Well, I did some dumb things, and some less-dumb things. I also didn't take nearly enough screenshots. Apologies.
Moved scout 1NW, decided to settle in place when I saw the coastline and that there was plenty of space for another city to use the Corn.
Initial build: Wkr, Wkr, Wrr, (barrack until size 2), Settler, Phalanx, granary, barracks, followed by many more Phalanxes.
Tech Path: AH (researched for a few turns, then popped it from a hut when Athens' border popped), Min, BW, Wheel, Ag, Pott, Writing, Sailing, Maths (4 turns from completion @ 1100BC).
Got a beneficial early event: a free pasture on the Cows tile just a turn after I started building it (as well as a road before I even knew how to build it). Also had the random research-accelerating event shave a few turns off of Maths.
Sparta was settled to the NE-- 2N of the Corn. The blue circle liked the plains hill 1W of that location, but I chose the spot I did to get more land tiles instead of coast/ocean. It should be a good coastal production city. I'm thinking Athens'll get cottaged for bureaucracy, with the rest of the empire in a SE. If I had to do it over, I probably would've put Sparta in the S or in the E, to help block Monte. But I didn't know where Monte was when I built the city. (I had met a scout of his on the plains between Russia and Greece.)
Actually managed to keep my initial scout alive for almost the whole turn. Unfortunately, after I sent him South to investigate Aztec lands (post-OB-treaty), he went a bit too far past Monte's southern border and ended his turn next to a barb archer. :suicide:
So, the real news: The Russian Invasion:
Got a stack of (I think) 7 Phalanxes (with 1 more 1 tile behind), and declared war on Peter in 1375BC. Was alarmed to see an Axeman whipped in St. Pete's just before I struck-- it means he has IW and Iron. Anyhow, St. Pete's (which still had 0 cultural defense) fell without costing me anything and yielded 3 CR2 Phalanxes. The rest of the stack pressed on to find Peter's Iron Mine while those units healed. It turned out to be in a convenient location-- 1 NW of Moscow. I razed the mine and defeated an archer-escorted settler he was trying to sneak out of the city.
After a couple turns, the rest of my Phalanxes joined my advance units outside Moscow. Idiotically enough, Peter had another Settler he was trying to sneak off to the North, this one with 2 Archers in defense. On the following turn (when the remainder of my assault arrived), the Settler had retreated, but the 2 Archers remained sitting on a forest 1N of Moscow.
I hit the city as they watched, and with some luck (my first attacker won despite only 17%-ish odds) and a few sacrificial Phalanxes, I took the city. The Settler that had fled was sitting alone 1W of Moscow, so my last Phalanx with a move left (which was still a little damaged from taking out the Archer/Settler earlier), moved through the city and captured it.
Then, I did some not-so-shrewd things.
With Moscow mine, I moved my only healthy Phalanx to the SE to scout out Novgorod. A Russian Axeman attacked and defeated it, sadly. But that Axeman met his doom on the following turn, as I sortied a mostly-healthy Phalanx to finish it, and unless there's another Iron resource under Novgorod itself, he'll probably be the last Axe Peter can put in the field.
Remember those 2 Archers that sat around and watched me storm Moscow? They circled the Lake NE of the city and moved South, presumably to reinforce Novgorod. I deployed a couple half-healed Phalanxes to block them (including the one I gave Medic1, which totally defeats the purpose of giving him Medic1), but one of the Archers attacked a Phalanx and won. That's where the turn ended.
Russia:
I'm 1 XP from earning my first GG (and there's a conveniently injured Archer sitting right next to Moscow). I think I've still got enough to take Novgorod, especially if I can cut off those 2 archer from reinforcing the town.
The Homeland:
Happiness issues abound, and I'm a long way from HR, tech wise. Ivory is within reach, but I''m a little afraid that Monte will beat me to the Gems. Also, Buddhism spread from Monte to Athens late in the turn. I should've converted right away, but I was too enamored with my war and put the decision off. Athens is building a Settler that could help box Monte out of the northern part of the continent.
A peek at Azteca:
Overall effort: Not terrible, IMO.
Good: Moscow conquered with Novgorod within reach; some good exploration of Aztec lands; in a position to convert to Monte's religion.
Bad: Location of Sparta; Invasion stack is getting thin (4 Phalanxes left); more efficient use of chops/whips could've probably got me to Russia earlier and/or with a bigger stack; I feel dirty for reloading a couple of times to fix oversights (missed chop-interrupt, moved unit before thinking, accidential full-stack promotion). Oh, and there's a WonderSpammer or two out there somewhere-- the Henge, the Wall, and the Oracle are all built in an unknown location.
. I'd be very close to math had I not gotten it...probably the same # of turns you are 
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