Easy Greek Mythology Shield Craft

Learn how to make a super fun Greek Mythology inspire Shield Craft based off the myth of Perseus! Making this Greek Mythology Shield Craft will be super fun and easy! You’ll get to paint your very own shield, color a printable coloring page, and learn about greek mythology! This easy Greek Mythology Shield craft is great for kids of all ages and can be done at home or in the classroom. You can use your Greek Mythology inspired shield to decorate your walls, for a costume, or in pretend play.

Find our more about the myth of Perseus at the end of this article!

easy greek mythology shield craft

Do you want to make your own greek mythology inspired shield to use in a costume or play? Here’s a fun guide on how to make it!

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Supplies needed to make your own ancient greek shield

Printable meduse coloring sheet

Download our printable Medusa coloring page here!

How to make your own greek mythology inspired shield

Step 1

Gather all your materials together and prepare your space for the craft.

Step 2

Take your paper plate and paint the back of it yellow or orange to resemble gold. Let the paint dry.

Step 3

Using a thinner paint brush paint on some details and mix some of your paints to add shading to the shield, which makes it look more 3D! Make sure to leave the center empty so you can glue on Medusa’s face later.

Step 4

While your paint dries, print off our printable Medusa pdf.

Step 5

Using your crayons, markers, or colored pencils color in the coloring sheet. You can color her however you would like to, have fun with it! I colored mine to look like gold!

Step 6

Once the paint has dried, carefully cut out Medusa off the coloring sheet and tape or glue it into the center of your painted shield.

Step 7

On the backside of your shield, take some string or fabric and glue or tape it to the shield. This will make a handle which makes it easier to hold the shield.

Finished greek mythology shield craft

Tips for making your own greek mythology inspired sheild

• Use a hair dryer to help your paint dry faster.
• Use a technique called dry brushing, where you take a dry brush a get a very small amount of paint on it, to add texture to your shield.
• Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty just in case you get paint on them.
• Look up images of greek shields or the greek goddess Athena’s shield to get inspiration for yours!

My Experience with this craft

Creating this craft was super fun for me, I am a huge fan of Greek Mythology and love to talk about it and create related content. Making the shield itself was very enjoyable for me since I was able to paint, which I find to be very relaxing.

In the section below, you can find my retelling of the myth of Perseus! I hope you enjoy reading it!

(Sourced from Epic Tales: Greek Myths and Tales, by Flame Tree Publishing).

The myth of perseus for kids

The Birth of Perseus

A long, long time ago on the island of Argos lived two twin brothers who were princes. One was named Proteus and the other was named Acrisius. Despite being twins, neither Proteus nor Acrisius got along. Everyday, all day for years upon years the brothers fought. One day, Acrisius, in his wickedness, fought his brother so fearsomely the Proteus left Argos. Acrisius was not sad that his twin brother had left, but rather he was giddy with excitement. Acrisius had all of Argos to himself! He would be the one and only king!

However, upon becoming king, Acrisius received word of a prophecy. According to the prophecy, Acrisius would face retribution for his cruelty and wickedness towards his family at the hands of his grandson. Not wanting to lose his power as king, Acrisius constructed an underground prison made of bronze for his daughter, Danae. King Acrisius locked Danae in the dungeon, hoping that Danae would never give birth to his grandson as foretold in the prophecy.

One night, when Danae was starting to drift off to sleep, Zeus the king of the Greek Gods came into Danae’s prison disguised as a gorgeous shower of golden light. Zeus proclaimed his love for Danae that night. Nine months afterwards, Danae gave birth to her son, Perseus.

How Perseus Came to Seriphos

Days after Perseus was born, king Acrisuis came to Danae’s prison and saw her and baby Perseus. Acrisuis cried out in a wicked rage, he swiftly grabbed Danae and Perseus and dragged them to the shores of Argos. He cruel shoved both Danae and Perseus into a large chest and threw them into the sea.

As if blessed by the gods, neither Danae or Perseus perished. For many days and many nights, they floated suffering thirst and starvation. Danae wept and prayed to the gods, begging for salvation. Finally, after much prayer, the chest came unto the cliffside of the island of Seriphos. Danae clasped her hands together and cried out, “Oh thank the gods! We have found our salvation! But how shall we come onto land?”

Just as she had cried out, a nobel fisherman and his entourage were passing by over the cliff. The fisherman had hear Danae’s cries and looked over the cliff. His heart was filled with sympathy at the sight of Danae and her child, so he cast down his fishing net.

“Here, grab onto my net. I shall help you,” he spoke. Danae looked upon the nobel fisherman, and climbed onto the net with baby Perseus in hand. The fisherman and his entourage pulled the net up onto the cliff with ease.

Danae fell to her knees at the feet of the nobel fisherman, “Oh thank you for saving us! If you had not come we would surely have perished! To repay you I could work in your house as a servant.”

