fee, fi, fo, fum I smell...

... a story told from another perspective :)
You may have seen my previous publication of my Cerberus and Orthrus story on Stepping into CI. There are three stories there written for my Latin 2 classes. I've also written about scientific takes on monsters in previous years (also for Latin 2 classes). 

This year, I am teaching Latin 1 and for the units on family and body parts, I decided to revisit these stories! Below my author's note, you'll see stories for Cerberus, Orthrus, Medusa, and Pliny's octopus. Enjoy :)

Author's note: This is not the full publication of these stories. My intention is to put together the stories along with images, resources, and activities to go with. I will update this with a link to all those resources when they are fully ready :) 

These stories may have mistakes in them. If you find a mistake or have a suggestion, please reach out to me and I'll take a look! If corrections/changes are made, I will send you a new PDF copy. 

As always, please do not put these stories on your own site or use professionally without giving credit. You can link people to this blog if you'd like to share my stories with other educators. Thank you!

Cerberus: familia mea

Orthrus contra Herculem

Medusa

Cerberus contra Herculem

polypus magnus

Lastly, a few quick ideas/suggestions. 

As I said above, I am going to put more resources together and publish this more fully, but for now... In my classes, we were considering the question of what makes a hero and who decides those standards. As the title of my website suggests, I tend to side with the underdog and the "monster". 

Hercules is often considered the "hero" in the tales of his labours, but how did Hydra, Orthrus, and Cerberus feel about his attacks? Orthrus was tending to his herd, Hydra was living in her river, and Cerberus guarding his home and family. Medusa is killed by the "hero" Perseus, but she is only a "monster" because of the curse of a goddess she'd sworn to commit her life to on account of a brutal assault by a god who stalked her. Who is the hero? How do we decide?

Trigger warning: The story of Medusa contains reference to rape, coercion, and lack of consent. Please approach this gently with students and only if appropriate. This story is not meant to be used without discussion and consideration. 

Grammar note: The story of Medusa uses the word petere in two contexts. The first in regards to Neptune's treatment of Medusa and uses the meaning "attack". The second in regards to Medusa's requests of Minerva after the assault and uses the meaning "beg". Both uses hopefully help the reader feel the sense of urgency, panic, and raw emotion and experience.