Introduction
The goddess Hera hated Heracles, so the ancient Greek myths tell, because he was one of the many love-children fathered by her consort Zeus, king of the gods of Olympus. But time after times, her efforts to destroy him were frustrated.
IT was Hera who sent two snakes to devour Heracles in his cot, but he strangled them with his bare hands. It was Hera who induced a fit of madness in Heracles so great, that he slew his own children. And when the broken-hearted Heracles consulted the oracle at Delphi, it was Hera who spoke through her, telling Heracles to serve his cousin Eurystheus for twelve years.
Hera knew that Eurystheus would leap at the chance to rid himself of his rival for the throne of Tiryns, and the sly king immediately sent Heracles to the Valley of Nemea, to capture a lion with a golden hide no weapon could pierce. But Heracles wrestled with the lion, and strangled it with his bare hands.
He had some difficulty getting the skin off until Athena suggested using the animal’s own claw. But he wore it for his homecoming, scaring Eurystheus so badly that he hid in a large winejar, and communicated thereafter through his herald.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Some. Speak. Tell.
2 Hide. No. Suggest.
3 Broken. Own. Spoke.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
ht (7)
hat. hate. heat. hit. hoot. hot. hut.
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