Download Greek vs. Greek: From 431 to 404 B.C., Greece`s two mightiest city

Greek vs. Greek: From 431 to 404 B.C., Greece's two
mightiest city-states battled each other for control of land
and sea. In the end, both would lose. (World History Play)
* ATHENIAN CITIZEN
* LEON, SPARTAN MAN
* SIMONIDES, SPARTAN MAN ARCHIDAMUS, KING OF SPARTA
* CORINTHIAN AMBASSADOR
* DIOMEDON, ATHENIAN CITIZEN
* CHRYSANTHE, WOMAN FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF ATHENS
* HECTOR, HER HUSBAND NARRATORS A-D
NAMES IN RED ARE LEADING ROLES.
* Starred characters are fictitious.
In 480 B.C., the mighty Persian Empire attacked Greece. Facing an onslaught, the Greek city-states
banded together to fight the invaders.
At first, the Persians were victorious, overrunning Greece and burning Athens to the ground. But one year
later, the combined forces of the Greek city-states beat the Persians in battle. The victory showed what
the Greeks could do if they were united.
But unity did not last long. The two strongest city-states, Athens and Sparta, struggled to gain dominance
(control) over the rest of Greece.
Athens and Sparta were very different. Athens was the world's first democracy. Its male citizens met in an
assembly to vote on laws and make decisions. Under its great leader, Pericles (461-429 B.C.), Athens
reached its height of power and prosperity. It was Athens' Golden Age, marked by a blossoming of
literature, art, architecture, and philosophy.
Sparta, on the other hand, was an oligarchy, ruled by a few rich families. Spartans believed in discipline
and obedience. Spartan men lived in military camps, training for war.
After the Persian War, Athens recruited other Greek city-states to form the Delian League Delian
League (dē`lēən), confederation of Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens. The name is used to
designate two distinct periods of alliance, the first 478–404 B.C., the second 378–338 B.C.Its members
pledged to defend each other if attacked. Sparta formed its own alliance, the Peloponnesian League
Peloponnesian League: see Sparta. (see map, p. 19).
Tensions grew as Athens forced other city-states to join the Delian League-and treated them as traitors if
they tried to leave. The more ambitious the Athenians became, the more alarmed the Sparrans grew.
Thucydides, an Athenian general, sensed that war was coming. His account of the growing tensions
between Sparta and Athens--and the long, brutal war that followed--is one of the greatest historical
accounts ever.
SCENE 1
Thucydides: Listen, 0 People, and hear a sad story. A story of brother against brother, city against city.
Greek against Greek. Once, Greeks banded together to fight invaders. Then, they turned on each other. I
wrote the story of their struggle. This is how it began.
Narrator A: The Athenian assembly meets in 443 B.C.
Pericles: Fellow citizens! The Persians destroyed our city while we Athenians fought to defend Greece. It
is only fair that the other city-states in the Delian League help replace the ruins with temples that the
world will never forget. Our city--like our freedom--will be the envy of the world.
Athenian citizen: Hear, hear!
Narrator A: The people of Athens cheer Pericles. But not all Greeks are so happy with Athens. In 441
B.C., the island of Samos revolts.
Pericles: Samos must be punished! It cannot leave the League!
Aspasia: I hear that Samos does not want to pay for rebuilding Athens.
Pericles: Why? Wherever we Athenians go, we spread democracy! The rebels on Samos are selfish
aristocrats. We must show them what happens to traitors!
Narrator A: Athens attacks Samos, destroying its ships, raking hostages, and burning down the city walls.
SCENE 2
Thucydides: The attack on Samos alarms Sparta. Who would Athens attack next?
Narrator B: In 431 B.C, an important visitor comes to Sparta.
Leon: Why is the ambassador from Corinth here?
Simonides: Haven't you heard? Corinth is angry with Athens.
Leon: What has Athens done now?
