A city in ancient Greece where every boy became a soldier.
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Read the sentence and guess the meaning.
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Sparta was a city in the south of ancient Greece. It was different from other Greek cities. Athens loved art, ideas and trade. But Sparta loved only one thing: war. In Sparta, every man was a soldier. That was the most important job.
How could the men train all day and never work? There were other people who did the work. They were called helots. The helots were slaves. They worked in the fields and grew the food. There were many, many helots — many more helots than Spartans. The Spartans were afraid of them, because there were so many.
Life in Sparta was very hard. When a baby boy was born, the old men looked at him. If the baby was weak or sick, they did not keep him. Only strong boys could stay. This was very cruel, but the Spartans wanted only strong people.
1. What was the most important job in Sparta?
2. Who were the helots, and why were the Spartans afraid of them?
1. Being a soldier. Every man in Sparta was a soldier, and war was the most important thing.
2. The helots were slaves who did the work and grew the food. There were many more helots than Spartans, so the Spartans were afraid of them.
In Sparta, boys did not stay at home with their families. At seven years old, a boy left his mother. The city took him and started to train him. The training was very hard.
The boys got very little food. They were often hungry, so they learned to steal food. But if someone caught them, the boys got a hard punishment! The lesson was: be clever, and do not get caught. The boys had no shoes and only thin clothes, even in winter. They slept on hard beds. They learned to be strong and to say nothing when there was pain.
When the boys grew up, they became the best soldiers in Greece. In a battle, they stood close together, side by side. Each man had a big shield and a long spear. They made a wall of shields, and they did not run away. Other soldiers were afraid, but the Spartans were not. Their army was stronger than any other army in Greece.
1. What happened to a Spartan boy at seven years old?
2. Why did the boys learn to steal food?
1. He left his mother and family. The city took him and trained him to be a soldier.
2. The boys got very little food and were hungry, so they stole food. But if they were caught, the punishment was hard — so they learned to be clever.
The most famous story about Sparta is a battle. In 480 BC, a very big army came to Greece from Persia. There were thousands and thousands of Persian soldiers. The Greeks were afraid, because the Persian army was much bigger than their own.
The Spartan king was called Leonidas. He took a small group of soldiers to a narrow pass in the mountains. There were only three hundred Spartans, and some other Greeks. In the narrow pass, the big Persian army could not use all its soldiers at one time. For two days, the small Greek group stopped the huge army. They were very brave.
Then a man showed the Persians a secret path around the mountains. Now the Persians could attack from behind. Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans stayed and fought. They all died. But people never forgot them. Even today, two thousand years later, Sparta is famous. When we say a place is "spartan", we mean it is simple and hard. And people still tell the story of the brave three hundred.
1. Why did the small Greek group go to the narrow pass in the mountains?
2. What happened to Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans?
1. The Persian army was much bigger. In the narrow pass, the Persians could not use all their soldiers, so a small group could stop them.
2. A man showed the Persians a secret path around the mountains. Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans stayed, fought, and all died — but people never forgot them.
To tell this story, we compare things (bigger, stronger) and we say what existed in the past (there was, there were). Here are two easy tools.
Write there was or there were.
1. In Sparta, many soldiers.
2. a big battle at the mountains.
3. three hundred Spartans with the king.
4. a secret path around the mountains.
1. there were (many soldiers — plural)
2. There was (one battle — singular)
3. There were (three hundred — plural)
4. There was (one path — singular)
Write the comparative of the word in brackets. Add than if you need it.
1. The Spartan army was the other armies. (strong)
2. The Persian army was much the Greek group. (big)
3. Life in Sparta was life in Athens. (hard)
1. stronger than (short word + -er + than)
2. bigger than (big → bigger + than)
3. harder than (hard → harder + than)
Fill each gap with there was, there were, or a comparative. Read it aloud when you finish.
In 480 BC a big war in Greece. The Persian army was much (big) the Greek group. At the mountains only three hundred Spartans, but they were (brave) than the enemy.
there was (one war) · bigger than (short word + -er) · there were (three hundred — plural) · braver than (short word + -er)
Use there was for one thing, there were for many, and -er + than to compare.
There is a real podcast about Sparta. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. Open the show on Spotify and search "Short History Of Sparta" to find the episode.
Open on Spotify →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Sparta in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a city of soldiers → the helots (the slaves) → a boy leaves home at seven → the hard training → the wall of shields → the battle at the mountains → the brave three hundred.
Try to use there was / there were and some comparatives (stronger, bigger, harder), and some of the key words (soldier, train, brave, battle, spear, shield, strong, enemy, slave, famous).
Sparta had the strongest army, but life was very hard, and there was no freedom. Athens was freer, and it loved art and ideas. Which city do you like more? Which one would you want to live in? Why?
The Spartans were famous for being brave. Talk about being brave. Use there was / there were and comparatives.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: