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Home , 2015 London Marathon, Aspis, Linothorax, Peltast, Psiloi

History home learning

We have been learning about in school. This week we were researching Greek soldiers which the children really enjoyed. We have left the slides there so that the children can research further if they wish. They may like to sketch a picture of a soldier or some Greek weapons J

If you wish to research another Greek Myth that we not yet covered in school, we would love to hear about it when we come back together. Thursday 19th November WALT: Explore the different Greek soldiers, their armour and weapons and describe the difference between them.

WILF: Look at a selection of soldiers. Label the uniform and weapons of different soldiers. Describe similarities and differences between the soldiers. In ancient times, Greece wasn't a single country like it is today. It was made up of lots of smaller states. These states were always squabbling and often went to war. and fought a long war, called the , from 431 to 404BC.

Only the threat of invasion by a foreign enemy made the Greeks forget their quarrels and fight on the same side. Their biggest enemy were the Persians, who came from an area around modern day Iran.

The Persian kings tried to conquer Greece a few times between 490 to 449BC, but the Greeks managed to fight them off. In the end, it was the Greeks who conquered Persia, when defeated the Persian Empire in the 330s. soldier

Who do you think these people are? Why?

What do you notice that is the same or different about them? Hoplite

• Foot soldiers who made up most of the army. • Their job was to charge forward and fight. • Wore armour and a crested helmet. They had to pay for it! • Poor had cloth armour but the richer ones could afford metal chest and shin armour. • Metal armour was very heavy. • Body army called . • A hoplite wore bronze shin guards called greaves to protect his legs. • Carried a double ended (doru), shield (aspis or hoplon) and a short sword (). • Lined up together behind their shield. • Long sprears faced forward and upwards. • The formation was known as the and was very effective against enemy attack. Psiloi (sill-oy) (The word psiloi comes from the ancient Greek word stipped or bare).

• Poor soldiers – some were even slaves. • Fought on foot with little or no armour. • Fought with somple daggers, slings and stones. • No shield to protect themselves from enemy. • Main task was to run toward the enemy to break up the enemy lines. • When the battle began they would run back to the main group to avoid injury or being killed. Peltast

• A smaller number of soldiers were known as the Peltast. • They carried a – a long pointed stick. They were 1-2 metres long and lighter than . • Poorer men could become as were easy to make and there was no expensive armour. • Protected themselves with a lightweight wicker or animal skin shield. • Their light armour meant they could move quickly around the battlefield. • They could chase the enemy unlike hoplites with their heavy armour. • Hoplites could easily defeat Peltast enemy in a face- to-face combat. Cavalry soldier.

• Fought on horses. • Only the wealthiest people – had to pay for own armour and weapons. • Had to own, train and care for their horses. • Very important as they could charge towards their enemy or chase soldiers who were fleeing the battle. • Worked with the hoplites. • Wore crested helmets but little or no body armour. • Many fought with long spears but some archers used a bow and arrow. • They could fire arrows at enemy hoplites from a distance.

Thursday 19th November Your task:

Bronze – Draw and label the armour and weapons of each soldier. Write sentences to describe the richest and poorest soldiers and how they are used to fight.

Silver – Draw and label images of each soldier. Write a short description and comparison of each soldier.

Gold – Draw and label the soldiers using technical names of armour and weapons. Write a detail description of the soldiers and their rank/power and compare. Friday 20th November WALT: Explain the cause and effect of the Battle of .

WILF: Listen to the story of the Battle of Marathon. Consider how the legend has continued into modern life. Research some contemporary long distance athletes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNAxqaoPLO0

Horrible . Pheidippides was an incredible runner and we still have a long distance run today in tribute of him. What is the name of the run?

Can you think of any famous long distance runners today?

