THE PELOPENN

n ESIAN WAR

λ WEIRD WARS GREECE

TY CROCKETTt & AMON CROCKETTt
Suggested Materials capturing Amphipolis; Thucydides was exiled
for this. Both Brasidas and Cleon, an Athenian
This setting requires the SWADE book. It can be general and merchant, were killed in Athe-
enhanced by using Weird Wars: Rome and the nian efforts to retake Amphipolis in the Battle
Fantasy Companion books. of Amphipolis. The Spartans and Athenians
agreed to exchange the hostages for the towns
The Peloponnesian War captured by Brasidas, and signed a truce in
421 BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloponnesian_War

The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an

ancient Greek war fought by the Delian League
The Area
led by Athens against the Peloponnesian The Peloponnesian war alliances at 431 BC.
League led by Sparta. Historians have tradi- Orange: Athenian Empire and Allies; Green:
tionally divided the war into three phases. In Spartan Confederacy
the first phase, the Archidamian War, Sparta
launched repeated invasions of Attica, while
Athens took advantage of its naval supremacy
to raid the coast of the Peloponnese and at-
tempt to suppress signs of unrest in its empire.
This period of the war was concluded in 421
BC, with the signing of the Peace of Nicias.
That treaty, however, was soon undermined
by renewed fighting in the Peloponnese. In 415
BC, Athens dispatched a massive expedition-
ary force to attack Syracuse, Sicily; the attack
failed disastrously, with the destruction of the
entire force in 413 BC. This ushered in the final
phase of the war, generally referred to either
as the Decelean War, or the Ionian War. In this
phase, Sparta, now receiving support from the
Achaemenid Empire, supported rebellions in
Athens’s subject states in the Aegean Sea and
Ionia, undermining Athens’s empire, and, even-
tually, depriving the city of naval supremacy.
The destruction of Athens’s fleet in the Battle
of Aegospotami effectively ended the war,
and Athens surrendered in the following year.
Corinth and Thebes demanded that Athens
should be destroyed and all its citizens should
be enslaved, but Sparta refused.

A Peace too Short

The Spartan general Brasidas raised an army
of allies and helots and marched the length of
Greece to the Athenian colony of Amphipolis in
Thrace, which controlled several nearby silver
mines; their product supplied much of the
Athenian war fund. Thucydides, and Athenian
historian and general, was dispatched with a
force which arrived too late to stop Brasidas
The Sicilian Expedition
In the 17th year of the war, word came to
Athens that one of their distant allies in Sicily
was under attack from Syracuse. The people of
Syracuse were ethnically Dorian (as were the
Spartans), while the Athenians, and their ally in
Sicilia, were Ionian. The Athenians felt obliged
to assist their ally.
The Athenians did not act solely from altruism:
rallied on by Alcibiades, the leader of the ex-
pedition, they held visions of conquering all of
Sicily. Syracuse, the principal city of Sicily, was
not much smaller than Athens, and conquer-
ing all of Sicily would have brought Athens an
immense amount of resources.
After an internal conflict, Alcibiades, defected
to the Spartans side. He claimed to the Spar-
tans that the Athenians planned to use Sicily
as a springboard for the conquest of all of Italy
and Carthage, and to use the resources and
soldiers from these new conquests to conquer
the Peloponnese.
This is where we begin...
Greeks
Sparta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartan_army
Sparta and its allies, with the exception of
Corinth, were almost exclusively land-based
powers, able to summon large land armies
which were very nearly unbeatable (thanks to
the legendary Spartan forces). Sparta leads the
Peloponnesian League during this time. The
city-state was known as Lacedaemon, while the
name Sparta referred to its main settlement
on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia,
in south-eastern Peloponnese. Spartans call
themselves Lacedaemonians. Around 650 BCE,
Sprarta rose to become the dominant military
land-power in ancient Greece.
Spartan Characters
A Spartan PC gains the Soldier edge for free.
They also gain a higher attribute die in vigor.
Due to their intense training they start with a
d6 in Fighting for free. The starting attributes
are Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d6,
Vigor d6 (before the free increase). They may
distribute 2 further points in any of these five
attributes. The player can lower any attribute
back to d4 to recover the point at character
creation. The starting character skill package
is Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4, Notice
d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6, and Fighting d6.
The player may distribute 10 more points to
skills.
