Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus: how the myth inspired the painting | English

Starter quiz

Creative people – writers, painters, sculptors etc. – are often inspired by other pieces of art they have read, seen, listened to or heard of. What does it mean to be inspired?
- to copy someone else's work but put it in a different format
- to mimic someone else's work and referring to them throughout
- to be motivated to create something after experiencing someone else's work ✓
- to compare your work to someone else's and explain the differences
In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we are going to read a story in which Greece, Athens and Crete are important locations. Match each place to a fact about it.
- Greece
  
  ⇔
  
  a country in southeastern Europe ✓
- Crete
  
  ⇔
  
  a large island in the Mediterranean sea ✓
- Athens
  
  ⇔
  
  a capital city ✓
In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we explore a story called the Fall of Icarus, a famous Greek myth. What is a myth?
- a story telling people how to behave
- a truthful account of the history of a nation
- an ancient story ✓
- a story often explaining what the world is like and why ✓
- a long narrative poem
In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we will look at a range of different stories. There are so many different ways to tells stories. Match each text type to its definition.
- myth
  
  ⇔
  
  stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like ✓
- legend
  
  ⇔
  
  a story about humans, often seeming historical but still fictitious ✓
- poem
  
  ⇔
  
  a piece of writing written in stanzas and with a close focus on rhythm ✓
- painting
  
  ⇔
  
  a visual art in which colour and brushes are used to convey meaning ✓
Some texts you will read in the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire' will include morals. What is a moral?
- a lesson taught through the act of story-telling ✓
- an ancient story
- a story deriving from ancient Greece
- a piece of non-fiction giving instructions
Some of the stories in 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire' inspire artwork. For example, Pieter Bruegel painted a picture in around 1558 inspired by a myth. What is true of the year 1558?
- It is the time of ancient Greek civilisation.
- It is part of the 16th century. ✓
- Shakespeare was alive in 1558.
- It is part of the Victorian era.
- Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne in Britain. ✓

Exit quiz

In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', one of the myths is called 'The Fall of Icarus'. Match the most important characters from this myth to what we know about them.
- Daedalus
  
  ⇔
  
  a renowned inventor ✓
- Icarus
  
  ⇔
  
  a boy who drowns ✓
- King Minos
  
  ⇔
  
  a king who imprisons two of his subjects ✓
- Theseus
  
  ⇔
  
  a man who escapes a labyrinth created by Daedalus ✓
Starting with the first, put these plot points from the myth 'the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  King Minos imprisons Daedalus and Icarus.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Daedalus creates wings from wax and feathers so they can fly away.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Daedalus tells his son not to fly too close to the sun.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  Icarus flies higher and higher, enjoying the feeling of flying.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  The wax begins to melt as Icarus flies close to the sun.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  Icarus falls into the sea and drowns.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  Daedalus offers his wings to the god, Apollo, and swears never to fly again.
In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we read the myth called 'The Fall of Icarus'. This myth is designed to teach us about the dangers of hubris. What does it mean to be full of hubris?
- to be excessively proud ✓
- to be excessively intelligent
- to be excessively humble
- to be excessively moral
- to be excessively inventive
In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'. The most important figures are shepherds and workers. What word best describes them?
- hubristic
- moral
- humble ✓
- mythical
- inspired
Found in many cultures, ______ are stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like and why.
- 'myths' ✓
In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting entitled '______ with the Fall of Icarus', a painting inspired by a Greek myth.
- 'Landscape' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Greek myths are stories originally told by the ancient Greeks as a way of explaining the origin and nature of the world.
Sometimes Greek myths contain morals.
The moral of the Fall of Icarus is that hubris is dangerous.
Pieter Bruegel’s 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' (c. 1558) was inspired by the Greek myth.
Bruegel’s painting celebrates the humility of labourers by making them the focus of the painting.

Common misconception

All the Greek myths have morals.

The Greek myths are not all moralistic. Indeed, the gods, mythological creatures and mortals often act in cruel, reactive, vengeful and immoral ways.

Keywords

Myth - stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like and why
Hubris - excessive pride
Humility - being modest, humble, the opposite of hubristic
Inspired - to be filled with the desire and motivation to do something
Moral - a lesson, often about how to behave, taught through a story