A group of academics from the University of Exeter in England and ”The Politics Project”, which is an educational charity, created a series of games and workshops based on Ancient Greece and the political figures of Greece.


The new innovative project aims to help British students understand the basics of modern-day politics by acquiring valuable knowledge through a series of fun games and workshops that use Thucydides’ work. The academics hope that this could help the younger generation understand the complexity of politics in such a turbulent time for British politics.

Professor Neville Morley from the University of Exeter managed to develop a series of games after studying the father of historiography, Thucydides.

The workshops, including the innovative games, are divided into four sessions. During the first session, students will have to play an ancient Greek version of the popular ”rock, paper, scissors” game, where they will have to figure out how their Greek city-states will survive in an environment of anarchy that defines the fate of their cities; something similar to today’s anarchic status quo in global affairs.

The second session involves the famous ”Melian Dialogue” of Thucydides. The pupils will learn what it feels like being in a weak position in global politics, something that was perfectly depicted by the Melian Dialogue, where Athenians demanded that the people from the island of Melos surrender.
The third session of the workshop incorporates elements of societal groupings and how these shape politics and politicians.

During the final session, which takes advantage of all the knowledge students gained playing and learning through ancient Greek experiences, pupils are asked to ”interrogate” local and national British politicians to understand their ways of conduct and their motivations.

This innovative project has already started being trialed in the town of Crediton in Devon with students from Queen Elizabeth’s Community College and aims to become a nation-wide teaching method.