• Students will become familiar with ancient Greek epinician odes and their basic components, and draw a connection between them and modern-day song lyrics.

• Students will research epinician odes, athletes, and song lyrics.

• Students will compose an epinician ode to honor an Olympic gold-medal winning athlete.

• Students will memorize their ode and perform it in class.

• Internet research

• Concept of Greek gods and mythology

• Lyrics of a song

• Information about epinician odes, Olympic athletes and the city or country they represent, and song lyrics.

• Rubric (Olympic Ode Scoring Guide is attached)

DAY ONE
1.  Begin with a discussion about favorite songs including the lyrics and style of music.
2.  Play one of your favorite songs.
3.  Display the lyrics and discuss the meaning.
4.  Tell students that in ancient Greece poets were hired to write lyrics to immortalize an Olympic athlete's victory and these poems were called epinician odes.
5.  Create teams of students. Assign research on the Internet or in the library to find out information about this style of poetry, advising them that tomorrow they will be asked to share what they have found out.

DAY TWO
1.  Have a spokesperson from each team share their findings.
2.  List the essential elements epinician odes included.
3.  Discuss how the poets wove into the odes a myth that connected the athlete to the gods, helping students realize that ancient Greeks believed the gods controlled their lives.
4.  Ask students if athletes today may or may not believe in some divine intervention.
5.  Discuss briefly the different religious backgrounds of the athletes.
6.  Tell students their assignment is to compose an epinician ode in groups of two to immortalize an award-winning athlete of their choice and that since we probably are not sure about the athletes' belief systems that prayers to the gods or God are not required.
7.  Tell students their ode may follow the lyrical style of any song they choose, and that they will be required to memorize and perform the ode to the class.  Singing it would be optional.
8.  Hand out the rubric for the project, discuss, and have students form teams of two.
9.  Begin planning and research.

DAY THREE
Continue to research lyrics and athletes.

DAY FOUR
Finish research and begin composing epinician ode.

DAY FIVE
1.  Create a performance order.
2.  Finish composing by the end of class to begin memorizing.

DAY SIX
Finish memorizing.

DAY SEVEN and EIGHT
Present performances.

• Depending upon the age of your students, you may want to give them a specific style of poetry to use as a structure rather than lyrics.

• Consider having students work together, but each composing their own odes.

• This project would need to take place towards the end of the Olympics to access a wide choice of gold-medal winning athletes. 

• As athletes are featured at the official Olympic Internet site, print copies of their profiles.

• See attached Olympic Odes Scoring Guide rubric and adapt as appropriate to your students.

• A search for information on epinician odes can be made directly at the the official Olympics site by selecting search on the Web.

Poetry of Praise - Pindar's Epinician Odes : Information about epinician odes

Olympic Museum Gallery : For inspiration download the videos and narratives from the Olympic Museum Gallery

Song Lyrics : For song lyrics

• Computer(s)
• Internet Web Browser

• If needed, give them a simple song or specific style of poetry to use as a structure for their ode.

Gifted Students :

• If musically gifted, strongly suggest requiring student to perform their song as well.