Greetings, fellow history geeks!
I just had my ancient history exam last Friday, and due to a need to clear all VCE-related resources from my laptop, a desire to procrastinate instead of studying for my last exam, and a goal to build up the largely inactive VCE humanities side of AN, I’ve decided to upload a bunch of prompts for essays and source analysis which hopefully future Ancient History students
the true intellectuals will find useful.
This thread is a collection of VCAA-style prompts for Section A and B of the VCE Ancient History exam, and follows the current study design (2016-2020).For the source analysis prompts, please note that they are for
c) questions ONLY, as
a) and
b) would require a source for you to respond to. Also please note that all Section A prompts end with
‘Use evidence to support your response’.
I’m just lazy.
SECTION A: Source Analysis (10 marks)GREECE
Evaluate the extent to which the reforms of Lycurgus ended stasis in Spartan society.
Evaluate the effectiveness of Sparta’s political system, with reference to its social and economic features.
“In Sparta the freeman is more a freeman than anywhere else, and the slave more a slave.”
To what extent does this statement accurately reflect Spartan society?
Discuss the traditional view that Greek women lived a life of seclusion.
Compare and contrast the role of women in Athens and Sparta in the period 800-454 BCE.
Compare and contrast the political features of Athens and Sparta in the period 800-454 BCE.
Evaluate the extent to which the democratic reform in Athens achieved its goals.
Analyse the impact of the Persian Wars (499-479 BCE) on the social and political features of Athens.
ROME
Evaluate how the Regal Period of Rome shaped the political and social features of the early Roman Republic.
To what extent did the Conflict of the Orders achieve social and political equality in Rome?
Analyse the impact of Rome’s Conquest of Italy on its social and economic features.
To what extent did Rome’s wars of expansion throughout Italy influence the outcome of the Conflict of the Orders?
How did the three Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage change the social, political, and economic features of Ancient Rome?
Analyse the impact of the First Punic War and its aftermath on the Roman world.
Evaluate the extent to which the development of Roman society, politics, and economics led to the outbreak of the Second Punic War.
To what extent did women have a role in the social and political changes which took place in Roman society in the early Republic?
SECTION B: Essay (20 marks)GREECE
The Megarian Decree was the most important cause of the Peloponnesian War. Discuss.
The internal instability in Athens during the period 454-404 BCE was largely the result of Pericles extending Ephialtes's radical democratic reforms. Discuss.
Pericles’s leadership was more of an asset than a detriment to Athens. Discuss.
Evaluate whether the overarching goal of Pericles was the outbreak of war with Sparta.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the Peace of Nicias (421 BCE).
The Mytilene Debate was clear evidence that this would be 'a war like no other' and would be characterised by violence on a scale not seen before in Hellenic warfare. Discuss.
To what extent was Alcibiades responsible for the renewal of the Peloponnesian War in 413 BCE?
The actions and decisions of Alcibiades were overwhelmingly harmful to Athens. Discuss.
The choice of commanders for the Sicilian Expedition was ultimately responsible for Athens's loss.
To what extent does this accurately reflect the outcome of the Peloponnesian War?
To what extent was Lysander a loyal Spartan citizen?
Evaluate the extent to which Lysander was the decisive factor in Sparta winning the Peloponnesian War.
The tensions between Athens and Sparta in the period 460-403 were exacerbated by their competing political systems. Discuss.
The internal instability in Athens during the period 454-404 BCE were largely the result of Pericles extending Ephialtes’ radical democratic reforms. Discuss.
To what extent was Sparta’s victory in the Decelean War due to its own strategy than Athenian mistake?
To what extent did the arrogance and aggression of Athens ensure the inevitability of a war characterised by an unprecedented level of violence and brutality?
ROME
Evaluate the importance of the culture of violence in the period 133-23 BCE in Rome in leading to the destruction of the institutions of the Republican government.
To what extent did the social and economic dislocation resulting from Rome’s wars of expansion contribute to the collapse of the Roman Republic?
The pursuit of military glory and power was the most destructive force in the Roman Republic between 133 and 23 BCE. Discuss.
"The Roman aristocracy gradually outlived its usefulness to society".
To what extent can the collapse of the Republic be blamed on the failure of institutions and the political elite?
“Tiberius Gracchus marked rather than made the beginning of the civil wars.” (Cary and Scullard, 1975).
To what extent is this statement an accurate reflection of the Tribunates of the Gracchi?
To what extent were the ambitions of key figures in the government of Rome to blame for the disintegration of the Roman Republic?
Evaluate the impact of Gaius Marius and his actions on Julius Caesar.
The political crisis of the late Republic was largely due to Caesar’s obsession with power. Discuss.
“… the increasingly tactlessness shown by Caesar the dictator” (Seager, 1972) ensured both his assassination and the final demise of the Republican government. Discuss.
Sulla’s overarching goal was to consolidate power in Rome in the hands of the senate. Discuss.
Pompey’s desire for personal glory had a profound impact on the demise of the Roman Republic. Discuss.
Evaluate the extent to which Julius Caesar’s alliance with Pompey and Crassus caused change in the Roman Republic.
To what extent was the Second Triumvirate the key destabilising force in Rome in the later Roman Republic (133-23 BCE)?
The representation of Cleopatra as an enemy of Rome was a significant factor in Octavian’s winning of power in Rome. Discuss.
While Augustus maintained Republican forms of government, it was his consolidation of power that finally destroyed the Republic. Discuss.
NOTE – If anybody has prompts for Egypt, please add it to the list! Also feel free to add any prompts relating to Greece and/or Rome.