Heracles the Lion-Hearted: Homeric Hymn Reading & Classroom Activity

Heracles (Hercules)
as a constellation in the night sky

Hercules (or, in Greek, Heracles) is one of those mythological figures who never seems to fade away. Whether he’s wrestling lions, cleaning impossible stables, or starring in Disney movies, Heracles has captured imaginations for centuries. Today, let’s look at a short ancient hymn that celebrates him as the mighty son of Zeus.

This passage comes from a collection called the Homeric Hymns, written thousands of years ago in praise of the gods and heroes. It’s brief but powerful—just like Hercules himself.

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📖 Reading Passage

Homeric Hymn XV: To Heracles the Lion-Hearted

I will sing of Heracles, the son of Zeus and much the mightiest of men on earth.

Alcmene bore him in Thebes, the city of lovely dances, when the dark-clouded Son of Cronos had lain with her. 

Once, he used to wander over unmeasured tracts of land and sea at the bidding of King Eurystheus, and himself did many deeds of violence and endured many; 

But now he lives happily in the glorious home of snowy Olympus, and has neat-ankled Hebe for his wife.

Hail, lord, son of Zeus! Give me success and prosperity.

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📝 Vocabulary

• Lion-hearted – exceptionally brave, courageous

• Cronos – the Titan father of Zeus, often linked with time and power

• Alcmene – mortal mother of Heracles

• Eurystheus – the king who commanded Heracles to complete the famous Twelve Labors

• Olympus – the mountain home of the gods in Greek mythology

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❓ Five Quick Questions

1. Who are the parents of Heracles?

2. Where was Heracles born?

3. Who ordered Heracles to perform his famous labors?

4. According to the hymn, where does Heracles live now?

5. What request does the singer make at the end of the hymn?

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✨ Teacher Tip

This short hymn is a perfect bell-ringer activity! Students can practice close reading, connect Heracles to what they know from popular culture, and review key mythological figures like Zeus, Cronos, and Hebe.

If you’d like ready-to-use Greek mythology resources—including reading cards, comprehension questions, writing prompts, and classroom activities—check out my growing collection on Stones of Erasmus, including Heracles. They’re great for middle and high school ELA and Humanities classrooms, aligned to standards, and designed to make mythology come alive.

Quick Question Key: The answer key is included in the easy-to-share PDF (see link at the end of this post).

👉 Explore my mythology teaching resources here!

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Energize Students with Quick Activity: Critical Thinking & Movement for Engagement

Revitalize your classroom dynamics with an interactive activity that boosts student engagement and fosters critical thinking. Discover how positioning students based on their opinions on controversial topics like myths and relationships not only energizes them but also prompts insightful discussions on peer influence and the Socratic method. Suitable for grades seven and up. Share your experiences!

If you’re looking for a quick method to energize your students, particularly if they appear sluggish or disinterested at the beginning or end of a class, set aside three to four minutes for this activity. Initially, they might groan, but then you present them with a scenario. 

 

You’ll ask a question and instruct students to position themselves in the classroom based on their response: those with an emphatic “yes” to one side, an emphatic “no” to the opposite side, and the undecided or “wishy-washy” in the middle. The closer a student stands to either side, the stronger their feelings about the topic. 

 

For instance, you could pose a question like, “Was Narcissus right to reject Echo’s love?” or “Does this myth accurately represent aspects of romantic relationships or unrequited love?” The more controversial or thought-provoking the question, the more engaged the students will become. As they move around the room, they not only physically activate but also engage in critical thinking, determining their stance on the issue. 

 

Observing students who are indecisive, watching where their friends go, and then following, provides an opportunity to address the influence of peer pressure in a gentle manner. This activity is not only a fun way to get students moving but also fosters critical thinking and encourages a Socratic method of engagement. 

I have implemented this strategy with students as young as seventh grade and with high schoolers. Have you tried this approach before? I’m eager to hear your thoughts and experiences.

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Things in My Type ‘B’ Classroom that just Makes Sense

Welcome to 'Things in My Type ‘B’ Classroom that Just Makes Sense,' a unique exploration of the unconventional yet harmonious world of a Type B classroom. In this post, we delve into the charmingly unorganized library, the intriguing 'Random Bowls,' and the essential first aid kit, each element artfully contributing to the distinctiveness of our learning environment. 

Discover how these seemingly haphazard items are not merely decorative but integral to our educational fabric, fostering an atmosphere of discovery and engagement. Join us as we celebrate the eclectic and purposeful arrangement that defines the spirit of a Type B classroom, where every item has a story and every corner a lesson.

In my Type Two classroom, a charmingly unorganized library coexists with a ‘Random Bowl’ and a first aid kit, nestled beside another ‘Random Bowl.’ Each element, though appearing haphazard, subtly underscores the distinctiveness of a Type B classroom. Here, an assorted collection of items isn’t just decorative; they’re integral, seamlessly weaving into the fabric of our learning space. This arrangement fosters an atmosphere where eclectic, unconventional elements find harmony and purpose, enhancing the sense of discovery and engagement in our educational journey.

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A Fourth Grader's Optimism: Who Needs Some Inspiration? (Especially After the Tumultuous Events in Washington, D.C. this Week!)

