Frieze of Royal Archers from the Palace of the Persian King Darius the Great at Susa
{photo by Frans Vandewalle on flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0}
Guys! We are halfway through the school year, can you believe it? Take a moment and just let that soak in…
Also, tonight is the required Family Business Meeting for SLOCA families – we look forward to seeing you all there!
Okay, now on to our mix-ins for the week. Those ancient Greeks took part in so many wars! We covered the Trojan War last week, so let’s look at some other big ones – the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. Given that this week’s topic is war, please preview the following videos and links to be sure you’re okay with your kiddos using them. We always try to do our best to preview and make good selections, but we don’t always catch everything, so please monitor these for your own family’s needs:
VIDEOS:
Battle of Marathon – A nice overview, from Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Click on the Play button.)
Chasing Greatness: The Greeks – From PBS and National Geographic, this segment of a longer documentary is about the first “marathon” and the Persian invasion of Greece. Here’s the second part, which also includes info about the Persian Wars. Here’s the full episode if you want to watch the whole thing.
Building the Navy: The Greeks – Here’s more from the above documentary, about the Greek navy in the Persian Wars.
The Persian Wars in 5 Minutes – Just what it sounds like:
Battle of Thermopylae – The dramatic story of this famous battle of the Persian Wars:
Decisive Battles – Marathon – This television series from the History channel uses video game technology to illustrate ancient battles:
Decisive Battles – Thermopylae – Here’s another one:
Horrible Histories – Battle of Marathon – These brits are pretty silly, but kids might enjoy their humorous history-based skits (after they know the real story!):
LEGO Peloponnesian War – These are always fun to look at:
Peloponnesian War and Thucydides – The story of the Peloponnesian War as told by historian Thucydides:
Ancient Greeks: Spartan Invasion – A History channel documentary:
The Peloponnesian War Song – From the History channel, here’s quirky artist and singer Jeffrey Lewis telling the story of the end of the Golden Age of Greece.
WEBSITES:
Ancient Greece: War – From the British Museum, check out the story of the battle of Thermopylae; explore the battlefield at Plataia; and challenge yourself by commanding a Greek trireme.
Ancient Greeks: Greeks at War – The older BBC website for kids, with photos, fun facts, and activities.
Ancient Greeks: Sea and Ships – Here’s another relevant section of the BBC website above.
The Ancient Greeks at War – A newer BBC website, with info about Ancient Greek soldiers and wars.
Odyssey Online: Victory and Conquest – Discover more about weapons and warfare in ancient Greece. (Click on “Skip Intro” then “Victory & Conquest”)
Q&A on the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars
Persian Wars Resource Page – Scroll down a bit on this page to find maps and pictures about the Persian Wars.
Interactive map of the Persian Empire
Interactive map of the Persian Wars
Battle of Marathon – This page features a google map you can zoom in on, as well as other photos and pictures about the battle of Marathon.
Warfare in Ancient Greece – View artifacts such as a bronze helmet, body armor, and vases, and find out more about warfare in ancient Greece. (Click on the picture to begin.)
Relief of Persian and Median Guards – View a relief depicting guards in Persian and Median dress bearing shields and arms.
Silver decadrachm of Syracuse – View a coin issued to commemorate victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War.
How to build a catapult with craft sticks – Includes a video with instructions.
