Come make your very own Greek mythology golden apple out of clay! You can use this craft as a decoration and to express creativity while learning about Greek mythology. Working with clay and painting will also help children develop their fine motor skills and artistic skills. You can do this craft either at home or in the classroom, its perfect for both!
Golden Apple Craft
Did you know that the golden apple comes from Greek mythology? The golden apple was considered to be a very important symbol of the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, to the Ancient Greeks. Read more about the significance of the golden apple at the end of this article!
Related: Check out this preschool apple tree craft!
Clay greek mythology Golden apple craft
Do you want to make your own greek mythology inspired clay golden apple? Here’s a fun guide!
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Supplies needed to make your own Golden apple
how to make your own golden apple from greek mythology
Step 1
Gather your supplies together and prepare your craft area.
Step 2
Take a bit of clay and shape it into a sphere in the palm of your hand.
Step 3
Using a pinching motion, shape the sphere into a shape similar to an apple. It should be similar to a heart shape, being wider at the top and slimmer at the bottom.
Step 4
Make a thin snake of clay and cut into a small piece to be the stem of the apple. Using your toothpick, attach the stem to your apple.
Step 5
Let your clay dry or bake it according to package instructions.
Step 6
After the clay is done drying or baking and has cooled, paint a layer of yellow paint as the base. It may take a few layers of yellow paint to get it opaque.
Step 7
Using orange, red, and a little bit of brown paint shade the apple to look like gold. You can use a technique called “dry brushing” where you take a tiny amount of paint on your brush and lightly paint on the apple to resemble metal more closely.
Step 8
With light yellow and white paint, add highlights. Let the paint dry.
Step 9
Take some brown paint and a small brush, paint the stem of your apple brown.
finished greek mythology golden apple
Here’s the finished clay Greek mythology golden apple craft! Isn’t it cool?
tips to make your own clay golden apple
- Use a photo of an apple as a reference when you’re sculpting your clay into the apple shape.
- Paint in layers to achieve a more opaque look.
- Use a hair dryer to help paint dry faster.
- If you mess up, let the paint dry then you can paint over your mistake.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Active Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 45 minutes
Difficulty
Medium
Estimated Cost
$15
Materials
- Clay
- Paint brushes
- Paints
- Paint markers
- Toothpick
Instructions
- Gather supplies
- Take a bit of clay and make it into a sphere.
- Shape the sphere into a shape similar to an apple.
- Make a small snake of clay and cut into a small peice. Attach it to your apple.
- Let it dry or bake it according to package instructions.
- After the clay is done baking and has cooled, paint a layer of yellow paint.
- Using orange, red, and a little bit of brown paint shade the apple to look like gold.
- With light yellow and white paint, add highlights. Let the paint dry
- Ta-da! You’re all done!
my experience making my clay golden apple
As I have said with my other paint based crafts, I had a good time making this! I really enjoy painting, especially metallic textures. Though, I did experience some difficulties with this craft. I had a hard time painting the apple since it was hard to paint the whole thing while holding it. I kept messing up areas I had already painted and at one point broke the stem off because I was holding it too tight! Luckily I had some hot glue to glue it back on. With the paint, I resolved to take my time and to use my hair dryer to help the paint dry faster.
As for the research portion, I’m already pretty familiar with Greek mythology and I had this craft on my list of crafts and actives I eventually wanted to cover. I thought it would be fun to do a craft connected to Aphrodite, the Trojan war, and a few other myths since I haven’t done those yet. If you want to read more about those and watch a fun video, check out the section below!
the golden apple in greek mythology
The golden apple is a very prominent symbol in Greek mythology. Its most notable association is with the goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite.
The Trojan War
Before the Trojan War, the goddess of discord Eris had not been invited to the wedding of the sea nymph Thetis and the mortal king Peleus. All the other gods and goddesses had been invited and Eris was jealous, so she snuck into the party and tossed a golden apple into the crowd. She proclaimed that only the most beautiful goddess could have the apple. Aphrodite, Queen Hera, and Athena all believed that they deserved to have the apple. Zeus, not wanting anger either goddess, refused to judge who got the apple. However, Zeus had an idea.
Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, a mortal boy. The goddesses appeared before Paris and asked him to judge who was the most beautiful goddess. Each goddess offered Paris an addition gift if he picked her; Athena offered him perfect military tactics and victory in war, Hera offered him the position as the king of all of Europe and Asia, and Aphrodite offered him the opportunity to marry the most beautiful mortal woman in all Greece. Paris chose Aphrodite, causing her to win the apple.
Atalanta the Huntress
Atalanta was a beautiful huntress who was renowned for being raised by a bear, killing the Calydonian boar of Artemis, and for being a female huntress and hero. Due to her fame, men from all across Greece wanted to marry her. One of these men was Hippomenes.
Atalanta did not wish to marry just any man, so she decided that any suitor who wished to marry her must beat her in a foot race. Many men challenged her, but none of them won. Hippomenes was determined to marry her, so the night before the race he prayed to Aphrodite. Thinking that Hippomenes and Atalanta would make a cute couple, Aphrodite granted his prayers and gave him three golden apples to use.
When the foot race begun the next morning, Atalanta seemed to be winning against Hippomenes. However, Hippomenes was clever and as he gained on Atalanta he dropped one of the golden apples. The apple distracted Atalanta and she slowed down to pick it up. Quickly though, Atalanta gained on him once again, but he tossed yet another golden apple distracting her again. Hippomenes was able to outrun Atalanta and made it to the finish line just in time! Soon after, the two would marry.
Want to learn more about Atalanta? Watch the educational video below!
Video: Atalanta- A Huntress Heroine of Greek Mythology
MORE HISTORY FUN AND ACTIVITIES FROM KIDS ACTIVITIES BLOG
How did your clay golden apple turn out? Let us know in the comments!
Sources
“Aphrodite – Greek Goddess of Love & Beauty.” 2023. Theoi Greek Mythology. Accessed August 15. www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html.
Epic Tales: Greek Myths and Tales. Flame Tree Publishing, 2017.
Hesiod, Catalogues of Women Fragment 14 (from Papiri greci e latini, 2 No. 130) (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.)
Overly Sarcastic Productions.“Miscellaneous Myths: Aphrodite.” 2019. YouTube. YouTube. February 15. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIUq0pfAskU.
