Greece in Civilization 6 is a cultural powerhouse, a civilization that can pivot between peaceful diplomacy and aggressive expansion to achieve a dominant cultural victory. With two distinct but equally potent leaders, Pericles and Gorgo, Greece offers a flexible and engaging path to victory. This guide will provide a comprehensive analysis of how to leverage Greece’s unique strengths to build a cultural empire that will stand the test of time.
The Greek Foundation: Shared Abilities
At the core of Greece’s cultural prowess are its shared abilities, which provide a solid foundation for both Pericles and Gorgo. Understanding these abilities is the first step to mastering Greece.
Plato’s Republic: The Power of Flexibility
According to the player community, Greece’s civilization ability, Plato’s Republic, is one of the most powerful in the game. It grants an extra Wildcard policy slot in any government. This seemingly small bonus provides incredible flexibility throughout the game. In the early game, it can be used for policies that boost production, accelerate expansion, or provide a military edge. In the late game, it becomes a crucial slot for tourism-boosting policies, allowing you to fine-tune your path to victory.
The Acropolis: The Heart of Greek Culture
The Acropolis, Greece’s unique replacement for the Theater Square, is the engine of your cultural output. It is cheaper to build than a standard Theater Square and must be placed on a hill. Its true power, however, lies in its adjacency bonuses. An Acropolis gains a major +2 Culture bonus for being adjacent to a City Center, a bonus that many professional gamers suggest should be prioritized in every city. It also gains +1 Culture for each adjacent wonder and district. Furthermore, completing an Acropolis grants a free Envoy, a bonus that directly feeds into Greece’s diplomatic capabilities.
The Hoplite: The Defender of Culture
The Hoplite is Greece’s unique Ancient Era unit, replacing the Spearman. It boasts a formidable +10 Combat Strength when adjacent to another Hoplite. This makes them incredibly effective for early-game defense, allowing you to protect your burgeoning cultural centers from barbarian hordes and aggressive neighbors. For Gorgo, the Hoplite becomes an offensive tool, a weapon to fuel her unique ability and generate early-game culture.
Pericles: The Suzerain of Culture
Pericles offers a peaceful, diplomatic path to a culture victory. His strategy revolves around building a network of loyal city-states and leveraging their support to create a cultural juggernaut.
Surrounded by Glory: A Snowballing Culture Bonus
Pericles’ leader ability, Surrounded by Glory, grants a +5% Culture bonus for each city-state of which you are the Suzerain. This is a percentage-based bonus, meaning its power scales exponentially as your base culture output grows. Analysis on forums shows that a player who can secure a large number of suzerainties in the mid to late game can achieve a cultural output that is virtually unmatched by any other civilization.
Pericles’ Strategy: A Symphony of Diplomacy and Culture
Early Game (Ancient to Classical Era):
- Exploration and Envoys: Your first priority is to explore the map and meet as many city-states as possible. The first civilization to meet a city-state gets a free envoy, so early exploration is crucial.
- The Acropolis Rush: As soon as you unlock the Drama and Poetry civic, begin building Acropolis districts in all of your cities. The free envoy from each completed Acropolis will help you quickly become the suzerain of nearby city-states.
- Government and Policies: The Classical Republic government is an excellent choice for Pericles, providing two extra economic policy slots that can be used to boost your economy and generate more envoys.
Mid Game (Medieval to Industrial Era):
- Wonder Construction: With your high culture output, you will be able to unlock new civics and wonders faster than your opponents. Prioritize wonders that provide Great Work slots, such as the Bolshoi Theatre and the Hermitage.
- Suzerainty is Key: Focus on maintaining your suzerainties. Use your envoys strategically to counter the influence of other civilizations. The extra wildcard slot from Plato’s Republic can be used for policies that grant bonus envoys.
- Theming Museums: A popular strategy is to focus on theming your museums. An Art Museum themed with three Great Works of Art from different artists of the same type will provide a massive tourism bonus.
Late Game (Modern to Future Era):
- Tourism Magnification: Your primary goal is to maximize your tourism output. Build wonders like the Eiffel Tower and Cristo Redentor to boost the appeal of your tiles and the tourism from your seaside resorts.
- Rock Bands and National Parks: Use your faith generation to purchase Rock Bands and send them to the civilizations with the highest domestic tourism. Create National Parks on high-appeal tiles to generate a steady stream of tourism.
