Poseidon:
Poseidon struck the rock of the Acropolis with his trident, and a stream
of salty water sprang out. Athena stamped her foot, and there grew the first
olive tree. Olives are good for eating and for oil, but no one can drink salt
water. The gods made Athena the winner and the city was named after her.
Athena and Poseidon perform actions
Narrator for Dionysus:
The god of wine and theatre is Dionysus.
Dionysus steps forward, pirates attack. Dionysus raises grapevine, turns pirates
into dolphins
Dionysus taught people how to make wine. On one sea journey his ship was
attacked by pirates. The god made the ship sprout all over with grapevines. The
oars turned to snakes, and lions appeared from nowhere. The terrified pirates
dived into the sea, but Dionysus turned them into dolphins.
Narrator for Hephaestus:
The god of smiths, of fire and metalwork, is Hephaestus.
Enter Hephaestus limping, then Hera. She shoves him and he rolls onto the floor.
He was born with a bad leg, and his mother Hera threw him down from Olympus. [pause]
In revenge he made her a magic throne. [pause]
When she sat on it her bottom stuck and she could not get up.
Hephaestus takes hammer and makes chair, then sends it to Hera, who sits and is
stuck
Dionysos came to the rescue. He got Hephaestus drunk on wine and persuaded him
to free his mother.
Dionysos gives Hephaestus wine in a bowl; he frees his mother
Narrator for Demeter:
The goddess of farming and fruit is Demeter.
Enter Demeter, then Persephone and Hades; Hades takes Persephone away; Demeter
wanders;
The god of the underworld, Hades, stole her daughter Persephone to be his wife.
Demeter sadly wandered the world in search of her daughter. All this time the
earth was cold and nothing would grow.
Everyone shivers. Zeus makes Hades give her back
At last Zeus forced Hades to allow Persephone to spend half the year with her
mother and half with Hades. This is why the crops grow in spring and summer,
when Persephone is with Demeter, but not in winter, when she is with Hades.
Narrator for Hermes:
The messenger of the gods is Hermes. He can fly at great speeds with his winged
feet.
Enter Hermes whizzing round, then Apollo reading
Narrator for Apollo:
The god of light and the sun is Apollo. He is also the god of music and
poetry.
Narrator for Hermes:
Hermes stole some of Apollo’s cattle. He then invented the lyre, a musical
instrument like a small harp.
Hermes leads off cows, gets lyre
Narrator for Apollo:
Apollo was angry with Hermes. But then he heard the lovely sound of the lyre,
and he accepted it in return for his cows. He soon became a master on the
instrument, and is now the god of music.
Hermes gives Apollo lyre, he plays it
Narrator for Ares:
The god of war is Ares. He enjoys bloodshed, and in wars often helps one side
against the other.
Enter Ares swinging sword, then Aphrodite
Narrator for Aphrodite:
The beautiful goddess of love is Aphrodite. She was born out of a giant shell,
and had a magic belt that could make anyone fall in love with her. Her husband
is Hephaestus.
Ares and Aphrodite put arms round each other
Narrator for Ares:
Ares and Aphrodite had a love affair. Hephaestus was jealous. He made a magic
net from bronze and trapped them in it.
Narrator for Aphrodite:
The gods came round to laugh at the helpless lovers. Hephaestus only freed them
when Ares paid him some money.
Hephaestus makes net, traps them. Gods laugh. Ares pays him; Hephaestus frees
them
Narrator for Artemis:
The goddess of hunting and the moon is Artemis, twin sister of Apollo.
Enter Artemis, firing bow, with dogs. Enter Callisto, pregnant. Artemis turns
her into a bear
With her silver bow and her dogs she spends her time hunting. She has never had
children, and expects her friends to do the same. One of these friends,
Callisto, became pregnant. Artemis was furious and turned her into a bear. The
dogs wanted to tear Callisto to pieces. Zeus saved her by turning her into a
constellation of stars called the Great Bear.
Zeus puts stars round Callisto’s neck, sends her off into the sky.
Chorus:
The gods of
We pray to them each day
And now our ancient tales are done
We hope you liked our play.
Everyone bows
Poseidon
Pronunciation:
Zeus
Zoose
Hera
HAIR-a
Athena
A-THEE-na
Poseidon
Puh-SYE-dun
Hephaestus
Heh-FYE-stus
Demeter
Duh-MEE-ter
Hermes
HER-meez
Apollo
A-POLL-oe
Aphrodite
Afruh-DYE-tee
Persephone
Per-SEF-uh-nee
Ares
AIR-eez
Artemis
AR-tuh-miss
Dionysus
Dye-uh-
Hades
HAY-deez
Callisto
Cuh-LISS-toe
Acropolis
Uh-CROP-uh-liss