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The Schools Board of Tasmania
Tasmanian Certificate of Education
External Assessment
1994
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 3
Make an informed and sensitive response to ancient texts in their
historical context.
Criterion 5
Demonstrate an ability to analyse critically the 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 responses to
specific questions or specific investigative tasks.
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No. of Questions:
No. of Pages:
32
9
AN803 Ancient Civilisations
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES
Candidates must answer FOUR questions from THREE or FOUR different units.
Candidates must answer at least one question from SECTION A.
Candidates must answer at least one question from SECTION B.
Each question assesses Criteria 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9.
________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION A
UNIT 1: GREEK HISTORY 510 — 404 B.C.
Question 1
Either
(a) Analyse the reforms of Cleisthenes with a view to establishing the purpose behind them.
Or
(b)
How do you account for the developments which took place in the Athenian constitution during
the first half of the fifth century B.C.?
Question 2
To what extent is it possible to explain the Persian defeat as the result of poor leadership?
Question 3
Either
(a) To what extent is it true to say that the Athenian Empire was the result of deliberate Athenian
policy?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
By what means did Athens ensure the loyalty of the members of her empire?
Who really controlled the government at Athens in the fifth century down to the outbreak of the
Peloponnesian War?
Question 4
Either
(a) To what extent was the Peloponnesian War inevitable?
Or
(b)
'Sparta did not win the Peloponnesian War; Athens lost it.' Discuss.
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 2: GREEK HISTORY 404 — 323 B.C.
Question 5
Either
(a) How important was the role of Persia in Greek affairs during the period 404-340 B.C.?
Or
(b)
Analyse Spartan aims during the early fourth century down to 362 B.C. Why were these aims
not realised?
Question 6
Either
(a) 'The attempt to establish the Second Athenian Confederacy had no possible chance of success.'
Discuss.
Or
(b)
Critically analyse the methods by which Philip II sought to establish his rule in Macedon and
power over his immediate neighbours.
Question 7
Either
(a) What were the long-term objectives of Philip II in Greece? How did he attempt to fulfil these
aims?
Or
(b)
"It is his father, Philip, who should be given the epithet ‘The Great’, not Alexander." Discuss
with particular reference to the military ability of both Philip II and Alexander of Macedon.
Question 8
Either
(a) Can you detect any consistent aims behind Alexander’s actions during the expedition into Asia?
Or
(b)
Critically evaluate Alexander’s achievements as an administrator of empire.
Or
(c)
"Arrian's portrait of Alexander is simply not believable." Discuss.
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Page 3
AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 3: ROMAN HISTORY 133 — 44 B.C.
Question 9
Either
(a) 'Gaius Gracchus was more resourceful politically than his brother but equally a man with a
mission.' Would you agree with this assessment of the aims and methods of Tiberius and
Gaius Gracchus?
Or
(b)
To what extent was the exclusive attitude of the majority of the Roman governing class
responsible for the Social War?
Question 10
Either
(a) Analyse the effects which Marius’ reforms had on political life at Rome during the last century
of the Republic.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
What was Sulla hoping to achieve by his reforms? To what extent were these hopes realised?
Critically analyse the role of the tribunes in Roman politics from the reforms of Sulla to the
death of Julius Caesar.
Question 11
Either
(a) 'Pompey may well have been an excellent military commander but his abilities as a politician
were not of the same quality.' Discuss.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Critically evaluate the role of bribery and corruption in politics in the period after Sulla in the
breakdown of senatorial government at Rome.
'Caesar was dominated by a desire for fame to the exclusion of almost every other
consideration.' Discuss with reference to the political AND/OR military career of Julius
Caesar.
Question 12
Either
(a) 'Cicero's career is clear evidence of the extent to which Roman politics was dominated by the
nobiles.' Discuss.
Or
(b)
'Caesar's reforms were ad hoc solutions to particular problems and were not part of any overall
vision for Rome.' Discuss.
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 4: ROMAN HISTORY 44 B.C. — A.D. 68
Question 13
How do you account for the fact that Octavian and not Antony gained control during the period
44–31BC?
Question 14
Either
(a) 'If Augustus had not lived so long, it is highly unlikely that the principate would have survived
him.' Discuss.
Or
(b)
Critically analyse the foreign policy of Augustus.
Or
(c)
Analyse Augustus' relations with the Senate and/or the senatorial order.
Question 15
Either
(a) Critically evaluate Tiberius' qualities as an emperor.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
'Claudius' achievements as emperor far outweigh the defects of his character.' Discuss.
What were the main problems facing Nero as emperor? How successfully did he resolve those
problems?
Question 16
Either
(a) To what extent did the characters of the emperors after Augustus affect the nature of the
institution known as the principate?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Critically assess the Julio-Claudian successors of Augustus with regard to EITHER their
administration of the city of Rome OR their administration of the provinces.
