4 ELEMENTS

Project logo
Improve the foreign language learning and intercultural competences of adults through e-learning

The project

FOUR ELEMENTS is an initiative called to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of culture and heritage as well as to train educators working with adult learners who want to improve their skills and competences necessary in today’s EU labour market.

The project will take advantage of the potential of the common European cultural values associated to the 4 elements earth, water, air and fire) to empower adults to improve their digital, foreign language and intercultural competences.

The partnership expects to develop and deliver innovative teaching materials presented in a culturally accessible E-book consisting of European legends and stories – giving visibility to the underlying common EU values and principles, especially adapted to learners with special needs.

To achieved such objectives, partners will develop:

An interactive map: a collection of legends and stories related to earth, water, air and fire, in different EU countries.

Digital Books with national legends and stories related to the four elements.

Methodological recommendations for adult educators.

To find more information, access the Four Elements platform here.

Digital books

The nations of Europe all have rich cultures of myth and folklore which give the different regions their particular individual flavour. Here we have grouped traditional stories from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain according to the four elements: earth, air, wind and fire.

They are specially adapted to adult learners and can be used to develop language or ICT skills among your students while enhancing intercultural understanding.

Alongside the stories, this digital book contains interactive exercises and is in Easy Read format. All the material in it can be downloaded and printed. Teachers and trainers will find tips and suggestions for how to use it on the Recommendations section of this site.

European partnership

Four Elements is an Erasmus+ KA204 project designed to highlight the importance of culture and heritage at European Union level. It aims to train educators working with adult learners to enable them to acquire the skills and competences, including linguistic and digital skills and competences, required in the European labour market.

The project is coordinated by : CVO EduKempen (Belgium). The partnership also includes DomSpain Consulting (Spain), The Central Library of Võru County (Estonia), Les Apprimeurs (France), Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy), Slovenian Third Age University (Slovenia), MyArtist (Greece).

Erasmus+ project

Erasmus logo The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The imprisoned giant

MYTH

Main element: Earth

Language of the original: Greek

Origin of the legend: Greek mythology

To find more information about the legend, access the Four Elements platform here.

Once upon a time, when the gods were in charge of everything that happened on earth, the giants rebelled and tried to overthrow them. The gods had nothing to be afraid of, but the giants were enormous, ugly, had sharp teeth and were extremely strong.

When the giants fought against each other, they used to throw whole mountains instead of rocks and they picked up islands with their hands to use them as shields. Every time a giant fell down on the ground, their mother (Earth) gave them more powers than they had before.

So the gods were a little bit anxious about how they were going to fight against them. The gods had a lot of weapons and shields that Hephaestus had made especially for them, but they were terrified about how they would be able to win the fight with the giants, whose powers were changing all the time. They asked Hercules for advice because he had defeated a giant before.

Hercules advised them to pick up the giants and kill them in the air, so that they would not be able to step on the earth and gain more powers. The gods followed Hercules’ advice. They picked up and defeated all the giants in the air, until there was just one left. This was a giant named Earthquake. Athena was fighting him on an island in the Mediterranean, named Sicily.

They fought for many days, until Athena thought to use his own powers to defeat him. She picked up a mountain and threw it directly at the giant. Ever since that day, the giant has been trapped under that mountain. Every time he gains some power and tries to free himself from under the mountain, an earthquake occurs.

Ο φυλακισμένος γίγαντας

Μύθος

Στοιχείο: Γη

Γλώσσα του πρωτοτύπου: Ελληνικά

Συγγραφέας: Greek mythology

Για να βρείτε περισσότερες πληροφορίες σχετικά με το μύθο, αποκτήστε πρόσβαση στην πλατφόρμα των 4 στοιχείων εδώ.

Μια φορά και έναν καιρό, όταν ακόμη οι θεοί του Ολύμπου ήταν υπεύθυνοι για τη ζωή στη Γη, οι Γίγαντες επαναστάτησαν, θέλοντας να είναι οι ίδιο πλέον υπεύθυνοι. Οι θεοί δεν είχαν κάτι να φοβηθούν, αλλά οι Γίγαντες ήταν τεράστιοι, άσχημοι, με κοφτερά δόντια και πολύ δυνατοί.

Όταν οι Γίγαντες πάλευαν μεταξύ τους, πετούσαν ο ένας στον άλλο ολόκληρα βουνά, αντί για πέτρες σήκωναν ολόκληρα νησιά και τα χρησιμοποιούσαν σαν ασπίδες. Το αξιοθαύμαστο είναι ότι κάθε φορά που ένας Γίγαντας έπεφτε στη Γη, η μητέρα τους (η Γη) τους έδινε καινούργιες δυνάμεις.

Για το λόγο αυτό, οι θεοί ήταν λίγο αγχωμένοι που είχαν να αντιμετωπίσουν τους Γίγαντες. Οι θεοί είχαν πολλά όπλα και ασπίδες που ο Ήφαιστος είχε φτιάξει αποκλειστικά για αυτούς, αλλά φοβόντουσαν ότι μπορεί να μην ήταν ικανοί να νικήσουν τους Τιτάνες που οι δυνάμεις τους συνεχώς μεταβάλλονταν. Έτσι αποφάσισαν να ρωτήσουν τον Ηρακλή που είχε νικήσει ένα Γίγαντα.

Ο Ηρακλής τούς συμβούλευσε να σηκώνουν τους Γίγαντες στον αέρα και να τους σκοτώνουν εκεί, χωρίς να ακουμπούν στη Γη. Έτσι θα κέρδιζαν επιπρόσθετες δυνάμεις. Οι θεοί ακολούθησαν τη συμβουλή του Ηρακλή και πολεμούσαν με τους Γίγαντες στον αέρα, μέχρι που τους νίκησαν όλους εκτός από έναν. Η Αθηνά πάλευε με έναν Γίγαντα με το όνομα Εγκέλαδο σε ένα νησί της Μεσογείου, τη Σικελία.

Πάλευαν για πολλές μέρες, μέχρι που η Αθηνά αποφάσισε να τον νικήσει με τα δικά του όπλα, έτσι σήκωσε ένα βουνό και το πέταξε απευθείας στο Γίγαντα. Από τότε, ο Εγκέλαδος είναι παγιδευμένος κάτω από το βουνό και κάθε φορά που ανακτά τις δυνάμεις του και προσπαθεί να ελευθερωθεί από το βουνό, ένας σεισμός συμβαίνει στη Γη.

(ΠΑΥΛΟΥ, ΚΟΥΡΟΥ and ΠΑΝΟΥΤΣΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ, 2006
ΠΑΥΛΟΥ, Α., ΚΟΥΡΟΥ, Α. and ΠΑΝΟΥΤΣΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ, Μ. (2006). Η Γη χορεύει. Μύθοι και αλήθειες απ΄ όλο τον κόσμο για τους σεισμούς. Αθήνα: ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ ΠΑΤΑΚΗ, pp.8-9.