Local Third Graders Visit the Ancient Corinth Museum
Assistant Director of the Corinth Excavations, Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst, with third grade students during the mythology scavenger hunt
On December 2, 2011, 25 eight-year-olds from the elementary school of Ancient Corinth filled the Museum with their energy and excitement to see ancient representations of the Gods.  After a brief introduction discussing the deities, as well as Pegasus and Medusa, and their attributes, the students were divided in 5 teams to compete in a mythological scavenger hunt.  With photos from the ASCSA Archive in hand, they ran off searching for the statue shown on their photo.  Their enthusiasm was great when they located their Gods.  While discussing the statues, there were some difficult questions.  Why was Aphrodite naked?  Did we have Gorgon’s head in the museum with the living snakes still attached?  Then the kids drew the divinity they liked best.  Many thought Artemis was fun because of her dress, arrows and bow; Dionysus, because he was easy to draw; and Aphrodite because she was beautiful.  Back at school discussing their field trip, they reported that they liked it because they were always doing something and so they did not get bored.  They also learned new things such as, thyrsus, gorgoneion, and omphalos, to add to the many things they already knew.  Surely the chocolates handed out at the end made everybody — students, teachers, and guards — extra happy.