Five Roman Mythology Skits

Teach your students about ancient Roman and Greek mythology by having them act out the myths themselves! Great for grouping.

These skits were written for a Latin Summer Camp for 4th-8th graders, and are suitable to be read/performed by anyone late elementary school and up. Elementary, Middle, and High Schoolers will all enjoy them. Skits last 5-10 minutes each. Skits can be performed with as few as 3 actors if doubling of parts is used (which is recommended); around 5 actors per skit is optimal.

The skits rely on dialogue and assume little or no props or scenery. You may choose to stage them with more, but they are written to make sense with very minimal staging.

To extend the students’ learning and fun, I recommend having them make masks for their character(s). The Greeks and Romans staged their plays with masks, so you can use these skits to teach your students about both ancient mythology and ancient theater!

All deities are referred to by Roman names. If you prefer Greek names, you may edit them yourself or reach out to me and I can edit them for you!

The Skits:

• Perseus and Medusa (4 pages)
• Theseus and the Minotaur (4 pages)
• Ceres and Proserpina (3 pages)
• Aeneas’s Journey (4 pages)
• Romulus and Remus (4 pages)

Synopses:

• The hero Perseus is challenged by an evil king to kill Medusa, the snake-haired monster whose stare turns people to stone. With the help of Minerva (Athena), Mercury (Hermes), Pluto (Hades), and Jupiter (Zeus), Perseus kills the monster, saves the beautiful Andromeda, and comes home to rescue his mother from the evil king.
• The hero Theseus's father is forced to send 14 young people to Crete every year to be eaten by the Minotaur, a half-man half-bull monster, in the Labyrinth. With the help of Ariadne, Theseus kills the Minotaur and escapes. He then abandons Ariadne on an island and accidentally causes his father's death, reminding us that not all Greek heroes are particularly good people.
• The Romans explain the seasons: Ceres (Demeter) loses her daughter Proserpina (Persephone) when Pluto (Hades) steals her. Her mourning causes all plant life on Earth to die, so Jupiter (Zeus) makes a compromise.
• The hero Aeneas survives the destruction of Troy (including the Trojan horse) with the help of his mother Venus (Aphrodite). He goes on a long journey and meets Dido, queen of Carthage, who falls in love with him and curses him when he leaves. Aeneas finally lands in Italy to fulfill his destiny: creating the people who will become the Romans.
• Romulus and Remus are thrown into a river as babies, but saved by a she-wolf and a shepherd. They restore their grandfather to his rightful throne in their homeland, but can't get along when they try to found their own city. Romulus kills Remus and becomes the founder of Rome.