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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.
Sec. STEM Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1431336

Greek Astromythology: Intersections between Mythology History and Modern Astronomy Education

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
  • 2 State University of Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
  • 3 Federal Technological University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
  • 4 Center for Sustainable Development, University of Brasilia, Brasília, Brazil
  • 5 Centre for Environmental Policy, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This article provides a comparative assessment of the intersection between Greek Astromythology and Astronomy Education, as an interdisciplinary and intercultural contribution. The research is based on We made a qualitative assessment of narratives and concepts, using based on a a brief systematic literature review, to survey and catalog compile related academic production, with the objective of aiming to providing incorporate critical discussions on to this intersection. The findings show that there is a broad diversity of themes in Astronomy that have their roots in Greek Astromythology: 174 items in total. It was also noted that mMost stars related to Greek Astromythology, about 63%, were named in tribute to Greek culture, whereas approximately 36% of the findings correspond to elements belonging to the daily life of the Hellenic people. This shows that the Greeks' efforts to catalog various stars and think about the multiple aspects involving Astronomy resonate contemporarily and, therefore, it is imperative to contextualize the historical and cultural aspects involved in modern Astronomy science. In addition, the results identified a broad range of myths related to Astronomy, which demonstrate the significant contribution of Greek Astromythology to this science area. Hence, the use of mythology as a historical and cultural aspect of the visible constellations and planets can play a relevant contribution to scientific literacy and teaching, particularly in introductory courses of Astronomy, which are commonly developed in primary and secondary schools. Exploring this intersection at the school level can also enable the reflection, implementation, and evaluation of consistent teaching and learning indicators towards a critical education.

    Keywords: Greek mythology, Astronomy, Physics teaching, Classical philosophy, science mythology, critical pedagogy

    Received: 24 Jul 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ferreira, Orso Da Fonseca, Batista, da Silva Filho and Strapasson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marcello Ferreira, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.