WORLD HISTORY PLAY

Greekvs. GreekIn the 5th century B.C., Athens and Sparta fought anearly 30-year war for control of the Greek empire

members

CharactersThucydldas (thoo-SID-uh-dê»z),

a historian of Athens

Pericles (PER-uh-kleez), leader of Athens

•Alexis

•Cyrus

*mnot [MY-nuss] y/Hf Athenian

DIodotus (dyt-ODD-uh-tus) AssemblyEucrates (yoo-KRATe-eez)_j

Archidamus [ark-uh-DAH-moos], king

of Sparta

Ambassador from Corinth

$r.f\ene\a\das (sthen-uh-LAY-eh-dus),

Spartan magistrate

*Chrysanthe [kry-SAN-the»), Athenian

*Htctor, Athenian

Cieon, Athenian leader

Narrators A-E*lndicatesfictional or campasitecharacter. All others were actual people.

Words to Know

¡ ^ | ^ ^ 2 (")• 3" independentcity and its territory

^ ^ 2 ^ ^ E l'^)- one who gainspower by appealingto popularprejudices and fears

325] (n): a speech or poemhonoring the dead

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ / n ^ : a governmentcontrolled by a small groupof people

PROLOGUENarrator A: Few civilizations haveexerted as much influence on theworld as ancient Greece. From thisgroup of city-states located aroundthe Aegean Sea (see map) camemuch of the classical literature andphilosophy we know today. Infact, America's Founders looked tothe city-state of Athens as a modelin developing our democracy.Narrator B: Athens was also astrong military power, leading analliance of city-states called theDelian League. But it had a fiercerival, Sparta. This city-state had itsown alliance, the PeloponnesianLeague, named for the peninsulawhere Sparta was located. UnlikeAthens, Sparta was an oligarchy.Devoted to the art of war, its sol-diers were renowned for theirferocity and discipline (see p. 18).Narrator C: In 479 B.C., Athensand Sparta united to defeat anempire controlled by Persia [pres-ent-day Iran]. But as the Athenianempire expanded, tension betweenthe cities grew. Finally, the twocame to blows. An account of thisepic clash, the Peloponnesian War(431 B.C.-404 B.c.), was written byThucydides, a Creek historian.Narrator D: in his History,

Thucydides tells the tragic story ofhow Creek turned against Creek. It

was the beginning of the end ofa remarkable civilization.

SCENE 1Thucydides: it is 438 B.C. Ourstory starts in the Assembly, ademocratic chamber of debate andlaw-making in Athens. UnderPericles (461 B.C.-429 B.C.), the

city-state is enjoying a golden ageof art and architecture, erectingsuch monumental buildings asthe Parthenon.

But trouble is brewing. The cit-ies of the Delian League resent thegrowing power of Athens—and theburdensome tribute [payments]that it demands from them.Pericles: Citizens, Athens is theenvy of the world. Our allies bene-fit from our might, and we expectthem to pay for this protection.Alexis: Yet we are unpopularamong these so-called allies. Theyresent contributing to our military.Cyrus: We showed the city ofSamos what happens to rebels.Their men are taken hostage, andtheir walls burned down.Minos: I think we'll regret treatingthe people who have been ourallies with such a heavy hand.Pericles: This discontent is unfor-tunate. But we must stand firm toguard our empire.Narrator E: Complaints among

1 6 JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC / SEPTEMBER 19, 2 0 1 1

e must Stanfirm to £uard

our empire.

members of the Delian Leagueagainst Athens grow increasinglybitter, and Sparta takes notice.

Thucydides: in 431 B.C., Spartaholds a meeting of the Peloponnes-ian League to discuss the threatfrom Athens. The King of Sparta,Archidamus, tries to keep temperscool. But the Ambassador fromCorinth, Sparta's ally, is furious.Ambassador: First, one of our

continued on p.

GREEK CilY-STATES

V EPIRUS THESSALY

Thebes

i City-statePresent-dayborder

Noie: AU present-daycountry names and • - . .borders appear in gray. 'mediterranean Sea

SOURCE:/<t/a5 of Classical History, by Michael Grant

WORLD HISTORY PLAY

The bronze -helmet provided goodprotection against headinjuries. Ks crest, made ofhorsehair, was designed tomake the hoplite look tallerand more fierce.

A SPARTAN SOLDIERCitizen soldiers of the ancient Greek city-states were called hoplites. Chargingtogether in a formation called a phalanx,hoplites made for a powerful army. Checkout the armor of this Spartan soldier.

