Legends

Lost city of Atlantis

Legend?King Arthur

Legend?

Robin Hood

Legend?

Paul Bunyan

Legends•Folktales•Help explain the past

•Passed down from generation to generation

A Chinese Legend

Explains the Beginning of

ChinaHuangshan (the Yellow Mountains)

China’s Beginnings

Egg cracked Created sky and earth

P’an GuCame from eggFirst manGrew for 18,000 yearsdied

P’an Gu’s Body Becomes…Head split – sun and

moonBlood – rivers and seasHair – forests and meadowsPerspiration – rainBreath – windVoice - thunder

An African Legend

Explains why the sun shines more

brightly than the moon

Sun vs MoonGod created Moon

(bigger and brighter) and SunSun became jealous and attacked moonSun begged for mercySun attacked again & threw Moon into the mudMoon now was not as bright

God steps in….

• Sun brighter and shines during the day for kings and workers

• Moon shines only at night for thieves and witches

A Rumanian

LegendExplains the creation of

mountains and valleys

God made the heavens• He use a ball of

thread to measure the heavens

• Began creating earth beneath them

• Mole offered to help

Mole helps….• Mole held the

thread while God wove and shaped the earth

• Mole let out too much thread so earth was too big to fit under the heavens

• Mole was afraid and buried himself

Help from Bee

• God sent Bee to ask Mole to find out what should be done

• Mole did not answer

• So Bee had a plan…..

Bee’s Plan

• Bee hid in flowers to overhear Mole (as he would often talk out loud to himself)

• Bee heard Mole say to push mountains up and valleys in

• Bee flew away to tell God

Curse turned to Blessing….

• Mole heard Bee fly away and cursed Bee (Feed on yourself)

• God turned Mole’s curse into a blessing: Bees make honey

• Mole lives underground and is afraid to come out

Legends explain:Creation

DeedsStarsWhy maple trees have red leavesGeographic featuresMany more

Learning About the Past• Writing developed more than

5,000 years ago• Laws, poems, speeches, battle

plans, letters, contracts• Legends were then written

down• Many were thought to be fact• Archeologists and

anthropologists work together to find the truth about legends