“There will be no need for that,” the fisherman said humbly, “I am Dictys the netter, my brother, Polydectes, is the king of Seriphos. I shall welcome you and your son into my home, as if you are my daughter and your son my grandson.”

Danae beamed at his words and praised him greatly. For the next fifteen years, Danae and Perseus had lived with Dictys and his wife on Seriphos. Within those fifteen years, Perseus grew into a brave and honest boy. He learned well from Dictys, learning how to throw the javelin, sword fight, and participate well in sports. Perseus’s manners and skills would come to serve him well, as king Polydectes had fallen in love with Danae and would not take no for an answer. Polydectes was not a nobel man, rather he was cruel and greedy and believed that he could have whatever he wanted.

Perseus was distraught and did not know what to do, he wished to protect his mother from the cruel Polydectes but he did not wish to anger him either. In desperation and need of aid, Perseus prayed to the goddess Athena. That night when Perseus fell asleep, the goddess visited him in his dream. She came before him and proclaimed that he would slay the gorgon Medusa who had turned so many men to stone with her petrifying gaze.

“But how will I know when it is time?” Perseus asked the goddess.

“Your current enemy, king Polydectes, shall send you on a difficult quest and there you will find Medusa,” as Athena finished speaking Perseus woke up.

Perseus Fights Medusa

That same day, king Polydectes summoned Perseus to his palace. Remembering what Athena had said to him, Perseus headed towards the palace ready to face his fate. Upon his arrival, Polydectes sat upon his throne with a smug look on his face.

Perseus bowed before king Polydectes, and the king spoke, “I have a task for you boy, you must go slay the gorgon Medusa and bring me back her head!”

Perseus’s eyes widened, this is what Athena had told him about. He looked at king Polydectes with a determined look in his eyes, “as you wish, my king. But where will I find her?”

Polydectes laughed wickedly, “only the gods know that! You must consult them first.” At that, Perseus bowed one more time and took off. He ran towards the coast of Seriphos, he paced the shore his face wrought with worry. How would he find Medusa? How would he get there? How would he fight her? As if she knew what he was thinking, Athena appeared before Perseus, but this time she was not alone. Athena was accompanied by the young god Hermes. Perseus looked upon the gods in awe and began to worship before them.

“Oh great Athena and cunning Hermes, may you help me in my quest to slay the gorgon Medusa,” Perseus asked righteously, “will you provide me with a weapon to slay her and a means to find her.”

Hermes smiled at Perseus and bore a beautiful, shining curved blade and a pair of winged sandals, “Here, take my blade and my winged sandals. My blade will help you take Medusa’s head in one swift blow and my winged sandals shall swiftly carry you to her lair.” Perseus humbly accepted Hermes’s blade and sandals.

“I have something for you as well,” Athena took out a magnificent bronze sheild that been polished so it was like a mirror, “take this polished shield and use it to avoid Medusa’s petrifying stare. Now go find the gorgon, her lair is on an island far west just past the home of the Hesperides.”

Perseus took the shield, “Thank you great god and goddess, your aid will not be overlooked.” With that, Perseus put on his new winged sandals and took off for the gorgons layer.

The Journey Back to Seriphos

Finally, after nearly a week of flying over the sea using his new winged sandals, Perseus arrived at Medusa’s lair. He snuck around, using his polished shield to see where he was going, and found Medusa fast asleep. Quickly and quietly, he used the blade Hermes gifted him to take Medusa’s head. Swiftly and without looking at it, he wrapped her head in cloth. Perseus left the gorgons layer and began to make his way back to Seriphos, but on his way back he found a princess chained to a rock on a seaside cliff. He landed on the ground next to the rock and spoke, “Oh princess, who are you and why are you chained to this rock?”

“I am princess Andromeda, my family has chained me to this rock as a sacrifice to Poseidon,” she said, her voice full of sorrow, “my mother had angered him, so he sent a vicious sea monster to terrorize our kingdom. The only way to stop the monster is to leave me as a sacrifice.”

“Fear not, princess. I shall slay the sea monster and save you,” Perseus declared bravely. Just as Perseus finished speaking, the sea monster burst out of the water in a tremendous splash. It lunged towards Perseus, but he quickly dodged the serpent. Perseus fought the serpent for what seemed like hours, gradually wearing the beast down until finally, it perished and sunk into the murky depths of the ocean. Now that the beast was slain, Perseus freed and Andromeda and brought her back to his home on Seriphos.

Upon arrival, Perseus presented king Polydectes with Medusa’s head, but the king made the mistake of looking her head in the eyes and was turned into stone. Now that Polydectes was petrified, Dictys took over as king and ruled fair and just.

Shortly after, Perseus married Andromeda and lived happily with her for the rest of their lives.

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How did your Greek Mythology inspired shield turn out? Let us know in the comments!