Purpose: This paper seeks to demonstrate the value and critical importance of negotiating skills within the wider context of "employability". It posits that the intensity, rich context, and ambiguity of juxtaposing ancient and modern cases provides a creative, engaging format to stimulate learning about negotiating and power among parties. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is the culmination of teaching undergraduate and graduate business students, as well as continuing education courses, in the USA and New Zealand respectively. The authors developed a participatory, mixed-mode educational simulation. Using thematic analysis of student survey responses, they summarize learning points associated with the suggested teaching case. Findings: An analysis of post-exercise questions suggested six key themes identified by students: value of leadership, self-knowledge, maturity, and judgment; need for creativity, versatility, and adaptability in bridging differences; focus on settlement (rather than absolute win-lose scenarios); managing risk due to uncertainty and unidentified incentives among participants; dire consequences of inflexibility, self-righteousness, and unhealthy ego; and need for increasing negotiating skill proficiency is valuable and timeless. Practical implications: The outlined teaching case is put forward as providing a creative, interesting and rich format to stimulate learning about negotiating and power among parties, as well as team dynamics. Originality/value: The paper outlines a novel teaching tool that allows students to learn and appreciate the dynamics of negotiating in complex environments. (Contains 3 notes.)