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Tasmanian Secondary Assessment Board
Tasmanian Certificate of Education
External Assessment
1997
AN803 ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS
Time: Three Hours
On the basis of your performance in this examination, the examiners will provide a rating of A, B, C or
D on each of the following criteria taken from the syllabus statement:
Criterion 2
Recall relevant factual information.
Criterion 5
Demonstrate an ability to analyse critically sources of information.
Criterion 7
Understand and use the terminology relevant to the particular unit under
study.
Criterion 9
Communicate logically and analytically in written work.
Questions:
Pages:
©
32
9
Copyright for part(s) of this examination may be held by individuals and/or organisations other than the Tasmanian
Secondary Assessment Board.
AN803 Ancient Civilisations
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES
Candidates must answer THREE questions.
Each question must be from a different UNIT.
Each question assesses Criteria 2, 5, 7 and 9.
________________________________________________________________________________
UNIT 1: GREEK HISTORY 510 — 431 B.C.
Question 1
Either
(a) ‘Cleisthenes enacted his reforms with one end in mind, namely, his own political supremacy.’
Discuss.
Or
(b)
To what extent is it possible to explain the changes in the Athenian constitution from the time of
Cleisthenes to that of Ephialtes as the result of popular pressure for a democratic form of
government?
Question 2
‘The Greeks defeated the Persians because the quality of their leadership was superior to that of their
opponents.’ Discuss.
Question 3
Either
(a) By what means did Athens establish her empire during the period 478-431 B.C.?
Or
(b)
What was the nature of the relationship between Athens and her allies?
Question 4
Either
(a) Who were more important in the working of the Athenian constitution – the people or the
leaders?
Or
(b)
‘The outbreak of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta was inevitable.’ Discuss.
Or
(c)
To what extent were the policies of Pericles responsible for the outbreak of war with Sparta?
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 2: GREEK HISTORY 431 — 323 B.C.
Question 5
Either
(a) Critically analyse Athenian strategy during the Peloponnesian War.
Or
(b)
‘Without Persian help, Sparta could never have won the Peloponnesian War.’ Discuss.
Question 6
To what extent were Philip’s skills as a diplomat responsible for his successful unification of
Macedonia?
Question 7
Either
(a) ‘The conquest of Greece was but a small part of Philip’s long term military objectives.’
Discuss.
Or
(b)
‘Philip was a treacherous and cynical war-monger.’ Discuss.
Or
(c)
‘Philip was far superior to his son Alexander as a military strategist and commander.’ Discuss.
Question 8
Either
(a) To what extent does Alexander deserve the epithet ‘The Great’?
Or
(b)
Critically evaluate the success of the means adopted by Alexander to secure his empire in Asia.
Or
(c)
‘Arrian’s portrait of Alexander is far too uncritical.’ Discuss.
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 3: ROMAN HISTORY 133 — 44 B.C.
Question 9
Either
(a) Compare the aims and methods of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Was Gaius simply carrying
through the program initiated by his brother?
Or
(b)
To what extent were the Italian allies justified in beginning the Social War?
Question 10
Either
(a) Critically analyse the role of the tribunes in politics at Rome during the period 133-70 B.C.
Or
(b)
Compare the careers of Marius and Sulla.
development of politics in Rome?
Whose career had the greater effect on the
Question 11
Either
(a) What were the political aims of either Pompey or Crassus? To what extent did he achieve these
aims?
Or
(b)
How important was Cicero in politics at Rome during the period 70-49 B.C.?
Or
(c)
How do you account for the use of violence in Roman politics in the period 133-44 B.C.?
Question 12
Either
(a) What was Julius Caesar trying to achieve during the period of his dictatorship? To what extent
was he successful?
Or
(b)
Why was Julius Caesar killed?
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 4: ROMAN HISTORY 44 B.C. — 68 A.D.
Question 13
How do you account for the eventual victory of Octavian over his opponents in the period
31 B.C.?
44-
Question 14
Either
(a) To what extent does Augustus’ longevity explain his successful establishment of the principate?
Or
(b)
By what means did Augustus win over the support of the senate and people of Rome?
Or
(c)
To what extent was Augustan foreign policy aggressively imperialistic?
Question 15
Either
(a) To what extent can Tiberius be judged a competent emperor?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
‘Claudius did many good things during his reign which compel us to judge him more
favourably than the surviving literary tradition.’ Discuss.
To what extent is it possible to defend the behaviour of Nero as emperor?
Question 16
Either
(a) To what extent did the nature of the imperial institution change from the time of Augustus to the
death of Nero?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Evaluate the conduct of provincial government under the Julio-Claudian emperors.
