Description[]
The Rise of Athens is the fourth scenario of the Greek Campaign in Empire Earth.
Briefing[]
The Rise of Athens: 1,000 - 500 BC
The Sons of Pelops were long gone. But north of Argos, on the Saronic Gulf, their descendants continued to rule in the city of Athens. Though at first little more than a sleepy village, Athens was poised to take control of the entire Attic Region.
No one believed in that vision of Athens more strongly than her king, Theseus.
Theseus has assembled the leader of Athens at the Hill of Ares. Here, he will share his plan for expanding the city... one that he hopes will secure forever the future of Athens.
The legendary Greek city-state is about to emerge.
History[]
Around 750 BC, the blind poet Homer appeared in Asia Minor, near the site of ruined Troy, and recorded the tales of the Sons of Pelops in immortal verse. In the following century, even more reliable historical accounts chart the rise of Greece's three most important city-states: Athens, Sparta, and Thebes.
The People of Athens were descended from those who survived the onslaught of the Dorians. They saw themselves as the inheritors of the heroic tradition preserved in Homer's poems.
Spartans and Thebans, however, were descended from the Dorian horde who overran Homer's heroes. Hailing from the region of Thessaly, these Doric races traced their own ancestry back to Herakles, son of the demi-god Perseus. Indeed, the Spartans sometimes referred to themselves as the Sons of Herakles.
The Athenian King Theseus falls squarely in realm of mythology. He may have existed, but we don't know for certain. We do know that the struggle to unite all of the Attic Peninsula under one city, Athens, was paramount to her rise to glory. And as the city became more powerful, she had to deal with successive generations of tyrants who first seized control in the sixth century. In fact, democracy was invented in Athens to prevent future tyrannies from arising.
But Sparta and Thebes - traditional and conservative - found this new form of government to be an unacceptable threat. Together they launched an invasion of Athens. By defeating them in pitched battle, Athens proved once and for all that she would not be denied a place among the greatest cities.
The age of Athens had arrived.
Objectives[]
- Defeat the armies of Eleusis, Aphidna and Pallene. Do not destroy any of their Town Centers, however, or the cities will refuse to ally with and you will lose.
- Pallene is ready to surrender. Bring Theseus and at least 2 Athenian nobles to the Town Center in Pallene in order to make the city your ally.
- Aphidna is ready to surrender. Bring Theseus and at least 2 Athenian nobles to the Town Center in Aphidna in order to make the city your ally.
- Eleusis is ready to surrender. Bring Theseus and at least 2 Athenian nobles to the Town Center in Eleusis in order to make the city your ally.
- Bring Theseus to the Temple of Athena in Athens.
- Theseus has been taken to Mount Olympus. You must defeat the Spartan and Theban armies without him.
Only the first objective is visible at the beginning of the scenario. The rest follow as the scenario progresses
Losing Conditions[]
- Theseus, the Temple of Athena, and at least 3 of the Athenian Nobility do not survive.
Hints[]
- Gold, Iron, and Stone can only be found near Pallene.
- It would be wise to stay clear of Sparta and Thebes until the time comes when you absolutely must fight them. If you stray into their territory prematurely, you will have your hands full!
- Once you have conquered each of the villages, they will become your allies, so you don't want to do more damage to the villages than you have to.
- Don't forget that when you have allies, you can signal them with a flare if you need help.
- Building the Temple of Zeus will help your armies to heal between battles.
- The army that Sparta and Thebes attack you with at the end of the scenario is smaller than the army that they use if you stray into their borders.
Walkthrough[]
This scenario is best divided into two phases: The first phase in which players drive Athens into conquering the Attic region, and the second phase where they have to deal with the attack of the rivaling city-states of Sparta and Thebes.
First Phase: Securing Attica[]
Send five Citizens to build a Granary within the city's gates. Send the rest to gather wood from just outside the eastern gate and be sure to queue five more Citizens as well. Once you have trained five Archers and five Macemen send your entire army(including Theseus and your priest) to attack Pallene's army. Once you have done that send Theseus to their capital to gain their city.
Once conquered, Pallene will offer a tribute of gold and iron which you should use to add another five units each of archers and macemen to your army. Once added, attack the army of Aphidna( which is larger than Pallene's and consist of Spearmen and Macemen) and be sure not to lose any of your nobles or Theseus. As soon as they are annihilated, send Theseus to their town center. Since by now your army will be badly wounded, generate ten Citizens and send them up to a build a Hospital and a Settlement near the resource patch near Aphidna. When your Citizens have finished, have them to mine Stone which you will need later on.
