Greek Warfare
The Greek Warfare Workshop lasts all day, and takes place in your classroom and the school playground (or hall if wet).
Suitable for year 5 or 6.
Fee: £169 per class - with a maximum of 36 children.
Concrete Outcomes: sets of helmets and shields (1 per 4 children).
Two free A3 colour posters with each workshop!
Contact: Tony North, 0161 438 6634, or email tnorth67@hotmail.com
Focus of the workshop: Greek hoplites of the classical period - their weapons and armour, and how these were used in battle; battle formations - the phalanx; hoplite values; the Battle of Marathon - background, and sequence of events - how it was won
National Curriculum Topics covered: Pheidippides and the Battle of Marathon; city states
'Very informative and practical' - Y5 teacher, St. Hilda's Primary
'Fantastic - the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves' - Y5 teacher, Mossley CE, Congleton More teacher comments
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INTRODUCTION
What was a hoplite? The phalanx formation
What evidence could we use to learn about the weapons and armour of the Greek hoplite?
Time: 10 minutes
Photo from the movie '300' showing a Spartan phalanx
Large painting of hoplite
HOPLITE ARMS 
Learn about the weapons and armour of the hoplite - spear, shield, helmet, greaves, cuirass, sword. Why did they hoplites paint designs on their shields?
Learn how these arms were used by the individual, and in the rank and file (the phalanx)
Why was the hoplite army so effective?
What were the values of the hoplite?
What modern reconstructions can we look at?
Time: 50 minutes
Photos & film of hoplite re-enactors
Game - name the weapons and armour in a vase painting of a hoplite
Game - name the weapons and armour in photo of a hoplite re-enactor
Game - identify artefacts in museums
One volunteer will try out some replicas of arms and I will teach them how they were used, in marching and combat. Three volunteers will pretend to be in ranks and files. Then nine in all will form a phalanx, and we will see why the phalanxes were so strong.
MAKE HELMETS AND SHIELDS
Children will make copies of helmets and shields. They will be divided into groups of four, and each group will make one set. This is a challenging activity, suitable for year 5s or 6s, or able year 4s.
Shiny bronze card will be used, and templates for drawing round and cutting out, followed by sticking with glue, tape, and staples. Children will draw designs on their shields with markers.
Time: 70+ minutes
Materials provided by the school: Pritt sticks, scissors, pencils, erasers, paint, palettes, brushes, pots for water
Helmets and shields made at St.Hilda's Primary, Stretford.
More Greek Warfare workshop photos:
left: helmet made at Peacefield Primary School, Marple, March 2009.
Afternoon Session
THE BATTLE OF MARATHON
The burial mound of the 192 Athenians who died at Marathon
Background to the Battle of Marathon, 490BC. This was the first battle of the wars between Greece and Persia. Despite overwhelming odds the Athenian army won a stunning victory. The runner Pheidippides was sent 146 miles to Sparta to ask for help - which did not come in time. We will look at maps and discuss the threat of Persia.
We will look at the weapons and armour of the Persians army. Children will say who they think won, or should have won the battle. They will imagine how an Athenian at the time would have felt facing such a large and successful invading army.
Time: 10 minutes
Pictures showing sculptures and paintings of Persians, Persian shields.
Photos of the Marathon area.
DEMOCRATIC ROLE-PLAY
The class will pretend to be the democratic assembly of Athens, debating and voting on some important questions related to the Persian invasion (in each case what the Athenians actually did will be taught):
-whether to fight the Persians or give in
-whether to go to meet the Persians at Marathon or stay and defend Athens
Then the class will pretend to be the Athenian generals and try to work out the best strategy to deal with the following problems:
-the many thousands of archers in the Persian army
-the greater size of the Persian army, which will outflank the Athenians
-what to do after the battle when the Persian fleet is seen sailing south towards Athens
Time: 45 minutes
Discussions and voting on these questions
I will tell them the consequences of their decisions, and what the Athenians actually did
We will use a board and plastic strips representing sections of the two armies to try out different battle formations, and learn what result each would lead to. (See board below)
BATTLE RE-ENACTMENT
We will go out onto the field/playground (or hall if wet) and re-enact various aspects of Marathon. Children will be divided into three or four teams and each will have a go at the following exercises (with a contest to see who can drill in the most orderly way):
-holding spear and shield correctly at rest, marching, advancing to fight, and fighting
-running to avoid arrows and forming phalanx at the battle line.
Finally, if time (and maturity) allows, the winning team will get to be the front rank of the Athenians and the rest will line up behind them with the centre thinned as in the proper battle. If possible we will then get one or two other classes to act as the Persian army and show how the battle unfolded in its main stages:
1. The Greeks win on the flanks
2. The Greek centre falls back
3. The Greek flanks turn to envelop the Persian centre
Time: 1 hour
Children will use the helmets and shields they made earlier, plus a couple more I shall provide so we have three groups of 9 or 10 (depending on class size). I shall provide spears.
Children will wear their normal clothes underneath.
I will also show the class my 8 foot replica of a hoplite spear.
In the final battle re-enactment no one will have spears, to avoid injury!