Cultural Distinctions
Contrary to popular belief, Spartans valued
knowledge and education more than the Athe-
nians did. Although Athens has been praised
as the “inventor” of democracy and philoso-
phy, Sparta often has been viewed in popular
culture as a society characterized by brutal,
mindless discipline and merciless emphasis
on physical fitness. Sparta, however, had its
own democratic government. In the Appella or
Demos, as early as 700 BC, Spartans elected
leaders and voted by range voting and shout-
ing. Every male aged 30 and above could par-
ticipate. Philosophers, like Aristotle, called the
Spartan electoral process “childish” in contrast
to the stone ballots cast by the Athenians.
Sparta adopted its procedure for simplicity and
prevented any biased voting, bribing, or cheat-
ing that was predominant in the early demo-
cratic elections.
The Spartans (the “Lacedaemonians”) divided
themselves into three classes:
Full citizens, known as the Spartiates prop-
er, or Hómoioi (“equals” or peers), who re-
ceived a grant of land (kláros or klēros, “lot”)
for their military service.
Perioeci (the “dwellers nearby”), who were
free non-citizens. They were generally mer-
chants, craftsmen and sailors, and served as
light infantry and auxiliary on campaigns.
The third and most numerous class was the
Helots, state-owned serfs enslaved to farm
the Spartiate klēros. The helots, too, were
used as light troops in skirmishes.
The Spartiates were the Spartan army’s core:
they participated in the Assembly (Apella) and
provided the hoplites in the army. Indeed, they
were supposed to be soldiers and nothing
else, being forbidden to learn and exercise any
other trade. To a large degree, in order to keep
the vastly more numerous helots subdued, it
would require the constant war footing of the
Spartan society
Culturally, in addition to their Doric dialect of
Greek, Doric colonies retained their character-
istic Doric calendar that revolved round a cycle
of festivals, the Hyacinthia and the Carneia
being especially important.
Hyacinthia is a celebration of the death of
Hyacinthus. Hyacinthus is a divine hero and
a lover of Apollo from Greek mythology.
Carneia was the name of one of the tribal
traditional festival of Sparta, the Pelopon-
nese and Doric cities in Magna Grecia, held
in honor of Apollo.
The Dorian mode in music also was attributed
to Doric societies and was associated by classi-
cal writers with martial qualities.
The Doric order of architecture tradition in-
cluded the Doric column, noted for its simplici-
ty and strength.
The Dorians seem to have offered the central
mainland for Helios. The scattering of cults of
the sun god in Sicyon, Argos, Ermioni, Epidau-
rus and Laconia, and his holy livestock flocks at
Taenarum. Helios was considerably important
in Dorian religion, compared to other parts of
ancient Greece. Additionally, it is the Dorians
who started his worship in Rhodes.
Spartan code of honor
The Spartan hoplite followed a strict lacon-
ic code of honor. No soldier was considered
superior to another. Suicidal recklessness,
berserkery, and rage were prohibited in the
Spartan army, as those behaviors endangered
the phalanx. Recklessness could also lead to
dishonor. Spartans regarded those who fight,
while still wishing to live, as more valorous
than those who don’t care if they die. They be-
lieved that a warrior must not fight with raging
anger but with calm determination. Spartans
must walk without any noise and speak only
with few words by the laconic way of life. Other
ways for Spartans to be dishonored include
dropping the shield (rhipsaspia), failing to
complete the training, and deserting in battles.
Dishonored Spartans were labelled as outcasts
and would be forced to wear different clothing
for public humiliation. In battles, the Spartans
told stories of valor to inspire the troops and,
before a major confrontation, they sang soft
songs to calm the nerves.
Spartan Army
The ephors, leaders of Sparta, would first
mobilize the army. After a series of religious
ceremonies and sacrifices, the army assem-
bled and set out. The army proceeding was
led by the king, with the skiritai and cavalry
detachments acting as an advance guard and
scouting parties. The necessary provisions
(barley, cheese, onions and salted meat) were
carried along with the army, and a helot man-
servant accompanied each Spartan. Each mora
marched and camped separately, with its bag-
gage train. The army gave sacrifice every morn-
ing as well as before battle by the king and the
officers; if the omens were not favorable, a
pious leader might refuse to march or engage
with the enemy. Spartans trained in pankra-
tion, a famous martial art in Ancient Greece
that consisted of boxing and grappling.
