Delphic oracles, epic stories of heroes, graceful temples, tales of lust and tyranny - the Greek world has much to delight and surprise. This unit of study will introduce you to the study of ancient Greek history and culture and provides a springboard for further studies in history, archaeology and literature. It is informed by a cross-disciplinary approach that combines a variety of perspectives to achieve a holistic view of the ancient world.

From Spain to Turkey, from Britain to Africa, ancient Rome has left physical and cultural reminders of its role as ancient superpower. This unit of study will introduce you to the city of Rome itself, its turbulent history, its empire and its vibrant culture. It will provide a springboard for further studies in history, archaeology and literature. It is informed by a cross-disciplinary approach that combines a variety of perspectives to achieve a holistic view of the ancient world.

Stories about Greek and Roman gods, heroes, and monsters occupy an important place in Western culture. Greco-Roman mythology is the fount of inspiration for masterpieces of art, music, and literature. This unit examines these enduring ancient narratives, symbols, and mythical ideas in their historical, cultural and religious context. Learn about the manifold meanings of myth, its transformations and transgressions, its uses and abuses from antiquity to the present day.

This unit studies the rise and working of democracy in ancient Greece, examining Athens from the time of Solon through the fifth century and into the fourth century B.C. We shall look at the history of Athens and her relation to other cities, and evaluate the evidence of historians and of inscriptions. Athenian political institutions and social history, including the role of the theatre, looking at both tragedy and comedy, the role of other festivals and the law and the lives of the elite and the "forgotten people", such as women and slaves, will be considered.

What kind of society produced the Roman Republic? How did its political institutions develop and to what extent were they unique? How did they stand up to the pressures of external threat, social change, internal dissention and the impact of empire? We will study the partnership of senate and people from 287 to 88BC and ask the Romans whether a society always gets the politicians it deserves.

This unit will focus on the transformation of the Classical Mediterranean into the radically different world of Late Antiquity. Through the exploration of topics such as the growth of imperial bureaucracy, the development of court ceremonial, the displacement of polytheism by Christianity, the emergence of new styles of art and literature and the growing prominence of barbarians - the unit will reveal the vibrancy of a society often erroneously dismissed as a period of decline and fall.

Have you ever heard of the riches of the Lydian king Croesus? Or of the gold-digging ants of India? In this unit of study you will encounter these and other famous aspects of Herodotus' Histories, a text that blends history, literature, ethnography, geography and religion. You will explore the different intellectual worlds Herodotus inhabited and relate them to the world he created in his Histories - a key source for the study of the transition between the archaic and the classical periods in the history of ancient Greece.

This senior unit encourages students to examine the ways in which historians writing during the transition from Republic to autocracy thought about the Republican past. Students will be encouraged to think about the possible ways in which Livy's contemporary experience is echoed in his account of Rome's foundation and growth. Questions of censorship and self-censorship will be examined alongside an investigation into the historian's hopes and aspirations. What are the historian's responsibilities and what is her/his role in a time of political, cultural and ideological change?

From Herodotus to Robert Darnton; from Thucydides to John Mearsheimer; from Plutarch's Life of Julius Caesar to Barack Obama's autobiography. In this unit of study you will compare ancient and modern ways of writing history. You will study relevant key texts, theories, and methods - both ancient and modern - and use them in your own historiographic practice. Brace yourself for an unusual, insightful, and challenging journey from ancient Egypt, via Greece and Rome, to modern France and Australia. Looking at history will never be the same again.

The Honours program in Ancient History consists of:
1. a thesis written under the supervision of one or more members of academic staff
2. two seminars that meet weekly for two hours for one semester.
The thesis should be of 18,000-20,000 words in length. Each seminar requires 6,000 words of written work or it equivalent.
The thesis is worth 50% of the final Honours mark and each of the seminars is worth 25%.
The following seminars are on offer in 2014:
Ancient Greek History (Dr Julia Kindt)
Roman History (Dr Eleanor Cowan)
For more information, contact Dr Eleanor Cowan, Honours coordinator.

Refer to ANHS4011

Refer to ANHS4011

Refer to ANHS4011