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Does anyone have any ideas for simple, home made, carnival/party games that can relate to Greek myths?

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At our HS co-op I teach an intro to world mythology class to 4-8 yr olds. We're working on Greek myths for the next few weeks.

I was planning on holding a "Mythology Olympics" for the last day of the Greek unit. I am trying to make simple games that relate to certain heroes, characters and monsters (we already will have covered Gods/Goddesses). At each station they'll learn a brief, child-friendly rendition of the story and play a game.

Here are some things we had ideas for so far:

Minotaur- "labyrinth" race with these wooden mazes with marbles in them

Medusa- slay-the-gorgon game like pin the tail on the donkey, but with a medusa poster and mini stick-on swords

Odesseus slays the cyclops- knock out the cyclops eye w/bean bags

Pandora's box- box full of balloons with messages inside for all the "woes" that escape. The kids have to catch them and sit on them to pop them. Winner gets hope.

Trojan horse-- pinata

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  1. Oh man, you have so many good ideas I don't know if anyone will be come up with any more!  I actually thought of the cyclops thing too, and while I had a different myth idea for a pin the tail on the donkey type of game, the actual game would have been the same.  The Minotaur I wouldn't have thought of, since that came along with the Minoans before the classical Greek civilization settled on Crete.  

    Hmmm.... you could do a scavenger hunt modeled after Jason and the golden fleece.  Get something to represent the fleece, perhaps some fake sheep skin spray painted with gold paint... and you hide it,  then you give the a clue, which if it is followed correctly, will lead them to the next clue, and the next, until they find it.  You could have different routes for different teams, all leading to the same place in the same number of steps if the clues are followed correctly.  Two or three teams are probably plenty, so you don't have to think of too many routes.

    If I think of more I'll come back.

    Oh!  What about for Icarus you have a paper airplane contest (since Icarus flew too close the sun).  You could get some paper airplane instructions for three or four different types, and then have the kids decorate them like Icarus' wings, also take a hula hoop and make paper sun rays all around the edge, hang up your "sun" on a rope, the kids try to get their plane to sail through the hoop.


  2. what about "where is 3fates's eye?" -finders keepers

    icarus's feathers - the kids have to race across the garden/class etc with a feather on a platter without dropping it

    Atlanta's race- u can float a small cup or smth in a  bucket or plastic bottle (with its mouth cut open) and place them at intervals (3 buckets for each team).  The kids divided into teams have to stand in line each with 3small pebbles or smth else which they'll have to throw into the cup and sink it before they can run past the bottle and repeat the process over again (with the next bottle in order to passs it) till they reach the stop,  If they miss, they'll have to stop and the next in line try his luck.   If one player succeds in sinking the cup... 1)he and anyone stuck in that station are free to run to the next station. And the first team whose members are all at the stop becomes the winner.  OR 2(he can procced to the stop, and the winning team will be the one with most of its players at the stop.   I hope im making sense lol ....or another alternative to the game could be to catch the apple or rather fish out the apple with a paper-clip hook (no water needed...so It'll be more un-messy)

    Sirens - I forgot what  that game was called...the one where e.i 6ppl have to walk around the 5chairs and sit on it when the music stops.  The one who misses the chair can be called the Siren's victim :P

    Bottling Arachne.  tie a mock-arachne (candy/pencil/etc) at the end of a line and tape it to a kid's butt....and he has to get the candy/etc into the bottle without touching the line.

    ooo im running out of ideas! hehe

    well good luck and hope you have lots of fun also

  3. The 12 labors of Hercules! Have the kids complete 12 puzzles or games and give them a prize at the end. Make them do “brave” things like reach into hidden boxes that you have filled with cold, oily spaghetti, peeled grapes, Jell-O filled with dryer lint etc. and retrieve a marble. Have them race like Atlanta. You could even tape “golden apples” to the trees. Each child could have a different color “golden apple” that they have to gather as they run the race. They can try to escape the “minotaur” in the “labyrinth”. Have them find their way through obstacles around the yard; through hula hoops, over play ground equipment etc in teams of two, where one person is blindfolded and the other has to navigate for them. You can also get bows and arrows from the dollar store and have the kids compete to hit targets, as if they were Artemis. A craft could be weaving, like Arachne. This could be done with loops, like those pot holder kits you buy at craft stores, or with paper, to make checker board patterns. You could have them steal the “golden fleece” in a game reminiscent of Red Light / Green Light. Have them run a traditional egg race, but as Prometheus trying to bring fire to the mortals. For added challenge, have the gods (parents) pelt the Prometheans with lightening bolts (water balloons) as they run. You could have them attempt to lasso Pegasus. This can be as simple as a stick horse and a ring made of rope. You can play a game of Get the Gold, but call it guarding Pandora ’s Box, or guarding the Golden Apples. Have two or three teams that are all trying to guard their treasure, while stealing everyone else’s. You set up a banana split buffet and ask the kids to make Ambrosia. ….Anything along those lines works. Have fun with it!

  4. For the pinata, how about toy soldiers?  They wouldn't be Greek most likely, but you could put them in with the candy.

    For Icarus, how about something with wax?  Gee, I'm drawing a blank....

    You've got a good start.  I would do the "pin the tail" thing with Achilles - whomever gets the arrow closest to his heel.

    For Poseidon, what about bobbing for "him" with apples?

    Anything you do will be fun, can we come???  :-)

    I didn't know *any* mythology before I started HS'ing.  It's one thing I've loved learning along with my son.  :-)

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