Like the other Greek city-states’ armies, the
Spartan army was an infantry-based army that
fought using the phalanx formation. The Spar-
tans themselves did not introduce any signifi-
cant changes or tactical innovations in hoplite
warfare, but their constant drill and superb
discipline made their phalanx much more
cohesive and effective. The Spartans employed
the phalanx in the classical style in a single line,
uniformly deep in files of 8 to 12 men. When
fighting alongside their allies, the Spartans
would normally occupy the honorary right
flank. If, as usually happened, the Spartans
achieved victory on their side, they would then
wheel left and roll up the enemy formation.
During the Peloponnesian War, battle engage-
ments became more fluid, light troops became
increasingly used, and tactics evolved to meet
them. However, in direct confrontations be-
tween the two opposing phalanxes, stamina
and “pushing ability” were what counted.
Spartan Navy
Throughout their history, the Spartans were
a land-based force par excellence. During the
Persian Wars, they contributed a small navy of
20 triremes and provided the overall fleet com-
mander. Nevertheless, they largely relied on
their allies, primarily the Corinthians, for naval
power. This fact meant that, when the Pelo-
ponnesian War broke out, the Spartans were
supreme on land, but the Athenians excelled
at sea. The Spartans repeatedly ravaged Atti-
ca, but the Athenians who were kept supplied
by sea, were able to stage raids of their own
around the Peloponnese with their navy.
Spartan Education
The Spartan public education system, the
agoge, trained the mind as well as the body.
Spartans were not only literate but admired
for their intellectual culture and poetry. The
state provided public education for girls and
boys, and consequently, the literacy rate was
higher in Sparta than in other Greek city-states.
In education, the Spartans gave sports the
most emphasis. Self-discipline, not kadaverge-
horsam (mindless obedience), was the goal of
Spartan education. Sparta placed the values of
liberty, equality, and fraternity at the center of
their ethical system. These values applied to
every full Spartan citizen, immigrant, merchant,
and even to the helots, but not the dishonored.
Helots are unique in the history of slavery in
that, unlike traditional slaves, they were al-
lowed to keep and gain wealth. For example,
they could keep half of their agricultural pro-
duce and presumably could also accumulate
wealth by selling them. There are known to
have been occasions that a helot with enough
money could purchase their freedom from the
state.
Athens
The Athenian Empire, although based in the
peninsula of Attica, spread out across the
islands of the Aegean Sea; Athens drew its
immense wealth from tribute paid from these
islands. Athens maintained its empire through
naval power. Athens leads the Delian League
during this time.
Cultural Distinctions
Apaturia is a fall/winter feast/festival that is
commemoration of a single combat between a
King of Attica, and a King of Boeotia, in which
the Attican successfully threw his adversary off
his guard by crying that a man in a black goat
skin (identified with Dionysus) was helping him.
Ionian philosophy holds that instead of ex-
plaining natural phenomena by recourse to
traditional religion/myth, the cultural climate
was such that men began to form hypotheses
about the natural world based on ideas gained
from both personal experience and deep re-
flection.
Greece
The Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League was an alliance
in the Peloponnesus from the 6th to the 4th
centuries BC, dominated by Sparta. It is known
mainly for being one of the two rivals in the
Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), against the
Delian League, which was dominated by Ath-
ens.
The Delian League
The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an
association of Greek city-states, with the num-
ber of members numbering between 150 and
330 under the leadership of Athens, whose
purpose was to continue fighting the Persian
Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of
Plataea at the end of the Second Persian inva-
sion of Greece.
The League’s modern name derives from its of-
ficial meeting place, the island of Delos, where
congresses were held in the temple and where
the treasury stood until, in a symbolic gesture,
it was moved to Athens in 454 BC.
Hoplites Greek Female Names
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplite Tryphosa, Ariadne, Maeonia, Pherusa, Hekate,
Hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek Oenone, Eidothee, Creusa, Aketa, Thelma, Clio,
city-states who were primarily armed with Semele, Phaedre, Themis, Ctimene, Amphitrite,
spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers utilized Heliodora, Timo, Kephissa, Philomache
the phalanx formation to be effective in war
with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged Game Conventions
the soldiers from acting alone, for this would We used the PEG Inc. Weird Wars: Rome set-
compromise the formation and minimize its ting book to help flesh out the ancient world.
strengths. The hoplites were primarily repre- In our game, we wanted to use some of this
sented by free citizens – propertied farmers culture and alter it a bit. We made the follow-
and artisans – who were able to afford a linen ing conventions that allowed us to play the
armor or a bronze armor suit and weapons game we enjoyed more.
