THE GREEK WAR GAME
READ THROUGH THE OUTLINE BELOW. IT DESCRIBES THE CITY – STATES OF ANCIENT GREECE AND
– STATES – SPARTA AND ATHENS. INFORMATION
ON THE OUTLINE WILL BE USED DURING THE PLAYING OF “BATTLESHIP – GREEK CITY – STATE STYLE”
THE WAR THAT WAS FOUGHT BETWEEN TWO LEADING CITY
I.
IMPORTANCE OF ANCIENT GREEK CIVILIZATION.
a. LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION IN EUROPE AND AMERICA
b. MADE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, ART, LITERATURE,
PHILOSOPHY, AND GOVERNMENT
II.
THE CITY – STATES OF GREECE
a. REASONS FOR CITY – STATES
i. CITIES WERE SEPERATED BY MOUNTAINS AND BODIES OF WATER WHICH KEPT THEM
FROM UNITING INTO ONE COUTRY
ii. INSTEAD OF ONE RULER FOR ALL OF THE CITY – STATES TOGETHER, THE GREEKS
PREFERRED HAVING THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY
b. THE CITY – STATE OF SPARTA
i. ART, LITERATURE, MATHEMATICS, AND PHILOSOPHY DID NOT APPEAL TO THE
SPARTANS
ii. THEY WERE MAINLY INTERESTED IN A MILITARY LIFE WHICH PREPARED THE BOYS AND
MEN FOR SELF – DEFENSE AND WAR
1. THE 25,000 SPARTAN CITIZENS HAD TO BE READY TO DEFEND THEMSELVES
AGAINST A REVOLT BY THE 500,000 “HELOTS”
a. “HELOTS” WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN TAKEN PRISONER DURING
