Theseus and the Minotaur: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Theseus and the Minotaur · meeting 1 of 3

Read: Part One, “The Black Sail”; Part Two, “Ariadne's Thread” (pages 1–5, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 5, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Why did Athens send fourteen young people to Crete every nine years?
   The story's answer: Athens had lost a war and Minos demanded them as tribute
2. What promise did Theseus make to his father before sailing?
   The story's answer: To raise a white sail if he came home alive
3. Why did Ariadne give Theseus a ball of thread?
   The story's answer: So he could find his way back out of the labyrinth
4. What does the story show about how Theseus won?
   The story's answer: He could not have done it without Ariadne's help and her thread
5. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
6. The part we just read is called "Ariadne's Thread". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
7. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Theseus and the Minotaur · meeting 2 of 3

Read: Part Three, “The Heart of the Maze” (pages 6–10, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 10, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
2. The part we just read is called "The Heart of the Maze". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
3. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Theseus and the Minotaur · meeting 3 of 3

Read: Part Four, “The White Sail” (pages 11–14, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 14, the end of the story.

1. Who was pulling on the other end of the thread in the dark?
   The story's answer: Ariadne, saying hello
2. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
3. The part we just read is called "The White Sail". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
4. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. What does this myth explain, or try to explain?
   Listen for: Many myths explain how something came to be: a season, an animal, a name.
2. Was the main character right or wrong? Was the ending fair?
   Listen for: Myths are often hard on people; let the group disagree.