(estimated at a third to a half of its able-bodied
A female could attain any station that a
adult male population). Most hoplites were not
male could. We eliminated (tried to elimi-
professional soldiers and often lacked suffi-
nate) almost all gender bias.
cient military training. Some states maintained
a small elite professional unit, known as the Eliminated triggering content. We had
epilektoi (“chosen”) since they were picked minors playing. This is a great set piece for
from the regular citizen infantry. These existed learning a bit of history. We did not deal with
at times in Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Syra- rape, slavery, and torture.
cuse, among others. Hoplite soldiers made up We delivered hypothesis and conjecture on
the bulk of ancient Greek armies. historical events as facts. We simply made
decisions on what would be the best story
Greek Names content and let that be what happened in
https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/ancient-greek-names.php
the game. The PCs are actually there in this
world after all.
Male and female Greek names are construct-
Helots were able to join combat a full cen-
ed differently, which shows in the suffixes.
tury earlier than it actually happened.
Surnames weren’t used like they are today.
Instead, a patronymic system was used (‘son Regarding names, the concept of ‘wife of..’
of’, ‘daughter of’), although women would often may switch to ‘husband of..’ if the wife is
be referred to as ‘wife of’, as this was often more popular, famed, honored. In the case
more polite than using her own name. These of equals in these areas, both carry the titles.
last names weren’t really used in every day life,
but only for mostly bureaucratic purposes. As Actors
mentioned, a married woman would usually be
referred to as ‘wife of ..’, but on her gravestone Pleistoanax, The Spartan
it would have her full name. Nicknames were
also quite popular, oftentimes they’d replace King
the usage of a given name, much like nick- Pleistoanax (reigned 458–409 BC) was an
names today. Agiad king of Sparta. He was the son of regent
Pausanias, who was disgraced for conspiring
Greek Male Names with Xerxes. Pleistoanax was most anxious for
Damasos, Erechtheus, Phorbas, Aegaeon, Iros, peace during the so-called First Peloponnesian
Philometer, Cynaegiros, Eurykratides, Erasistra- War. He was exiled sometime between 446
tus, Anacharsis, Pantares, Theopompus, Dorys- BC and 444 BC, charged by the Spartans with
sos, Pythagoras, Oresus, Aristos, Nicomachos, taking a bribe. Probably from Pericles (noted
Nikanor, Sarpedon, Borus as “10 talents necessary expenses” in Athens’
funds), to withdraw from the plain of Eleusis in
Attica after leading the Peloponnesian forces The Pythia
there following some revolts of city states from
The Pythia was the name of the high priestess
the Athenian empire. Accepting such a bribe
of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi who also
would have essentially amounted to treason.
served as its oracle, also known as the Oracle
Also some believe that a more probable rea-
of Delphi.
son for the withdrawal of Pleistoanax and his
advisor Cleandrides could be that Pericles The name Pythia is derived from Pytho, which
offered good terms for a peace (e.g. later there in myth was the original name of Delphi. Et-
was a treaty between Sparta and Athens). ymologically, the Greeks derived this place
name from the verb (púthein) “to rot”, which
In 428 BC, Pleistoanax was recalled and re-
refers to the sickly sweet smell of the decom-
stored in obedience to the Delphic oracle’s
position of the body of the monstrous Python
advice, though some suspected he had tam-
after she was slain by Apollo.
pered with the Pythia, the high priestess of the
Temple of Apollo at Delphi. His enemies still
blamed him for Spartan disasters, so Pleistoa-
nax advocated peace to bring an end to the
disasters.

Alcibiades
Alcibiades was a prominent Athenian states-
man, orator, and general. He was the last
famous member of his mother’s aristocrat-
ic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from
prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He
played a major role in the second half of that
conflict as a strategic advisor, military com-
mander, and politician.
In the final stages of the preparations for de-
parture of the Sicilian campaign, the hermai
(religious statues) of Athens were mutilated by
unknown persons, and Alcibiades was charged
with religious crimes. Alcibiades demanded
that he be put on trial at once, so that he might
defend himself before the expedition. The
Athenians however allowed Alcibiades to go on
the expedition without being tried (many be-
lieved in order to better plot against him). After
arriving in Sicily, Alcibiades was recalled to Ath-
ens for trial. Fearing that he would be unjustly
condemned, Alcibiades defected to Sparta and
Nicias was placed in charge of the mission.
