A Laconic Answer Many centuries ago, there lived some people in the southern part of Greece called Spartans (斯巴达人), who were famous for their simple habits and bravery. The name of the area in which they lived was Laconia(拉科尼亚), therefore , they were also called Lacons(拉科人). One of the strange rules that the Lacons had was that they should speak briefly, and never more words than needed. And so a short answer was often spoken of as a Laconic answer. At that time , there was in the northern part of Greece a land called Macedon(马其顿)that was once ruled by a war--like king named Philip. Philip wanted to be the head of all Greece. So he raised(招募)a great army and made war upon the other states until all of them really regarded him as their King. Then he sent a letter to the Spartans, saying, "If I go down into your country, I will level your great city to the ground. " In a few days, an answer was brought back to him. When he opened the letter, he found there was only one word. That word was "IF". According to the passage, the story took place between ______.
A. the Spartans and Philip, a war--like king B. the American and the Canadian C. Greece and Laconia