Posts Tagged ‘students’

So, yesterday I received an email from one of my students who had been arguing with another student during art class about a history question. They finally bet eachother 100rmb about $15.00. The best thing about this is that, yes one of the students loves history, but the other one isn’t even in history and hates school. So you have nerd vs. D student. Here was the email: I(john) say that sparta was located in greece and is therefore a greek city, it existed before and after the roman empire rose and fell, further supporting the argument. The word sparta is also greek not latin

Eric says that sparta is Roman because at one point in time it was under roman rule regardless of its place it was in rome.

but wouldn’t greece be part of the roman empire not of rome itself? Like a Colony not an extention of the country. But In truth the roman rule was so short compaired to sparta’s whole history that it seems quite irrelevant in the total outcome if it was once possessed by rome. now if eric were asking me in the 3rd century during which sparta was under roman control he would be correct but it is long past that. 

Your Student

I laughed out loud and immediately went to the books and wrote back:
Sparta was a Greek City-state meaning it was a nation in itself in Greece as was Athens. Both Athens and Sparta however were conquered by Alexander the Great’s father thus becoming part of a new Greek empire, no longer states themselves but mere cities within an extended empire. Eventually after Alexander the Great’s death the Roman Empire did conquer Greece making it part of it’s empire.

So, Sparta as people think of it (warlike country like in the movie 300) was a Greek city-state (city in the area known as Greece that ruled itself).

I can’t wait to see the student today to see what he says and if the other boy actually pays up.