Download Greece-Essay 2-Persian War

Ancient Studies – Essay Assignment #2 – The Persian Wars Assignment: Evaluate Leonidas and Themistocles and their contributions to the Greek victory over the Persians in 480 BC. Who made the more significant contribution? Purpose: The goal of this exercise is help every student learn how to organize and develop responses to essay questions you may encounter on tests or as papers in the years ahead. To that end, we will work on this project over multiple class days, taking care with each step of the process. Structure: Your essay assignment will have two parts, one on Leonidas and Sparta and the other on Themistocles and Athens. Part I. In what ways and to what degree did Leonidas embody and put into action the ideals and values of Spartan society? In the eyes of his fellow citizens of Sparta, did Leonidas succeed in leading a good life? To answer this question you should first explain the ideas and values of Sparta. • What did the Spartans consider most important? • How did the Spartans organize their society in order to achieve their goals? • How and why did Sparta first develop their distinctive social arrangements? You should then analyze the actions of Leonidas during the Persian War. • Why did Leonidas and the Spartans choose to fight against Persia? • What strategy and tactics did Leonidas employ in the fight? • What specific actions did Leonidas take? • How successfully did Leonidas accomplish his goals? • How did his fellow citizens then view his life and his contributions to Sparta? Part II. In what ways and to what degree did Themistocles embody and put into action the ideals and values of Athenian society? In the eyes of his fellow citizens of Athens, did Themistocles succeed in leading a good life? To answer this question you should first explain the ideas and values of Athens • What did the Athenians consider most important? • How did the Athenians organize their society in order to achieve their goals? • How and why did Athens first develop their distinctive social arrangements? You should then analyze the actions of Themistocles during the Persian War • Why did Themistocles and the Athenians choose to fight against Persia? • What strategy and tactics did Themistocles employ in the fight? • What specific actions did Themistocles take? • How successfully did Themistocles accomplish his goals? • How did his fellow citizens then view his life and his contributions to Athens? Length: 600 words is a reasonable goal for the total project, with 300 for each of the two parts (or about 150 words for each of the four major paragraphs). Responses that come in well short of that number likely will fail to address all of the component parts and will need further elaboration; responses that come in well above that (at 1000 words or more) likely will need revision for wordiness. Timeline & Due Date: You will begin work on your outlines in class and for homework on and before Friday, October 3. You will then have class time on both Tuesday, October 7, and Wednesday, October 8, to type your response on your computer. You may also work on your answer outside of class as time and circumstance permit (though I do not expect students to work over Family Weekend – you will have enough time before and after that break). You will submit your answer by the end of the class period on October 8. Responses should be typed using Microsoft Word and should be submitted electronically via either email or “One Drive” as a single document. You should title your Word document with this heading: “Last Name-­‐Persian War Essay-­‐10.08.14” Outline and Notes: Students can and should prepare an outline with notes that help you to address each of the component parts of the question. You can and should use these notes when you type your response. And you can and should discuss the material in your outline with your classmates and teacher as a regular part of our class activities. However, you should not and must not simply copy the material on your outline or the material in your essay response from another student; your outline and your writing should be your own. Strong responses will have good evidence from the readings that helps you to address each section of the question. You should draw on the BBC and PBS videos, on chapters 5 & 6 in These Were the Greeks, and on the selections from Plutarch and Herodotus found in The Western World. Introductions & Conclusions: I do not expect students to write a formal introduction or conclusion for either part of this essay assignment – but later in the year we will work on revisions of this assignment that combine the two parts into a single essay with a unifying introduction and conclusion. You will receive instruction on introductions and conclusions in the literature section of Ancient Studies before we do that revision. Citations: Formal instruction in MLA citations will come later in the course. In the meantime, students may identify the source for quotations in the following manner: Put the author/speaker’s last name, brief title, and the page number in parentheses at the end of the appropriate sentence (the final punctuation should come outside the parentheses, as in this example). You may use the following system for material you quote: Bettany Hughes’ BBC video on the Spartans: (Hughes, Spartans, p. 31). Bettany Hughes’ BBC video on Athens: (Hughes, Athens, p. 60). Cassian Harrison’s PBS video on the Greeks: (Harrison, Greeks, p. 1). Another historian speaking in the PBS video: (Ober, Greeks, p. 1). Cleisthenes or Themistocles summaries in PBS notes: (PBS, p. 65). Plutarch passages in The Western World: (Plutarch, WW, p. 37). Herodotus passages in The Western World: (Herodotus, WW, p. 25). Amos & Lang’s text in These Were the Greeks: (TWTG, p. 59). Plutarch passages in These Were the Greeks: (Plutarch, TWTG, p. 55). Outline for History Essay #2 – Leonidas & Sparta; Themistocles & Athens Part 1. In what ways and to what degree did Leonidas embody and put into action the ideals and values of Spartan society? In the eyes of his fellow citizens of Sparta, did Leonidas succeed in leading a good life? I. To answer this question you should first explain the ideas and values of Sparta. A. What did the Spartans consider most important? • Evidence 1 (source, page) • Evidence 2 (source, page) B How did the Spartans organize their society in order to achieve their goals? C. How and why did Sparta first develop their distinctive social arrangements? II. You should then analyze the actions of Leonidas during the Persian War A. Why did Leonidas and the Spartans choose to fight against Persia? B. What strategy and tactics did Leonidas employ in the fight? C. What specific actions did Leonidas take? D. How successfully did Leonidas accomplish his goals? E. How did his fellow citizens then view his life and his contributions to Sparta? Part 2. In what ways and to what degree did Themistocles embody and put into action the ideals and values of Athenian society? In the eyes of his fellow citizens of Athens, did Themistocles succeed in leading a good life? III. To answer this question you should first explain the ideas and values of Athens A. What did the Athenians consider most important? B. How did the Athenians organize their society in order to achieve their goals? C. How and why did Athens first develop their distinctive social arrangements? IV. You should then analyze the actions of Themistocles during the Persian War A. Why did Themistocles and the Athenians choose to fight against Persia? B. What strategy and tactics did Themistocles employ in the fight? C. What specific actions did Themistocles take? D. How successfully did Themistocles accomplish his goals? E. How did his fellow citizens then view his life and his contributions to Athens?