By what means did the Julio-Claudian emperors attempt to keep the support of EITHER the
Senate OR the army?
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Page 5
AN803 Ancient Civilisations
SECTION B
UNIT 5: GREEK AND ROMAN HISTORIANS
Question 17
Either
(a) 'Herodotus is biased in favour of the Greeks and of the Athenians in particular, in his account of
the Persian Wars.' Discuss.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Analyse the role which Herodotus gives to the supernatural in his history. Does this adversely
affect the validity of his explanations for historical events?
'Herodotus only included speeches in his work in order to give some relief from the historical
narrative.' Discuss.
Question 18
Either
(a) 'Thucydides may have been very careful in collecting factual material but the interpretations he
places on it are open to serious questioning.' Discuss.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Analyse the use of characterisation by Thucydides in his work.
'Without the speeches there would be no history.' Discuss with reference to Thucydides'
history.
Question 19
Either
(a) 'Sallust is more concerned to teach his readers moral lessons than to report facts accurately.'
Discuss.
Or
(b)
Analyse Sallust’s views on historical causation as evidenced in his works.
Or
(c)
Critically evaluate Sallust's use of evidence.
Question 20
Either
(a) "Tacitus' interpretation of the evidence he collected is always highly suspect." Discuss.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
Critically assess Tacitus' use of speeches in the Annals.
'Tacitus was not seriously concerned to give full character portraits of individuals.' Discuss with
reference to Tacitus' use of characterisation in the Annals.
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 6: GREEK AND ROMAN LITERATURE
Question 21
Either
(a) 'The Odyssey is not a poem of wandering but of return.' Discuss.
Or
(b)
Examine the role of the gods in the Odyssey. Are they presented as just?
Question 22
Either
(a) How sympathetically does Virgil present either Dido or Turnus? How does your answer to
that question affect your understanding of the Aeneid?
Or
(b)
'Be this your art: – to practise men in the habit of peace, generosity to the conquered, and
firmness against aggressors.'
To what extent does Aeneas obey this command of Anchises in the second half of the Aeneid?
Question 23
Either
(a) Examine Aeschylus' presentation of the problem of justice in Agamemnon.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
In what sense (if any) is Oedipus responsible for his own downfall in Sophocles' Oedipus the
King?
Compare and contrast Euripides' characterisation of Dionysus and Pentheus in Bacchae. To
what extent are they presented as complementary?
Question 24
Either
(a) Examine Seneca’s treatment of heredity in Phaedra.
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
'The destructive nature of the emotions is a central theme in Senecan tragedy.' Discuss with
reference to Trojan Women.
How important are the gods to your understanding of Seneca's Thyestes?
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AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 7: GREEK AND ROMAN THOUGHT
Question 25
Either
(a) To what extent is Zeus presented as a benefactor of humanity in Works and Days? You should
pay particular attention to the Myth of Ages.
Or
(b)
What do we learn of Hesiod's attitude to women from his creation stories?
Question 26
Either
(a) How effectively does Socrates defend himself in the Apology? Why does his defence fail?
Or
(b)
How convincing is Socrates' refutation of Euthyphro's view of the nature of piety in Euthyphro?
Question 27
Either
(a) How would you define the concept of 'myth'? Are Livy's stories of early Rome genuine myths?
Or
(b)
To what extent do Livy's stories of early Rome reflect his own moral and religious beliefs?
Question 28
Either
(a) Examine Lucretius' representation of the relationship between religion and philosophy in Book
1 of the Nature of the Universe.
Or
(b)
How successful, in your view, is Lucretius' attempt in Book 3 of the Nature of the Universe to
remove the reader’s fear of death?
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Page 8
AN803 Ancient Civilisations
UNIT 8: THE FAMILY IN GREECE AND ROME
Question 29
Either
(a) Compare the roles of the father and the mother in the Athenian family.
Or
(b)
Examine the role of the mother in relation to her children in Athenian family life.
Or
(c)
What was the nature of the relationship between fathers and sons in the Athenian family?
Question 30
Either
(a) To what extent did different social status change the role of a woman in Athenian Society?
Or
(b)
Or
(c)
'Athenian family relations were dominated by concerns about the ownership of property.'
Discuss.
Analyse Athenian attitudes towards ageing and/or death.
Question 31
Either
(a) 'The notion of ownership of property is central to Roman attitudes towards marriage, dowry and
adoption.' Discuss.
Or
(b)
Examine the role of the father in relation to his children in Roman family life.
Or
(c)
Examine the role of children in the Roman family.
Question 32
Either
(a) 'Roman women in the late Republic and the early Empire were extremely independent.'
Discuss.
Or
(b)
Analyse Roman attitudes towards ageing and/or death.
Or
(c)
Analyse the Roman attitude towards marriage and divorce.
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Page 9