SpSSr The spear wasabout 6 feet long, with awooden shaft and ironpoint. It «ins used forthrusting. Soldiers in aphalanx ran together in atight line with spearspoking through gaps Intheir shields. A hoplKcused his sword only if hisspear was lost or broken.

Tunic Spartansoldiers distinguishedthemselves from otherGreek hoplites by theirlong hair and crimsontunics. On land, th«ywere the most feaiwlfighting fore« in th«Greek world.

Breastplate and shieldThe hopllte's bronze shield wascarried on the forearm ratherthan hung around the neck as inearlier days, providing greatermobility. The breastplate, alsobronze, deflected many blows.

GreavesSmaller bronzeshields, called

piottcttdttf

colonies claimed independence—and Athens defended it. ThenAthens besieged a city where manyof our people live. When will youstop them from bullying us?Archidamus: I've seen many wars,so I never go into battle lightly. Ipromise that we won't turn a blindeye to Athenian aggression forever.We'll talk to them. But prepare forwar, just in case.Sthenelaidas: We can't wastetime. All those in favor of war,stand on this side of the room.

Chrysanthe: We were forced toleave our farm and have nowhereto live.Hector: The Spartans are destroy-ing our houses and land. What'sthe point of this war?Narrator D: In the second year ofbattle, a plague sweeps throughAthens. It kills one third of thecity's soldiers and many of thepeople crowded inside the walls.In 429 B.c., Pericles dies. Awealthy merchant named Cleonrises to power and addresses theAssembly.Cleon: Athenians, we have been

The rest of you, stand over there.Archidamus: I fear we'll end upstarting a war that our childrenwill have to finish.Narrator A: The majority votes forwar. A reluctant Archidamus braceshimself for the coming conflict.

SCENE 3Thucydides: Sparta demands thatAthens break up its empire toavoid war. When Athens refuses,the Peloponnesian League attacks.Narrator B: Fearing the mightySpartan army, Pericles orders hispeople to leave their farms andtake shelter behind the stone wallsof Athens. Still, the city suffersgreat losses. Pericles delivers aspeech that becomes a famouselegy for his fallen warriors.Pericles: Citizens, these menfought and died so Athens couldshine for generations to come. Weare different from the Spartans,who are trained to mindlesslyobey. We think for ourselves—andabove all, we prize freedom.Narrator C: The speech stirs thehearts of Athenians. But the warcontinues to cause suffering.

whipped by our own timidity.The Spartans are barbarians whothreaten our way of life. We mustdefeat them!Thucydides: I despise Cleon. He'sa warmonger who presses Athensruthlessly toward violence.

SCENE 4Narrator E: At the same time,Athens' alliance begins to unravel.In 428 B.c., the leaders of Mytilenedeclare their city to be indepen-dent. At a gathering of theAssembly . . .Cleon: We must crush the rebel-lion immediately. Put all ofMytilene's adult males to death!DiodotUS: Stop! It's foolish for usto act in anger.Eucrates: No. Make Mytilene anexample to all who oppose us.DiodotUS: But if we ruin everycity that way, no one will be left topay taxes to our empire.Narrator A: in the end, theAthenians execute 1,000supporters of the rebellion. The

war against Sparta continues. In425 B.c., after Athens wins a majorvictory, Sparta asks for a truce.Again, Cleon addresses theAssembly.

Cleon: Peace? They're saying thatonly because they're losing.Eucrates: We must fight on!Cleon: The people of Athensshould no longer be taxed tofinance this war. Let the othercities of our empire pay more intribute.Eucrates: Absolutely! Show thosebarbarians who's boss.Thucydides: Cleon has that kind ofpower. He's a demagogue who willget his war—no matter the cost.

EPILOGUEThucydides: Cleon died in battlein 422 B.c., as did Sparta's com-manding general. The two powers,exhausted and depleted, madepeace the next year. But the warresumed in 413 B.C. Sparta finallydefeated Athens in 404 B.C. Still,the Peloponnesian War left bothsides vulnerable. By 339 B.C.. KingPhilip II of Macedonia had con-quered all of Greece.

Philip's son, who reveredGreece, later spread its cuhure ashe conquered much of the knownworld. His name was Alexanderthe Great.

—Ruth Hamel and Bryan Brown

Think About It

1 . Do you think that war couldhave been avoided betweenAthens and Sparta? Explain.

2 . Was it hypocritical for Athensto call itself a democracy andyet have an empire? Why orwhy not?

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011/JUNIORSCHOLASTIC 1 9