By what means and with what success did the Julio-Claudian emperors attempt to maintain their
popularity with the army and/or the Roman people?
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 5: GREEK AND ROMAN LITERATURE
Question 17
Either
(a) To what extent is Odysseus’ character altered by his adventures after Troy?
Or
(b)
Examine the role of Penelope in the Odyssey. To what extent is she an active participant in
events?
Question 18
Either
(a) To what extent is Aeneas justified in his killing of Turnus? How does your answer to this
question affect your understanding of the Aeneid?
Or
(b)
‘Virgil’s aim in writing the Aeneid was simple. He wrote to praise Rome and Augustus.’
Discuss.
Question 19
Either
(a) Examine Aeschylus’ presentation of Clytemnestra in Agamemnon. To what extent are her
actions justified?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Examine Sophocles’ characterisation of Oedipus in Oedipus the King. Does he deserve his
fate?
Examine Euripides’ treatment of the gods in Bacchae.
Question 20
Either
(a) Examine Seneca’s treatment of nature in Phaedra.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
How effective is the Ulysses-Andromache scene in Seneca’s Trojan Women? What issues are
highlighted in this scene?
‘Seneca’s Thyestes is primarily concerned with the nature of power.’ Discuss.
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 6: GREEK AND ROMAN HISTORIANS
Question 21
Either
(a) What are Herodotus’ aims as an historian?
interpretation of the events he describes?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
To what extent do these aims affect his
Analyse Herodotus’ views on the role of the gods in human affairs. How do these views affect
his interpretation of historical events?
How important are the speeches included by Herodotus for our understanding of the events he
records?
Question 22
Either
(a) To what extent can Thucydides be described as an objective historian?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Critically evaluate Thucydides’ use of speeches in his work.
Critically analyse Thucydides’ presentation of character in his history. Discuss at least three
individuals.
Question 23
Either
(a) Why did Sallust write history? To what extent do his aims affect the objectivity of his work?
Or
(b)
‘Speeches are an important interpretative device for Sallust.’ Discuss.
Or
(c)
Critically evaluate Sallust’s presentation of character in his works.
Question 24
Either
(a) How does Tacitus present the main themes of the Annals?
Or
(b)
By what means does Tacitus deal with evidence inconvenient to the interpretation he wishes to
convey to his readers?
Or
(c)
Critically evaluate Tacitus’ use of speeches or use of characterisation in the Annals.
Or
(d)
Critically assess Tacitus’ historical methods in the compilation of the Annals.
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 7: GREEK AND ROMAN THOUGHT
Question 25
Either
(a) Examine Hesiod’s two accounts of the creation of the first woman. Are they compatible? What
do they reveal of his attitude to women?
Or
(b)
To what extent is Zeus presented as just in Theogony and Works and Days?
Question 26
Either
(a) How persuasive is Socrates’ self-defence in Apology? Why does it fail?
Or
(b)
What methods does Socrates employ in disproving Euthyphro’s view of the nature of piety in
Euthyphro? How effective are they?
Question 27
Either
(a) ‘Livy’s stories of early Rome are not so much myths as outright fictions.’ Discuss.
Or
(b)
To what extent do Livy’s stories of early Rome reflect Augustan moral and political concerns?
Question 28
Either
(a) How persuasive, in your view, are Lucretius’ arguments for the mortality of the soul in Book 3
of the Nature of the Universe? (Your answer should include discussion of at least four
arguments.)
Or
(b)
Examine Lucretius’ representation of the relationship between religion and philosophy in Book
1 of the Nature of the Universe.
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Page 8
AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 8: THE FAMILY IN GREECE AND ROME
Question 29
Either
(a) How did the Athenians define the family?
Or
(b)
Evaluate the contribution made by the father and/or the mother to maintaining the Athenian
family.
Or
(c)
To what extent was concern about property a dominant factor in Athenian family relations?
Or
(d)
Critically examine Athenian attitudes towards marriage.
Question 30
Either
(a) What roles did children play in the Athenian family?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
‘The aged were treated with great respect in Athenian society.’ Discuss.
To what extent can we reconstruct Athenian attitudes towards death on the basis of the surviving
source evidence?
Question 31
Either
(a) Analyse the role of the mother in the Roman family.
Or
(b)
‘The father was all-powerful in the Roman family.’ Discuss
Or
(c)
‘The frequency of divorce must have made Roman family life very unstable.’ Discuss.
Or
(d)
Critically examine Roman attitudes towards marriage.
Question 32
Either
(a) To what extent can women be considered independent in Rome during the late Republic and
early Empire?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
‘The aged were not treated with much respect in Roman society.’ Discuss.
To what extent can we reconstruct Roman attitudes towards death on the basis of the surviving
evidence?
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