Simonides: It seems the Corinthians tried to crush a rebellion in one of their colonies. The colony asked
for help from Athens--and got it. That made the Corinthians boiling mad.
Leon: Look, the meeting is about to begin.
Corinthian ambassador: We must all stand up to the Athenians.
Archidamus: But why fight?
Corinthian ambassador: Because the Athenians are never satisfied with peace. We must put a stop to
their frightful ambition. Only Sparta can do it--you have the most powerful army in all of Greece.
Archidamus: True, but we must not rush into war. The Athenian navy is much more powerful than our
navy. Even if we win, the war could drag on so long that our children will be fighting, too.
Narrator B: Finally, Sparta and its allies give Athens an ultimatum.
Archidamus: Tell Athens that peace is still possible--but it must give all Greek city-stares their freedom.
SCENE 3
Narrator C: Back in Athens...
Aspasia: How are you going to answer the letter from Sparta?
Pericles: I am so excited about the new temple. It will be beautiful!
Aspasia: I agree. Now what about the Spartans' letter?
Pericles: Ah, my brilliant Aspasia, you know when I am avoiding a topic, don't you? But to answer your
question, the Spartans don't scare me.
Aspasia: But they're tough--they spend their whole lives training for war.
Pericles: The Spartans may be good soldiers, but Athens controls the sea. The Spartans may attack our
farms and villages. But strong walls protect our city. Then, we will counterattack Sparta and its allies by
sea.
Narrator C: Pericles speaks to the assembly in 431 B.C.
Pericles: Citizens of Athens! We must give the Spartans a firm answer. If we are not firm, other cities in
the Delian League may rebel. And then, Athens will lose its power.
Diomedon: What should we do?
Pericles: All Athenians must move inside the city walls. We must not fight the Spartan army on land. But
inside our city walls, we will be safe.
Diomedon: But how will we win?
Pericles: We will wait them our--and at the right time, attack them by sea.
SCENE 4
Thucydides: The war starts. After months of fighting, Pericles gives a speech to rally his people.
Pericles Citizens! We must never forget what we are fighting for: Athens! We are a democracy--our
government is in the hands of the many and not the few. Our laws ensure equal justice for all, but that
does not prevent people who are talented from rising to the top. We love beauty, and we cultivate the
mind. But we're tough, too. And we all participate in our city's government. We alone regard a man who
takes no interest in public affairs as a useless citizen. Athens is like a school for all of Greece--other
Greeks learn from us.
Thucydides: Pericles' speech stirs Athenians to fight on, despite many hardships.
SCENE 5
Narrator D: The next year, Athens is hit by a terrible plague.
Chrysanthe: Life has been so hard since we were forced to leave our farms and crowd into the city. How I
miss our vineyards and olive trees.
Hector: I know. By now the Spartans have probably destroyed them!
Chrysanthe: And our people are wasting away because of the plague. It's because we're so crowded
behind the city walls. The plague spreads so fast. First the child gets sick, then the mother, then the
father ...
Hector: There are so many piles of bodies with no one to light their funeral pyres!
Chrysanthe: And where are the birds? All the birds seem to have disappeared from the city.
Hector: You are not your normal cheerful self, wife. Is something wrong?
Chrysanthe: My head is burning up.
Narrator D: She faints.
Hector: Oh no! I hope you don't have the plague, too.
Narrator D: But she does. The plague kills one out of every four Athenians.
EPILOGUE
In 429 B.C., Pericles also died of the plague. War dragged on for another 25 years, until Athens was
defeated. But neither side truly won the war. Both Athens and Sparta were shattered, and Greece never
attained its former greatness. As historian Will Durant later said, the Peloponnesian War 431–404 B.C.,
was the decisive struggle in ancient Greece between Athens and Sparta. It ruined Athens, at least for a
time.
Your Turn: Think About It
1. How were the Athenians different from the Spartans?
2. Did the Spartans have a choice about going to war? Explain.
3. Was Athens justified in forcing other city-states to become democracies?