We are going to research some. •Mo Farah was born on 23rd March 1983 in Somalia, Africa. •His father, Mukhtar Farah, is British and Mo moved to England when he was 8. •Mo went to Feltham Community College and he was very keen on sports. •He wanted to play for Arsenal Football Club as a right winger. •In 1996, Mo Farah finished ninth in the English schools cross- country championship. He was only 13. He won the event the next year. •In 2006, Mo ran the 5000 metres in a time of 13 minutes 9:40 seconds. This was the second fastest time by a British athlete. •On 19th August 2010, Farah ran the 5000 metres in 12:57:94. In doing so, he became the British record holder and the first British runner to break the 13 minute barrier. •At the 2011 World Championships, he won two medals – Gold in the 5000 m and Silver in the 10,000 m. •At the Olympics in 2012, Farah won two Gold Medals. He won both the 10,000 m and 5000 m events. •At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Mo Farah won Gold Medals in both 5000 m and 10000 m. •He has been described by Brendan Foster as ‘Britain’s greatest ever athlete‘. •Mo Farah celebrates his victories by doing the ‘Mobot’ (a move devised by Clare Balding and James Corden during Mo’s appearance on the TV show A League of Their Own). Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marathon winner. She is the fastest female marathoner of all time and has held the Women’s World Marathon Record in a time of 2:15:25 since 2003. Radcliffe is a former world champion in the marathon, half marathon and cross country. She has also been European champion over 10,000 metres and in cross country. On the track, Radcliffe won the 10,000 metres silver medal at the 1999 World Championships and was the 2002 Commonwealth champion at 5000 metres. She represented Great Britain at the Olympics in four consecutive games (1996 to 2008), although she never won an Olympic medal. Her running has earned her a number of accolades including the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Laureus World Comeback of the Year, IAAF World Athlete of the Year, AIMS World Athlete of the Year (three times) and a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). She has also been nominated for World Sportswoman of the year on several occasions. In 2010, she was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame. She ended her competitive running career at the 2015 London Marathon. Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian athlete who is considered by many as the greatest long-distance runners of all time. He has to his credit two Gold Olympic medals at the 10,000m distance. He has won the Berlin Marathon for a record four times and that too consecutively. He has won the Dubai Marathon thrice and also the 2001 Half Marathon. He has broken 61 Ethiopian records in the course of his career in distances from the 800m to the marathon. He has also set 27 World Records, ranging from the 1500m to the marathon. Childhood Hailed Gebrselassie was born on April 18, 1973 at Arsi Province, . He had nine siblings and their family lived in financially poor conditions. Haile did not have any interest in running, but it came as a result of his running 10 kms to school every morning and the same distance back in the evening. He was so fast that his friends weren’t able to catch him at all. Soon his talent was spotted and he was asked to try for the Ethiopian national athletics team. Without any training itself, this boy from the hills was able to run faster than many of his trained teammates. Beginning At the age of 19, he won both the 5,000m and the 10,000m at the 1992 World Junior Championships. But this was only the beginning of his illustrious career. In 1993 he went on to win the 10,000 at the World Championships itself. He was able to defend his 10,000 title for the next three World Championships in 1995, 1997 and 1999. Career By the end of 1994, he had set his first World Record, that too in the 5,000m with a time of 12:56.96. In 1995, Haile set his first World Record in the 10,000m with a time of 26:43.53, lowering the previous record by an astonishing 9 seconds. Within two months, he broke his 5,000m World Record, this time lowering it by 10.91 seconds. Haile had soon become one of the most recognizable athletes in the world with such mind blowing performances that none of his competitors could even come close to. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he easily won the Gold in the 10,000m which he defended successfully at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as well. With his performances, he had made Ethiopia, one of the running superpowers in the world of Athletics. Friday 20th November

Create an informative poster about one of the three long distance runners.

Use the information provided and the internet to find interesting facts.

Which of the 3 runners would you choose now to make the long distance run from Marathon to Athens. Why? Monday 23rd November WALT: Plan which materials will be needed for a task and explain why. WILF: Know the legend of the Trojan horse. Plan a decoy vessel. Complete the planning sheet. The Legend of the Trojan horse

The ancient city of was on the coast of Asia, across the sea from the Greek city-state of Sparta. In those days people used to build walls around their city to help protect them with a gate. In times of war, the gates could be closed and locked to stop intruders from getting inside. The walls around Troy were very high and very strong. According to the legend of the Trojan Horse, for ten long years the Greeks had been trying to get over the wall around the city of Troy. But the Greeks could not get over the wall. And the Trojans could not drive the Greeks away. Year after year they fought. And year after year neither side won. One day, a Greek general, Odysseus had a tricky idea. “Let’s pretend to sail away”, he suggested. “We’ll leave a gift for Troy, a gift to announce the end of the war, a wooden horse. But it will have 30 men hidden inside. At night, these men can sneak out and open the gate of Troy!” That was the way things were done back then. When you admitted defeat, you supplied a gift. It made sense to leave an arty gift. The Greek were famous for their art. The Greeks thought it was a brilliant idea. They had their best artists build a magnificent horse. When it was ready, the Greeks brought the wooden horse close to the gates of Troy and pretended to sail away. The Trojan archers at the top of the wall saw the Greeks leaving and they could not believe their eyes. Were the Greeks giving up at last? The Trojans dragged the horse inside their city and closed the gates. Some people wanted to burn the horse. But the Trojan people said “No! it is too beautiful. We will keep it forever as a reminder of our victory”. The Greeks were hoping they’d act like that. The Trojans were famous for bragging. That night, while the Trojan people slept soundly, exhausted from their celebrations, the 30 Greek men hidden inside the wooden horse climbed out ready to invade Troy. That was the end of Troy – the Greeks won the war. You are going to plan your own Trojan Horse!

Monday 23rd November

Use this plan to help include all of the correct elements into your plan. If you would like to have a go at making a Trojan Horse please do! We would love to see them (maybe you can give us some tips before we make one in school J).