Gaugamela: The Ancient Greek Bittersweet Victory Game Created by Ruth Paget for AP Students

Gaugamela:  The Ancient Greek Bittersweet Victory Game Created by Ruth Paget for AP Students

Objectives:

1-Learn to break down large books as a team to learn quickly

2-Learn about elephants and elephant conservation efforts

3-Obtain a glimpse into ancient Greek culture

4-Obtain a glimpse into ancient Persian culture

5-Write a media release for radio

6-Play the ancient Greek game of knucklebones

7-Sample Greek food

8-Learn about storytelling

Historical Background:

In 331 BC, the forces of the Macedonian King Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC) clashed with those of the Persian King Darius III (reign 336 BC – 330 BC) at Gaugamela near the modern city of Arbela in the north of modern-day Iraq.

King Darius had a huge army and used elephants from India as part of his forces.  The elephants, which were like tanks, were thought to make the Persian Empire invincible.

Battle Outcome:

The 47,000 Greek forces under Alexander the Great defeated Persia’s force of 86,000.

King Darius III fled the battlefield, and Alexander the Great died of battle wounds in the city of Babylon in modern-day Iraq.

Managing Group Reading:

To divide reading up, imagine you have a book with 33 chapters and 8 team members.

If you divide 33 chapters by 8 team members, you can reduce reading time and learn the material quickly.  The method for doing this follows:

33 chapters ÷ 8 team members = 4 chapters for each team member to read plus 1 remaining chapter to be assigned as decided by the group.  (Maybe a team member with a short assigned chapter among their readings could read the remaining chapter.)

For each assigned chapter, team members will note 5 to 10 main points to be typed up and sent to the team secretary for grouping into a single document for each book.

Team Set-Up:

Break a group up into two teams.

Both teams will complete tasks 1 to 4 as a team.

For task 5, the two teams will come together to write a media release for radio about the Battle at Gaugamela, play the ancient Greek game of knucklebones, and sample Greek food.

Number of tasks to complete: 5

Task 1: Learn about the Battle at Gaugamela 331BC

Read about the Battle at Gaugamela 331 BC in encyclopedias and books and on websites.  Compare the information to look for any differences.  Note sources.

Read about Alexander the Great in encyclopedias and books and on websites.  Compare the information to look for any differences.  Note sources.

Read about Darius III in encyclopedias and books and on websites.  Compare the information to see if there are any differences.  Note sources.

If you find differences, set up guidelines about how to establish the facts to use.

Task 2:  Learn about Elephants

At the time of the Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC, elephants outside of warfare were not an endangered species.  Today elephants are an endangered species.

Team members who educate themselves about elephants take the first step needed to help preserve elephant populations.

As a team, read the suggested following book and take notes for assigned chapters:

Elephant Rescue: All About Elephants and How to Save Them by Ashlee Brown Blewett (National Geographic Kids Mission)

Task 3: Obtain a Glimpse into Ancient Greek Culture

As a team, read the following suggested books and note 5 to 10 main points for each assigned chapter:

Tales of the Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green

Another book to read about ancient Greek culture is The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton.

A must-read is the Tale of Troy by Roger Lancelyn Green

This mythical battle imbued the ancient Greeks with ideals of heroism and knowledge of the cost of war even when justified.

What did each side in the Trojan War consider to be justification for war?  Do you agree with it?  Why?

As you read the Trojan War, ask yourself the following questions to learn about storytelling:

-Can you name conflicts that lead up to the point where both sides stop fighting?

-What is the story’s climax where hostilities stop?

-What happens after the conflicts?

-Read Homer's The Odyssey

-The action in this book is a straight line where Odysseus removes one obstacle after the other to return home.  He does not care about the obstacles he removed.  He wants to see his wife and son.  

What are the obstacles he removes to obtain his final goal?

Read Hesiod’s 800-line poem Works and Days.  Note 5 to 10 main points for assigned lines.

Read The Sarpedon Krater: The Life and Afterlife of a Greek Vase by Nigel Spivey as a team, noting 5 to 10 main points for each assigned chapter.

This beautiful vase depicts a fallen hero from Troy.  The book is a real Indiana Jones-like tale of putting an artifact in the right museum.

Task 4: Obtain a Glimpse into Ancient Persian Culture

Ancient Persia is now called Iran.  The ancient Persians were not Muslims.  Islam did not exist at the time of the Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC.  Read the following suggested books as a team, note 5 to 10 main points for each assigned chapter:

Shahnameh: Book of Kings by Elizabeth Baird (after Ferdowsi – a children’s book)

Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings by Abolgasem Ferdowsi

Persian Myths by Vesta Sarkosh Curtis

The Enchantingly Easy Persian Cookbook: 100 Simple Recipes for Beloved Persian Food by Shadi Hasanzade Nemati

Preparing for Task 5:

Before the combined teams meeting, team members will type up their main points from their assigned chapters and send them to the team secretary via email to be compiled into one document.

Team secretaries will email the single document to their team members and the other team’s secretary for distribution.

Team members should read both documents before the task 5 combined teams meeting.

Task 5: Media Release Meeting and Party

The combined teams will write a 2-minute media release for radio about the Battle at Gaugamela 331 BC.

The release should answer the following questions in the noted order below:

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Why?

How?

Once the release is written, read it to see if it 2 minutes long.

If the release is too long, edit it down to 2 minutes.

If the release is too short, add details to make it 2 minutes long.

(This activity should take 30 to 45 minutes to complete.)

Once the meeting is over, play the ancient Greek game called knucklebones.  (Knucklebones was also played in ancient Rome.)

Knucklebones games are sold for $27.99 on Amazon as of 3/13/2020.

Sample some Greek food at your party.  The suggested following cookbooks provide recipes you can use:

The Complete Book of Greek Cooking by the Recipe Club of St. Paul’s Church

The Complete Book of Greek Cooking: Explore this Classic Mediterranean Cuisine: 160 Recipes by Rena Salama and Jan Cutler

Modern Greek Cooking: 100 Recipes for Meze, Entrées, and Desserts by Pano Kavatassos

My Greek Table: Authentic Flavors and Modern Home Cooking from my Kitchen to Yours by Diane Kochilas

Orexi! Feasting at the Modern Greek Table by Theo A. Michaels

Have fun!

Gaugamela Game Created by Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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