Famous Men of Greece · Ch. XVIII · Unit 6: The golden age and the war with Sparta

23. Pericles

Goal: Your child can describe the Golden Age of Pericles and the building of the Parthenon, and say how the Peloponnesian War began.

⏱ About 35 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • A map or globe (a free online map works well)
  • A notebook or paper and colored pencils
  • Your timeline (a long strip of paper on the wall, or a notebook page)
  • Pictures of the Parthenon (search for some)

What's in the book

Pericles passes good laws, rebuilds Athens in marble (the Parthenon and Phidias's great statues of Minerva), and finishes the Long Walls. The Peloponnesian War with Sparta begins (431–404 B.C.), plague strikes crowded Athens, and Pericles dies. Phidias is falsely accused. The age has great historians: Herodotus and Thucydides.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Look first

    Look at photographs of the Parthenon on the Acropolis together. It still stands, though in ruins.

    SayIt was built in the time of the man we meet today.

  2. Read the chapter together

    Read pages 163–172 aloud, or let your child read and help with the hard names. There are three parts: Pericles, Phidias, and the Golden Age.

  3. Narration

    Close the book. Ask your child to tell the story back in their own words, from the beginning. Don't correct as they go; just listen. If they get stuck, use a prompt:

    - What good laws did Pericles have passed?

    - What did people mean by "he found the city of brick and left it of marble"?

    - How did the Peloponnesian War begin?

    - Why did the plague spread in Athens?

    - How did Phidias prove he had not stolen the gold?

  4. Talk it over

    Ask:

    1. Why were the Spartans upset that Athens built the Long Walls?

    2. How did Pericles act when the plague came, even after losing his son?

    3. What was Pericles proudest of?

  5. Remember it

    "That of which I am proudest is that no Athenian ever wore mourning because of anything done by me."

    SayHerodotus is called "the Father of History."

  6. Add to your timeline

    Add "431–404 B.C.: the Peloponnesian War, Athens against Sparta" as a long bar.

Afterwards

Your child draws the Parthenon from a photograph and labels the Acropolis.

Tip

Phidias's statue of Jupiter at Olympia was counted among the Seven Wonders of the World. If your child is interested, look up the other six together.

Answers to the book's problems

1. Athens might be beautiful, but Sparta did not want her rival strong. 2. He went among the people, calming and cheering them, and kept on with the government's work. 3. That no Athenian ever wore mourning because of anything he had done.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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