The Song of Achilles Lesson Plan

Mythmaking

Kind of Activity:

Creative Writing

Objective:

Creatively reinterpret a figure from Greek mythology, as Madeline Miller did with Patroclus.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.9

Structure:

In The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller takes figures from myth and makes them seem like real people. What are some of the techniques she uses to do this? As a class, brainstorm a few, and encourage students to pull specific examples from the book.
One thing in particular to note is how the status of "hero" affects a character's life. For example:

"The bow of Heracles,” Philoctetes named it, “given to me at his death.” In our lands...