Feeling the need to be inspired, I found this post-it note on a bulletin board at the school where I am a high school English teacher. I teach in a K-12 school in the New York City borough of Queens.

Julian in Fourth Grade doles out a massive dose of encouragement.

Needing Positivity this Week (For Sure!)

I am usually the teacher who brings positivity to the classroom. But lately, I have been feeling down-and-out. Maybe it's the global pandemic that has swept the world, or maybe it's the attack on our democratic institutions on Wednesday that threw the nation's Capitol building into lockdown. A large group of Trump-inspired far-right rioters breached security protocol and entered the federal building, breaking glass, vandalizing the Speaker of the House's office, and even infiltrating the Senate chambers — where just an hour before, legislators had convened to accept certified electoral college votes from the states — to follow through with the Constitutional process to de facto validate the election of the next President of the United States, Mr. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Inspiring Note from a Fourth Grader

And I saw this note from a Fourth grader. Kids at this age have an optimism and clarity for both big-spectacled dreams as well as practical sense. Who doesn't want the world changed for the better? But I love how he admits it is a challenge. And kudos for his marvelous grammatical construction — "Changing the world isn't easy, but anyone can."

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Found Art: A Kid's Doodle of their Messy Teacher Found in a Notebook

So one of my students drew a picture of me and I found it in their notebook.

Some doodles found in a student's class notebook - can be fun - or, just shows you how much kids notice. They do see you everyday cuz you're always the front and center of the class. Duh.

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Photograph & Rant: "Sharpen Your Mind!"

In this post, I supply a photograph I took of a battered pencil sharpener along with a short quip on a sharpener's importance in a teacher's classroom.

An orange, beat-up pencil sharpener is affixed to a wall.

Even in the age of computers, it is still nice to know pencil sharpeners have a use. Any classroom teacher will tell you that one of the more valuable objects in their possession is the pencil sharpener — many are affixed to the wall so no one will take it away.

image credit: Greig Roselli © 2010

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Re:”What Makes a Great Teacher”

An article in the latest issue of Atlantic Monthly on what makes great teachers revived my spirit a bit.     After reading the article, I realized that growing up I thought of my best teachers as magical beings, as if they had possessed something we didn’t and they were willing to pass that magic on to us. I know. I had a heavy infatuation with teachers as a kid. So I am biased. And now, I am a high school English teacher. So there is that.
Obviously, good teachers are not superheroes.
     They have foibles just like the rest of us. But, we have to stop thinking that “good teaching” is some mystery that lies in the realm of the unknown. As if the skill of teaching is an intangible thing that cannot be taught. There are qualities that one can detect in a teacher. When you meet a good teacher you realize they are never satisfied. Good teachers say stuff like this to visitors to their classroom: "' You’re welcome to come, but I have to warn you — I am in the middle of just blowing up my classroom structure and changing my reading workshop because I think it’s not working as well as it could.'" Good teachers are constantly re-evaluating their methods and constantly looking for ways to make the learning environment better.

• Good teachers “avidly recruit students and other teachers into the process.” I know this to be true. Good teachers create a vibe that sends the message: “let’s be a part of this.”
• Good teachers maintain focus and ensure that everything they do in the classroom contributes to the learning process. I chuckle at this sign of a good teacher because it reminds me of a teacher I had who would always use every opportunity as a learning moment, to such an extent that we as students were not always aware of it. We might be collecting cool quotes to put into our notebooks, not realizing he was teaching us how to be better researchers.
• Good teachers plan exhaustively and purposefully, planning backward from the desired goal. Yes, I agree this is a good sign of a great teacher. They have broad goals they want their students to reach and make sure every lesson somehow inches toward that goal. The work is in the details. It takes a mammoth amount of creative energy to accomplish this feat.
• Good teachers seem not to complain about the system, but work relentlessly despite the combined efforts of budget, poverty, and budgetary shortcomings. The converse of this is those good teachers often are ground down by bureaucracy and quit due to burnout.

In a nutshell: Good teachers have grit.
      Here is a different video than what I originally had seen on the Atlantic's web site on the "Manager Teacher" (a model I would like to emulate). The original video was taken down and I cannot find it, but this video is sufficient for what I want to showcase. Notice two things: how the teacher has the students' full attention (that did not come out of thin air) and how from the beginning she demands from students to illustrate their understanding of what they need to do. But she is concise and she uses "economy of language" — and then the students get to work!

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Poem: "apple-faced kids"

when the clock sounds

the apple-faced kids

rush to class

not to learn

but to whiz in their heads

the wonders of the world

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When a Classroom Lesson Does Not Go As Planned: Where the Wild Things Are

Max sails to the island of the Wild Things
(Image Credit: Max Sendak)

Notes from my teacher diary on a lesson that went south:

Human nature is funky. Take Max, from the Sendak story: brazen and ferocious, ruler over the beasts. Example: stretch your brain and your brain bleeds. The kids become restless. The Wild Things pervade. I forgot to get the book to read to my students and therefore the entire lesson faltered a bit. I wonder sometimes if words can ever be restored; can a word marry itself with unadulterated passion? Can Max ever reconcile the beast-logic with home?

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