Classical Age
This was the most brilliant period of the Greek poleis. Sparta and Athens were the most important.
The 5th century BC is known in the history of Greece as the "Age of Pericles". This politician governed Athens for 31 years and was one of the fathers of democracy.
During this period, Athens produced brilliant philosopers, such as Socrates, playwrights such as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and artists such as Phidias.
Despite this splendour, there were also a number of conflicts. The most significant were the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponesian Wars.
The Peloponnesian War
Athens took advantage of its hegemony to control the other poleis. This led to a war between Athens and an alliance dominated by Sparta, a real civil war, called "the Peloponnesian War". Athens was defeated. The war brought to an end the so-called Golden Age of Athens. (Click on the map to enlarge).
Activity: The Age of Pericles on Fakebook
Have you heard of "Fakebook"? Fakebook by Classtools.net allows teachers and students to create an imaginary profile of a person in the style of Facebook. Start by typing the name of the person at the top. Fakebook will automatically pull in an image from the web for famous or historic people. Then just add friends, posts, videos and comments to tell more about the person or events. View the Fakebook of Alexander the Great for an example of how to use this resource.
The point of the activity is to create a global image of the Athenian Golden Age based upon the various relevant figures who lived there in that period. For that, divide into pairs, choose a figure and add as friends at least six figures chosen by other classmates. The final evaluation of the task will depend on the accuracy of the information and the relevance of the posts. You have many figures to choose from, ex. gr. Pericles, Aspasia, Phidias, Sophocles...
The Fakebook profiles will be uploaded to our classroom blog landofpotters.
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