Tyre: The Ancient Greek Engineering Game Created by
Ruth Paget for AP Students
Objectives:
1-Learn
to break down large books as a team to learn more quickly
2-Learn
basic engineering concepts (simple machines), which were crucial to the Greek
victory against the Phoenicians at Tyre
3-Obtain
a glimpse into ancient Greek culture
4-Obtain
a glimpse into ancient Phoenician culture
5-Do
systems planning for a simple sanitation system during a siege
6-Play
the ancient Greek game of knucklebones
7-Sample
Greek food
8-Learn
about storytelling
Historical Background:
In
332 BC, ancient Greece became an invading country rather than a defensive one
when it began the Siege of Tyre, a fortified island city under Phoenician
control. (The ancient Phoenicians were
the ancestors of today’s Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians.)
The
Macedonian King Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC) sought to expand the
Greek Empire eastwards into the Persian Empire, but was thwarted in doing so by
a Persian-controlled Phoenician naval fleet.
Alexander
could not challenge the Phoenician fleet and sought instead to defeat
Phoenician naval bases along the Eastern Mediterranean coast. Many of the Phoenician towns surrendered
without a fight to Alexander as they did not like the Persians.
However,
Tyre did not. This fortified, island city
was not afraid of sieges. Tyre had
withstood a four-year siege by Assyrians from 724 BC – 720 BC under Shalmaneser
V (died 722 BC) among many others.
Battle
Outcome for the Siege of Tyre 332 BC:
Alexander
the Great and his army of 70,000 defeated the Phoenician force of 70,000 after
a siege of 8 months thanks to superior engineering and technology.
Managing Group Reading:
To
divide reading up, imagine you have a book with 33 chapters to read and 8 team
members.
If
you divide 33 chapters by 8 team members, you can reduce reading tie and learn
material quickly. The method for doing
this follows:
33
chapters ÷ 8 team members = 4 chapters for each team member to read with 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 into two teams.
Both
teams will complete tasks 1 – 4 as a team.
For
task 5, the two teams will come together to set up a simple sanitation system
for the home and community, play the ancient Greek game called knucklebones,
and sample Greek food.
Number of Tasks to
Complete: 5
Task 1: Learn about the
Siege of Tyre 332 BC
Read
about the Siege of Tyre 332 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.
As
you read, look for information about engineering and technology (specifically
causeways and catapults) used by the ancient Greeks to defeat the Phoenicians
at the Siege of Tyre in 332 BC.
If
you find differences, set up guidelines about how to establish the facts to
use.
Task 2: 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 as a team is The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton.
A must-read book 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 if 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 led up to the point where both sides stopped
fighting?
-What
is the story’s climax?
-What
happens after the climax in the Trojan War?
Read
Hesiod’s 800-line poem Works and Days and
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 team member’s assigned chapters.
This
beautiful vase depicts a fallen hero from Troy.
The book is a real Indian Jones-like tale of putting an artifact in the
right museum.
Extra Reading: The Odyssey translated by Daniel Mendelsohn (University of Chicago Press)
Task 3: Obtain a Glimpse into Ancient Phoenician
Culture
The
ancient Phoenicians were the ancestors of today’s Lebanese, Syrians, and
Palestinians. The following suggested
books provide information about this ancient culture:
History of the Phoenician
Civilization by
George Rawlinson
The Phoenicians
(Cultures of the World) by Elsa Marston
For
a taste of Lebanese food, the suggested following cookbook might have recipes
you would like. Lebanon’s cuisine is
ancient:
Julie Taboulie’s
Lebanese Kitchen: Authentic Recipes for Fresh and Flavorful Mediterranean
Cooking by
Julie Ann Sageer and Leah Bhabha
Each
team member should note 5 to 10 main points for their assigned chapters in the
above books.
Task 4: Introduction to
Engineering
The
Siege at Tyre 332 BC was won by Alexander the Great thanks to superior
technology. For this task team members
will work to obtain an introduction to engineering for their assigned chapters:
Basic Machines and How
They Work by
Naval Education (Fred A. Carson)
Inspired: How to Create
Tech Products Customers Love by Monty Cagan
Math
is the language of science and technology.
The following suggested book will help team members assess their math
skills:
Math Smart: The Savvy
Student’s Guide to Mastering Basic Math by The Princeton Review
Preparing for Task 5:
Before
the combined teams meeting, team members will type up their main points from
the chapters they read and send it 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: Setting Up a
Sanitation System and Party
Engineers
who are successful make systems for their invention to work in and think about
who will maintain the system.
Setting
up a sanitation system to withstand a siege like the one at Tyre is the basis
for this task.
A
cleaning system for your home using checklists is a basic sanitation system.
For
this task, team members will set up a sanitation system for bathrooms and
kitchens using checklists for cleaning inside the home.
Once
that is complete, team members will analyze sanitation systems in their
community.
Where
does trash go when it leaves your home?
Is there recycling? Is garbage
burned? Is landfill near water systems? What community systems are in place to
prevent the spread of disease to keep a population strong?
(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 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
The 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 Michaels
Have
fun!
Tyre
Game Created by Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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