WARS AND FORCED INTO SLAVERY
b. HELOTS FARMED THE SOIL AND WERE REQUIRED TO GIVE PART OF
THEIR CROPS TO THEIR MASTER. THIS ANGERED SLAVES AND LED
TO OCCASIONAL REBELLIONS
c. ONCE A YEAR THE SPARTANS DECLARED WAR ON THE HELOTS,
THEREBY GIVING THEM AN EXCUSE TO KILL SUSPECTED
TROUBLEMAKERS
2. BOYS WERE TRAINED FOR THE ARMY AT AGE 7
3. INSTEAD OF LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE, TIME WAS SPENT JUMPING,
RUNNING, WRESTLING, AND USING A WEAPON
4. MEN BETWEEN 20 AND 30 BECAME CADTS WHO POLICED THE COUNTRY AND
KEPT THE HELOTS UNDER STRICT CONTROL
5. AT AGE 30, A MAN WAS GIVEN THE RIGHTS OF A CITIZEN, INCLUDING THE
RIGHT TO HOLD OFFICE, ATTEND MEETINGS, AND GET MARRIED
6. MILITARY CAREERS ENDED AT AGE 60, WHEREUPON A SPARTAN TOOK A
PUBLIC SERVICE JOB OR HELPED TRAIN THE YOUNG
iii. THE WOMEN OF SPARTA LIVED MUCH A MUCH FREER LIFE THAT WOMEN ELSEWHERE
1. BESIDES CARING FOR THE HOME, MANY FOUND TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN
SPORTS
2. WOMEN WERE ALSO ALLOWED TO OWN BUSINESSES AND PROPERTY
c. THE CITY – STATE OF ATHENS
i. ATHENS WAS A “DEMOCRACY” IN WHICH THE PEOPLE TOOK PART IN THE
GOVERNMENT
1. THE ASSEMBLY WHICH MADE LAWS, INCLUDED ALL ADULT MALE CITIZENS.
2. THE ASSEMBLY MET ONCE A WEEK ON A HILLSIDE TO DISCUSS AND DEBATE
SUCH MATTERS AS SPENDING MONEY, THE NEED FOR NEW LAWS,
DECLARING WAR, AND MAKING PEACE
3. MALE CITIZENS TOOK TURNS BEING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO WERE
RESPONSIBLE FOR ORGANIZING THE CITY’S DEFENSES, KEEPING UP THE
FOOD SUPPLY, AND MAINTAINING PUBLIC BUILDINGS
4. MALE CITIZENS ALSO SERVED ON JURIES DURING COURT TRIALS
5. CITIZENS ENJOYED FREEDOM OF SPEECH, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO
CRITICIZE THEIR LEADERS
6. WOMEN, SLAVES, AND FOREIGNERS DID NOT HAVE THE RIGHTS GIVEN TO
MALE CITIZENS
ii. UNLIKE PEOPLE OF SPARTA, THE ATHENIANS WERE VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN ART,
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND PHILOSOPHY
iii. PUBLIC BUILDINGS WERE BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED; HOMES WERE SMALL AND PLAIN
iv. PEOPLE GATHERED REGULARLY IN THE MARKETPLACE TO VISIT AND DISCUSS DAILY
NEWS
v. ATHLETICS WERE IMPORTANT TO ATHENIANS
1. SPORTS HELPED TO DEVELOP STRENGTH AND COORDINATION
2. ATHELETES FROM ALL OVER GREECE COMPETED EVERY 4 YEARS IN VARIOUS
SPORTING EVENTS AT OLYMPIA. THIS CUSTOM LED TO THE PRESENT – DAY
OLYMPIC GAMES
3. WINNERS OF OLYMPIC EVENTS BECAME HEROES THOUGHOUT GREECE
vi. PRISIONERS OF WAR WERE USED AS SLAVES, A COMMON PRACTICE IN COUNTRIES OF
THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
vii. WOMEN HAD DIFFERENT ROLES THAN MEN
1. THEIR PLACE WAS IN THE HOME CARING FOR CHILDREN
2. THEY COULD NOT BE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OR MEMBERS OF THE
ASSEMBLY
3. WOMEN DID NOT GO TO SCHOOL AND WERE NOT TAUGHT TO READ AND
WRITE
viii. TEMPLES WERE BUILT TO HONOR THE GODS, ALTHOUGH RELIGION DID NOT
INFLUENCE PEOPLE’S LIVES AS MUCH AS OTHER CIVILIZATIONS
ix. ATHENS DEVELOPED A CIVILIZATION THAT WAS FAR AHEAD OF OTHER CIVILIZTIONS
ON EARTH
III.
WAR BREAKS OUT BETWEEN SPARTA AND ATHENS
a. CAUSES OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
i. INDIVIDUAL CITY – STATES SOMETIMES FOUGHT WARS AGAINST EACH OTHER AS
THEY COMPETED FOR POWER IN GREECE
ii. ALTHOUGH MANY GREEK CITY – STATES UNITED TO DEFEAT THE MIGHTY PERSIAN
ARMY IN 479 B.C., THEY WERE UNABLE TO UNITE PERMANENTLY INTO ONE STRONG
NATION
iii. FIGHTING STARTED WHEN SPARTA BECAME CONCERNED THAT ATHENS WAS TRYING
TO BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL CITY – STATE IN GREECE
b. IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
i. BOTH SPARTA AND ATHENS HAD THE HELP OF OTHER CITY – STATES
ii. SPARTA HAD THE STRONGEST ARMY
iii. ATHENS HAD THE BEST NAVY AND THE MOST MONEY
iv. WHEN THE WAR BEGAN, A PLAGUE STRUCH THE CITY OF ATHENS AND KILLED ONE
OUT OF EVERY FUOR PEOPLE
v. AFTER 27 YEARS OF WARFARE, ATHENS NAVY WAS CAPTURED AND THE CITY WAS
STARVED UNTIL IN SURRENDERED
c. RESULTS OF THE WAR
i. THOUSANDS OF GREEKS WERE KILLED AND WOUNDED, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF
PROPERTY WAS WIDESPREAD
ii. THE WAR WEAKENED THE POWER OF GREEK CITY – STATES AND LED TO THEIR BEING
CAPTURED BY INVADERS FROM MACEDONIA
iii. ALEXANDER THE GREAT OF MACEDONIA NOT ONLY CONQUERED GREECE, BUT ALSO
TOOK CONTROL OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, EGYPT, AND OTHER LANDS OF THE NEAR
EAST
iv. DESPITE BEING CONQUERED, GREEK CIVILIZATION CONTINUED TO SPREAD TO THE
OTHER PARTS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
GREEK WAR GAME QUESTIONS
1. _________________ GREECE WAS DIVIDED INTO MANY OF THEM
2. _________________ THESE PEOPLE WERE TAKEN PRISONER BY THE SPARTANS AND FORCED
INTO SLAVERY.
3. _________________THIS CITY – STATE WAS INTERESTED IN ART, LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND
PHILOSOPHY.
4. _________________ IT LASTED 27 YEARS
5. _________________ COUNTRY THAT CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO WESTERN CIVILIZATION
6. _________________ THEY FEARED REVOLT BY THE HELOTS
7. _________________ A TERM WHICH MEANS HAVING A VOICE IN ONE’S GOVERNMENT
8. _________________ GREEK CITY – STATES UNITED TO DEFEAT THIS ARMY IN 479 B.C.E
9. _________________ CITY – STATE WHICH WON THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
10. _________________ IN ATHENS, HOMES WERE SMALL AND PLAIN, BUT THESE WERE VERY
BEAUTIFUL.
11. _________________ PEOPLE OF ATHENS GATHERED THERE TO VISIT AND DISCUSS THE LATEST
NEWS.
12. _________________ THESE PRESENT – DAY GAMES BEGAN MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO IN
ANCIENT GREECE.