After his defection, Alcibiades claimed to the
Spartans that the Athenians planned to use
Sicily as a springboard for the conquest of all
of Italy and Carthage, and to use the resourc-
es and soldiers from these new conquests to
conquer the Peloponnese.
Player Characters
Astera, Beauty
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d4,
Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6, Fight-
ing d8, Intimidation d8, Taunt d4, Survival d6,
Shooting d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Hinderances: One Eye (major), Loyal (minor),
Vengeful (minor),
Edges: Two-Fisted, Ambidextrous, First Strike,
Astera is a walking storm. She is a demon
on the battlefield and contentious when
off. She rarely does things as ordered but is
effective anyway. She even prefers her two
swords to the shield and spear that so many
Lacedaemonians use.
Eris, North
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6,
Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Notice d4, Persuasion d8, Stealth d6, Fighting
d6, Shooting d6, Academics d8, Riding d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hinderance: Code of Honor (Major)
Edges: Command, Aristocrat
Eris is a natural born leader. She is the ideal
of a spartan soldier. She comes from a fam-
ily of nobility and carries the familial obliga-
tions of such a such a station. She is decisive
and bold. Her peers call her North, a name
her father gave her when as a child she
would always demand to determine where
everyone went.
Krateros, Little Brother
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d4,
Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6, Fighting
d8, Intimidation d6, Repair d6, Survival d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Hinderances: Impulsive (Major)
Edges: Brawny, Sweep
Krateros is a daredevil and almost always
leaps before he looks. He rarely thinks things
through before taking action. He is a giant of
a man and fierce combatant. His allies and
family call him Little Brother and consider
him gentle. He has a passion for tinkering
with broken things and can often be found
repairing an item for a elder or less fortu-
nate when not training intensely for war.
Trechus, Stitch
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6, Fighting
d6, Academics d8, Healing d8, Research d4 ,
Thievery d4, Survival d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hinderances: Outsider (minor), Cautious (mi-
nor)
Edges: Healer
Trechus is simply not like other Spartans.
Where almost anyone in the society would
give a raucous cheer regarding war, when
asked what their profession is, Trechus
would offer a thin smile and a nod. He has
found his joys in the humanities more than
anything. He has a strong desire to help
soldiers heal and recover from battle. This is
usually a function that is relegated to allies
and subjugated people instead of an activity
for the powerful Spartans. It causes issues
regarding respect with his fellow soldiers
and citizens. This is where he got the nick-
name Stitch as half insult, half friendly de-
scriptor.
NPCs
Average Non-combatants
The are farmers, shepards, merchants, smiths
and any nomal person
d4 in everything, no edges
Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 4
Warriors
Helot
d4 in everything, sometimes skilled in Fighting
d4. Usually no edges.
Pace: 6; Parry: 2 or 4; Toughness: 4
Spartan Soldier
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4,
Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6, Fighting
d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Athenian Soldier
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d4,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4,
Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d4, Fighting
d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
Gear and Equipment
The gear and equipment for the characters can
come out of the SWADE core book, The Fanta-
sy Companion and Weird Wars: Rome. Below
are some changes and connections you may
make.
Spear (dory): The chief spear of hoplites
(heavy infantry) in Ancient Greece. The word
“dory” was first attested by Homer with the
meanings of “wood” and “spear”.
Spartan Shields and Javelins. Xiphos are
double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight
shortswords used by the ancient Greeks.
Don’t forget the contents of a marching kit.
Acknowledgements
Savage Worlds
https://www.peginc.com/
“This game references the Savage Worlds
game system, available from Pinnacle Enter-
tainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage
Worlds and all associated logos and trade-
marks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertain-
ment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle
makes no representation or warranty as to
the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose
of this product.”
Wikipedia
https://www.wikipedia.org/
Amazing minds and a true community of shar-
ing.
Fantasy Name Generators
https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/
Thanks Emily! This site is awesome.
Gates of Fire
https://stevenpressfield.com/books/gates-of-fire/
This is the book that invited me to be so fasci-
nated with Sparta.
Appendix (Alt Characters)
Trechus, Stitch
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d6,
Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6, Fighting
d6, Academics d8, Healing d6, Research d6 ,
Thievery d4, Survival d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hinderances: Outsider (minor), Cautious (mi-
nor)
Edges: Reliable