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

25. Lysander

Goal: Your child can tell how Lysander trapped the Athenian fleet at Goat's River and how the Peloponnesian War ended.

⏱ About 25 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)

What's in the book

Lysander, the cunning Spartan admiral, refuses battle for four days at Aegospotami ("Goat's River") until the Athenians grow careless, then captures nearly their whole fleet. Athens is blockaded and surrenders in 404 B.C.; the Long Walls are pulled down to music. The Thirty Tyrants rule harshly until Thrasybulus overthrows them. Lysander dies fighting Thebes.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Set the scene

    Find the Hellespont again. Goat's River was on its shore. Then find the Piraeus, the port of Athens.

  2. Read the chapter together

    Read pages 180–185 aloud, or let your child read and help with the hard names.

  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 was Lysander's trick?

    - How did Athens learn of the defeat?

    - What were the Spartan terms of peace?

    - Who were the Thirty Tyrants?

  4. Talk it over

    Ask:

    1. What did Lysander mean about the lion's skin and the fox?

    2. Why did the Athenians stop being careful?

    3. Why did Lysander pull the walls down to music, and on the anniversary of Salamis?

  5. Remember it

    "When the lion's skin is too short you must patch it with that of a fox."

    Add "404 B.C.: Athens surrenders; end of the Peloponnesian War" to the timeline.

  6. Look back

    Lay out the story of the war so far: Pericles (beginning, plague), Alcibiades (Sicily), Lysander (the end). Your child tells the whole war in a few sentences.

Afterwards

Your child thinks of a time when patience and watching won over rushing in, from a game or story.

Tip

The book says the prisoners were put to death. You can read that sentence quickly or leave it out.

Answers to the book's problems

1. If you cannot win by strength (the lion), you must use cunning (the fox). 2. The Spartans refused to fight four days running, so the Athenians felt sure Lysander was afraid of them. 3. To wound the pride of Athens as much as possible.

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

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