Marathon: The Ancient Greek Strategy Game Created by Ruth Paget for AP Students

Marathon: The Ancient Greek Strategy Game Created by Ruth Paget for AP Students

Objectives:

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

2-Obtain a glimpse into ancient Greek culture

3-Obtain a glimpse into ancient Persian culture

4-Learn about strategy and its modern business world uses after analyzing

5-Brainstorm strategy ideas for obtaining an entry-level position in your dream profession

6-Learn to play the ancient Greek game called knucklebones

7-Sample Greek Food

Historical Background:

In 490 BC, the armies of the Greek leader Miltiades (554 BC – 489 BC) clashed with an invading force of Persians (ancient Iranians) under General Datis (born in Media during the Achaemenid Empire sometime between 522 BC and 486 BC).

General Datis was sent to invade Greece by the Persian King Darius I (550 BC – 487 BC).

General Datis attacked with a force of 20,000 Persian troops against a force of 10,000 Greek troops.

Battle Outcome:

10,000 Greek troops defeated 20,000 Persian troops.  1/3 of the Persian army was killed.

Philippiades (530 BC – 490 BC) ran from Marathon to Athens with the news of the battle victory.  Today’s modern marathons are named after this famous victory run.

Managing Group Reading

To break down a large book into small amounts of reading, 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 more quickly.  The method for doing this follows:

33 chapters ÷ 8 team members = 4 chapters per team member to read plus 1 remaining chapter to read

For each chapter you are assigned to read, note 5 to 10 main points for each assigned chapter

The team can decide who should get the extra chapter to read.  Suggestion:  Someone with a short assigned chapter to read should read the extra chapter.

Team Set-Up

Break a group a group into two teams

Both teams will complete tasks 1 – 4 as a team

For task 5, the two teams will come together to discuss strategies for obtaining entry-level jobs in a profession they want to pursue using what they have learned from the battlefield strategy at Marathon

Number of Tasks to Complete: 5

Task 1: Analyze Battle at Marathon 490 BC to Understand Strategy Used

Read about the Battle in encyclopedias and books and on websites.  Compare the information you find to see if there are differences.  Note sources.

Read about the Greek general Miltiades in encyclopedias and books and on websites.  Compare the information you find to see if there are differences.  Note sources.

Read about the Persian King Darius 1 in encyclopedias and books and on websites.  Compare the information you find to see if there are differences.  Note sources.

If you find differences, try to establish facts using guidelines you set up for establishing facts.

Why did 20,000 Persians lose to 10,000 Greeks?

Draw a picture of the Greek battlefield strategy.  Label the drawing with the following words:

-phalanx

-hoplite

-flank

-center

Define those four words above in one sentence for each word.

How many Persians died in this battle, if 1/3 of their troops died?  (Original Persian force 20,000)

Task 2:  Obtain a Glimpse into Ancient Greek Culture

Read Tales of the Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green as a team with each team member noting 5 to 10 main points for each assigned chapter

Questions to think about as you read the above book:

Do the characters’ emotions change during the story?

What happens when a character’s emotions clash with the other characters?

Another book to read about ancient Greek culture follows:

The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton

A must-read book is The Tale of Troy by Roger Lancelyn Green as a group, with each team member noting 5 to 10 main points for each assigned chapter.

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

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

-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 climax?

-When does the Trojan War end?

-Was war by either side justified in the Trojan War?

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

Read The Sarpedon Krater: The Life and Afterlife of a Greek Vase by Nigel Spivey

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

Read Medea by Euripides

How is the story line in this play different from the Iliad (Tale of Troy)?

Can you think of any modern books that use this kind of story line?

Task 3:  Obtain a Glimpse into Ancient Persian Culture

Ancient Persia is now called Iran in the modern day.  The ancient Persians were not Muslims.  Islam did not exist at the time of the Battle of Marathon 490 BC.

Read the following suggested books as a team, noting 5 to 10 main points for each assigned chapter.

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

Shahnameh:  The Persian Book of Kings by Abolgasen Ferdowsi

Read this as a team, noting 5 to 10 main points for each team member’s assigned chapters.

Persian Myths by Vesta Sarkosh Curtis

For your assigned chapters, note 5 to 10 main points for each chapter.

Task 4:  Modern-Day Strategy

Battlefield strategy helped the ancient Greeks defeat an invading army twice their size at the Battle at Marathon 490 BC.

Battlefield strategy has been applied to business in the modern day to achieve market success.

The suggested following books will introduce team members to strategy.  For assigned chapters, note 5 to 10 main points for each chapter.

-The Art of Strategy:  A Game Theorists Guide to Success in Business and Life by Avinash K. Dixit

-Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Differences and Why it Matters by Richard Rumelt

Preparing for Task 5:

Before the combined teams meeting, type up your chapter main points and email them to the team secretary.  The team secretary will combine the email documents into one document and send them to team members and the other team’s secretary for distribution.

Team members should read both documents before meeting for Task 5.

Find out about entry-level jobs in the profession you would like to pursue.

Task 5:  Using Strategy and Wrap-Up Party

As a group, list the entry-level positions you need to enter professions you would like to pursue.

Use the strategy of making a digital portfolio of your qualifications to obtain these entry-level jobs or what you need to do to put together a digital portfolio.

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

After the meeting, 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!

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

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