- Cultural Alliances: Form cultural alliances with other civilizations to further boost your tourism output.
Gorgo: The Cultural Hegemon
Gorgo offers a more aggressive, proactive path to a culture victory. Her strategy is to use warfare to fuel her cultural engine, conquering her enemies and using their defeat to build a cultural empire on their ashes.
Thermopylae: The Spoils of War
Gorgo’s leader ability, Thermopylae, grants Culture equal to 50% of the Combat Strength of any defeated enemy unit. This ability allows Gorgo to generate a significant amount of culture from the very beginning of the game, giving her a powerful head start in the race for a culture victory.
Gorgo’s Strategy: A Dance of Death and Art
Early Game (Ancient to Classical Era):
- The Hoplite Offensive: Build a strong army of Hoplites and archers and go on the offensive. Many professional gamers suggest that the best way to play Gorgo is to be constantly at war in the early game.
- Barbarian Farming: A popular strategy is to “farm” barbarian camps. By killing the barbarian units without destroying the camp itself, you can generate a steady stream of culture.
- Oligarchy and Conquest: The Oligarchy government is the ideal choice for Gorgo in the early game, as it provides a +4 combat strength bonus to all melee units. Use this bonus to conquer a nearby neighbor and expand your empire.
Mid Game (Medieval to Industrial Era):
- The Pivot to Culture: After a period of early aggression, it’s time to pivot to a more traditional culture game. Use the cities you’ve conquered to build Acropolis districts and wonders.
- Leveraging Your Lead: The culture you’ve earned from combat should give you a significant lead in the civics tree. Use this lead to unlock powerful wonders and policies before your opponents.
- Defensive Wars: While your primary focus should be on culture, don’t be afraid to engage in defensive wars. Every enemy unit you defeat is another burst of culture for your empire.
Late Game (Modern to Future Era):
- The Final Push: Like Pericles, your goal in the late game is to maximize your tourism output. However, your path to victory may involve more conflict.
- Pillaging and Plunder: If another civilization is competing for a culture victory, don’t hesitate to go to war to pillage their Theater Squares and capture their Great Works.
- Military Policies: Use your extra wildcard slot for military policies that support your aggression, or switch to tourism-boosting policies as you push for the win.
Wonder Priority for a Greek Culture Victory
Wonder construction is a critical component of any culture victory strategy, and for Greece, it is even more important due to the Acropolis’s adjacency bonus.
- The Oracle: This is arguably the most important early-game wonder for Greece. It provides bonus Great Person points, which will help you generate the Great Writers, Artists, and Musicians you need to fill your Acropolis districts.
- Apadana: This wonder is particularly powerful for Pericles, as it grants two free envoys when completed and two more every time you build another wonder in the same city.
- Kilwa Kisiwani: This wonder provides a powerful percentage-based bonus to your yields based on the types of city-states you are the suzerain of. For Pericles, this is a must-build wonder.
- Bolshoi Theatre and Hermitage: These wonders provide a large number of slots for Great Works of Art and Music, which are essential for generating tourism.
- Eiffel Tower and Cristo Redentor: These late-game wonders are crucial for maximizing your tourism output. The Eiffel Tower boosts the appeal of your tiles, while Cristo Redentor doubles the tourism from your seaside resorts.
Religion and Relics: A Faith-Based Boost
While not strictly necessary for a culture victory, a well-managed religion can provide a significant boost to your tourism output. The Reliquaries belief, which triples the Faith and Tourism from Relics, can be incredibly powerful, especially if you can secure a large number of relics through martyrdom or the Kandy suzerainty bonus.
Managing Great Works for Maximum Tourism
Theming your museums is a critical component of any culture victory strategy. An Art Museum that is themed with three Great Works of Art from different artists of the same type will receive a massive tourism bonus. Similarly, an Archaeological Museum that is themed with three artifacts from the same era but different civilizations will also receive a significant tourism bonus. Analysis on forums shows that players who neglect to theme their museums will have a much harder time achieving a culture victory.
By following this guide, you will be well on your way to achieving a glorious culture victory with Greece. Whether you choose the peaceful diplomacy of Pericles or the aggressive expansion of Gorgo, Greece offers a rich and rewarding path to victory, a path that will see your civilization’s culture become the envy of the world.