The Peloponnesian War

Setting:

                    Ancient Greece, 431 to 399 BC

Characters:

-Narrator- Common child watching the war

-Greek:

1.       Pericles (Leader of Army)

2.       Socrates

3.       Soldiers

4.       Navy and Marines

5.       Alcibiades

6.       Townspeople

-Spartan:

1.       Lysander (Leader Of Army)

2.       Soldiers

Act 1:

Narrator: Hello, my name is Meredith. During the Peloponnesian War between Greece and Sparta, I was a little child, about fourteen years old. I was one of the lucky ones who did not die in the plague. This is my story looking back on this war, the major leaders and events during it, and the outcome the war had towards Greece. If you know much about this war, you know that the Greek Empire was trying to control all of the Mediterranean with the help of our leader, Pericles. He was one of the best leaders I have ever seen. He made our empire grow and conquer; everyone was happy and loving life as a Greek. Then, one day, Pericles decided that this empire should have all of the power of this area, and go to war against the Spartans. Spartans were grown into being fighters, powerful people, so this war would be quite the challenge for our empire, but we were just as powerful as them. Everything started on this one day..

Pericles: My good citizens of Greece, we are on top of our game of becoming the rulers of all of the Mediterranean. We have been very victorious in all of our recent battles, and we will continue to be. I have been doing some research, and it seems to be that there is just one empire we must beat to have all control of this area- our long rivals, the Spartans. They are good fighters, born into fighting, but we are just as good. We must go into war with them. Who is with me?

Townspeople and Soldiers: WE ARE! WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR EMPIRE.

Pericles: Very well then, the Spartans are controlling Sicily at this time; we must get the soldiers on top of this, and start our very first battle in the starts of a war.

(People from the Navy begin to prepare for the first battle)

Pericles: My good soldiers, I believe that we are ready for this battle. Are you all with me?

Soldiers: YES WE ARE.

Pericles: Well good, off you go into the battle.

Act 2:

Narrator: The Athenian army was ready to attack the Spartan people. They thought this would be an easy victory.

Greek Solider 1: We will defeat Sparta immediately. This will be such an easy win.

Greek Soldiers: LET’S GET THEM!

(Greek Soldiers attack)

Lysander: Oh my, I did not see this coming from the Greeks. I guess it is time for a new war. Soldiers, come!

(All Spartan Soldiers enter)

Lysander: The Greek marines and navy are coming for us. They are a few hours away, we can spot them coming from our mountains. Prepare yourself, get your weapons. This is the beginning of a new war, a war for control of all the Mediterranean.

Spartan Soldiers: Yes, sir!

(They all exit)

Narrator: After fighting this very first battle of the Peloponnesian War, the Greek people came out successful. They felt as if they had all of the control. But this was just the first battle; there were many more in store for them. The Greek soldiers captivated all of the Spartan generals they could and decided to execute them.

(Narrator exits)

Socrates:  We cannot kill these people. Yes, they are our enemy, but they still have reason to live! Let’s just exile these people. Make them surrender to us, anything.

Townsperson 1: We have captured them, and they will suffer.

All Townspeople: HUZZZAH!

Socrates: If you all agree, I believe there is nothing I can do, but there are much better ways with dealing with this situation. I will leave now, as I still have my respect and dignity for the human race. But know what you are doing is terrible wrong.

(Socrates Exits and the Townspeople continue with the executions of the Spartans by forcing them to drink poison until they die)

Act 3:

Narrator: Because of this execution and loss of the first battle, the Spartan people were enraged. They were determined to beat the Greeks, however possible, even if they had to bring in a Greek soldier to get him to betray his own country. This one man was Alcibiades.

Alcibiades: I will betray my country for you, Lysander, in hopes of your victory, with one condition. I will have a large amount of power and I will not die in this battle.

Lysander: You will not die, and you will receive some power and be considered a hero to the Spartans. You will be famous. How does this sound to you?

Alcibiades: I will accept your offer. Now, I will go to Pericles and the leaders of my army and see what their plan of attack is. I will meet you here at sundown tomorrow.

(Lysander exits and Alcibiades runs to Athens to speak with Pericles and the leaders of the army)

Pericles: Hello, my dear friend Alcibiades, what can I do for you today?

Alcibiades: I have come to ask if you or any of you (points of the army leaders) know what our next plan of attack is on the Spartans. I must prepare myself.

Pericles: Why yes, we were actually just discussing this. There are many Spartan soldiers trying to protect the city-state of Syracuse on Sicily. We will attack them in hopes of power of this city-state and then continue to take over the Spartan empire. We will leave for this trip at sunrise in two days.

Alcibiades: Thank you, sir. I must go now and have dinner with my family.

(All exit)

Act 4:

Narrator: Alcibiades meets with Lysander the next day at sundown. He tells Lysander all about Pericles plan to attack Syracuse in Sicily.

Lysander: Thank you so much, my good man. After this victory, I consider you a major help to the victory against Greece in this war. You will receive fame and be considered a hero to us.

Alcibiades: Thank you, sir. I believe I will see you at the next sea battle.

(They both exit)

Narrator: Since, the Spartans knew about this ‘surprise attack’ against them in the sea, they were very prepared with ships and powerful weapons to beat the Greeks. After six months of fighting, the Spartans became victorious of this battle. The Greeks fell apart during the battle. The fought, their food and water ran out, and they became sloppy, while the Spartan army was on top of their game. What the Greeks thought would be an easy win, was one of the worst battles of the era. This battle leads to the victory of the Spartans in the Peloponnesian War. The Greek empire fell apart, plague struck in their empire, and 1/3 of their population died, including Pericles. The Greek townspeople blamed Socrates for their defeat and the ruining of their empire and exiled him. There empire was little by little falling apart and they couldn’t pick it back up.