13. _________________AN ARMY FROM THERE CONQUERED GREECE AFTER THE WAR BETWEEN
SPARTA AND ATHENS.
14. _________________ HIS CONQUESTS INCLUDED EGYPT, THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, AND GREECE.
15. _________________ ONE REASON CITY – STATES NEVER UNITED INTO ONE STRONG COUNTRY
WAS THAT THE CITIES WERE SEPARATED BY BODIES OF WATER AND BY THESE.
16. ________________ THIS CITY – STATE STRESSED MILITARY TRAINING FOR BOYS AND MEN
17. ________________ AGE WHEN SPARTAN YOUTH BEGAN MILITARY CAREER
18. ________________ PEOPLE OF SPARTA WHO WERE ALLOWED TO OWN BUSINESSES AND
PROPERTY, AND WHO ALSO CARED FOR THE HOME.
19. ________________ MEN BETWEEN 20 AND 30 WHO KEPT THE HELOTS UNDER CONTROL IN
SPARTA.
20. ________________ NAME FOR THE GROUP OF ADULT MALE CITIZENS WHO MADE THE LAWS IN
ATHENS
21. ________________ THE GROUP IN ATHENS WHICH DECIDED IF A PERSON WAS GUILTY OR NOT
GUILTY FOLLOWING A COURT TRIAL
22. ________________ THIS FREEDOM ALLOWED ATHENIANS TO CRITICIZE PUBLIC OFFICIALS.
23. ________________ NUMBER OF YEARS BETWEEN THE OLYMPIC GAMES.
24. ________________ CITY – STATE WHICH DEVELOPED THE MOST ADVANCED CIVILIZATION ON
EARTH.
GREEK WAR GAME ANSWERS
1. CITY – STATES
GREECE WAS DIVIDED INTO MANY OF THEM
2. HELOTS
THESE PEOPLE WERE TAKEN PRISONER BY THE SPARTANS AND FORCED INTO
SLAVERY.
3. ATHENS
THIS CITY – STATE WAS INTERESTED IN ART, LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND
PHILOSOPHY.
4. PELOPONNESIAN WAR IT LASTED 27 YEARS
5. GREECE
COUNTRY THAT CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO WESTERN CIVILIZATION
6. SPARTANS
THEY FEARED REVOLT BY THE HELOTS
7. DEMOCRACY
A TERM WHICH MEANS HAVING A VOICE IN ONE’S GOVERNMENT
8. PERSIAN
GREEK CITY – STATES UNITED TO DEFEAT THIS ARMY IN 479 B.C.E
9. SPARTA
CITY – STATE WHICH WON THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
10. PUBLIC BUILDINGS
IN ATHENS, HOMES WERE SMALL AND PLAIN, BUT THESE WERE VERY
BEAUTIFUL.
11. MARKETPLACE PEOPLE OF ATHENS GATHERED THERE TO VISIT AND DISCUSS THE LATEST NEWS.
12. OLYMPIC GAMES
THESE PRESENT – DAY GAMES BEGAN MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO IN
ANCIENT GREECE.
13. MACEDONIA
AN ARMY FROM THERE CONQUERED GREECE AFTER THE WAR BETWEEN
SPARTA AND ATHENS.
14. ALEXANDER THE GREAT
HIS CONQUESTS INCLUDED EGYPT, THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, AND
GREECE.
15. MOUNTAINS
ONE REASON CITY – STATES NEVER UNITED INTO ONE STRONG COUNTRY
WAS THAT THE CITIES WERE SEPARATED BY BODIES OF WATER AND BY THESE.
16. SPARTA
THIS CITY – STATE STRESSED MILITARY TRAINING FOR BOYS AND MEN
17. SEVEN AGE WHEN SPARTAN YOUTH BEGAN MILITARY CAREER
18. WOMEN
PEOPLE OF SPARTA WHO WERE ALLOWED TO OWN BUSINESSES AND PROPERTY, AND
WHO ALSO CARED FOR THE HOME.
19. CADETS
MEN BETWEEN 20 AND 30 WHO KEPT THE HELOTS UNDER CONTROL IN SPARTA.
20. ASSEMBLY
NAME FOR THE GROUP OF ADULT MALE CITIZENS WHO MADE THE LAWS IN ATHENS
21. JURY/MALE CITIZENS THE GROUP IN ATHENS WHICH DECIDED IF A PERSON WAS GUILTY OR NOT
GUILTY FOLLOWING A COURT TRIAL
22. FREEDOM OF SPEECH THIS FREEDOM ALLOWED ATHENIANS TO CRITICIZE PUBLIC OFFICIALS.
23. FOUR
NUMBER OF YEARS BETWEEN THE OLYMPIC GAMES.
24. ATHENS
CITY – STATE WHICH DEVELOPED THE MOST ADVANCED CIVILIZATION ON EARTH.