Subduing Eleusis
Once you have added five more Archers and Macemen and your wounded have healed, send your Army to Eleusis and use a flare above it to signal for aid from your allies. Be sure to attack Eleusis from the north-eastern gate as it will be easier to enter the city that way. Be sure Theseus is near Eleusis's Town Center while attacking as you don't really have to destroy their whole army to get them to surrender. Have your wounded once again retreat to your Hospital in Aphidna
Second Phase: Sparta and Thebes[]
Route A: Defensive[]
Preparing against Thebes
Building defense against Sparta
Now that the player has the alliance of the three cities, DO NOT send Theseus back to the city yet, for as soon as he does, the mighty armies of Sparta and Thebes will come crashing down. First, construct two Towers near the Theban border flag (be sure not to get too close) and two Towers right next to Attica's eastern gate where the Spartans will attack from, and upgrade their range. Then train a Prophet and station him just behind the towers near the Theban border. After that, train another ten Macemen and Archers and have them rendezvous with the rest of the army alongside the Prophet. Don't worry about who'll defend against the Spartans. When all preparations are complete, send Theseus in to the Temple of Athena. Straight after Theseus is taken up to Olympus, Sparta and Thebes will declare war on the player.
When the Theban army attacks, wait until most of them are near the towers and then use the Prophet to send malaria upon them. Draw him back and finish off the Thebans with the army. The allies nearby will aid the player. Send the army back to Athens as soon as the Thebans are finished, for by this time the Spartans will be advancing upon the city. Do not panic, for as soon the Spartans are sighted, EVERY SINGLE UNIT the allies possess will be sent to defend Athens. Once the Spartan army has been defeated, the player will have won.
Route B: Initiative[]
A more daring but manageable route to finish the scenario is by provoking both Sparta and Thebes into war by crossing their borders and engaging their respective armies one at a time. While the armies both faction will send are bigger this way, there are several advantages to consider that might set this route as, in actuality, the easier and more rewarding course of action:
- Theseus will be able to participate in the engagement, greatly increasing the performance of the player's troops and their allies'.
- Although each rival faction will deploy larger armies, players have more control of when and from where the hostility would arrive. This reduces the difficulty in mobilizing and regimenting troops.
- This route rewards civilization points, which will be helpful in the following scenarios.
It is highly recommended that players attempt this route ONLY after they've conquered all three target of conquest, despite it being technically possible to trigger war with Sparta and Thebes before doing so.
The stratagem of anticipating the attack by either Sparta or Thebes remains pretty much the same, although players will have to pool more army and defensive towers in anticipation; remember, bring Theseus along, his innate Morale boost will be very helpful against both armies, who possess units that are one Epoch ahead from what's allowed in the player's camp.
The allies will periodically try to launch attacks on both Thebes and Sparta, whilst setting guards and patrols along the borders in-between attempts. The optimal timing to bait either Sparta and Thebes into attacking is when the allying factions have their masses ready for attack. Be sure to also read the situation as to which enemy they're dogging on; they would likely target Thebes first for being in such a close proximity.
The most notable change in composition of the opposing army is the presence of Shock Cavalry; luckily, all three of the allies seem to favor Spearmen, but nonetheless, be ready to bolster the force with the player's own.
After the player successfully repels both armies, Bring Theseus to the Temple of Athens to win the scenario.
Trivia[]
- It is entirely possible to penetrate beyond the Walls of Sparta and Thebes and destroy all of their structures through gameplay, though doing so yields no reward and mitigates nothing for the scenario; both Sparta and Thebes will be inactive after their armies have been repelled.
- The Towers of both enemy factions will have their attributes pumped up, but it is possible to topple them through the combination of upgraded Sampsons, Prophet, Theseus's influence and the Temple of Zeus.
- If the player intend to do this for whatever reason, they will have to quickly find and destroy the Temples inside the walls to be able to use Calamities; Thebes has one Temple, whilst Sparta has 2.
- The Gates of Eleusis will open for the player once their armies have been defeated; there is no need for making a breach on their structural defense if players can draw out their army into fighting outside the walls.
