“The Legend of Damon and Pythias” is a play based on a Greek legend. Damon and Pythias are great friends. They live in a city where there is a mean and selfish tyrant for a king. One day, Pythias speaks out against the king and some soldiers hear him. He is taken into custody and sentenced to death. When his friend Damon comes to see him, Pythias says his last dying wish is to see his mother and sister who live far away. Damon says he will make a deal with the king, and he will stay in the prison as long as Pythias is gone. Pythias leaves for 2 weeks while Damon stays in his place in the king's prison. Finally, Pythias returns at the last minute, and the crowd gathered for the execution cheers for the 2 friends. The king states that he will let both friends go, for he would give all the money in the world for a friendship like theirs.

Good questions to discuss with your child would be: What is the main idea of this story? What is the problem of the story? How do they solve it? Ask them to summarize the story and tell you what happened first, in the middle, andthen in the end.

Key Concepts to explore:

The Unit Theme is "Friendship" so you could also discuss how friends do favors for each other. Do you believe the king when he says he'd giveup all his money for a friendship like theirs? What are the responsibilities of being a friend? Sometimes friendship requires some sacrifice. True friends are loyal to each other because they trust each other.

Vocabulary:

tyrant honorable traitor
rebel appointed
Please talk about other words that mean the same thing as these vocabulary words (like tyrant = mean leader, cruel king, etc.) You could practice acting the words out, or do a charades game.

Spelling:

Review of short vowel sounds.

Try: brand, candy, plan, hobby, best, read, us, top, jump, send

Preview them, you can start with the words "us, brand, hobby, jump, send".

Story questions:

1. Why does the king agree to lock up Damon and let Pythias go? (he wants to test their friendship)

2. Why don't the robbers who trap Pythias on his trip believe his story? (they don't believe anyone would go back to prison to die once free and they don't think anyone would die for a friend)

Return to Friendship Unit