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.

We live in an era in which the interests of national security are constantly balanced against the rule of law. In Rome too, crisis and emergency, whether genuine or the product of partisan rhetoric, could threaten the rule of law. This unit explores the idea that the collapse of the rule of law engendered the collapse of the Republic, whilst also seeking to promote stimulating and topical discussion about the rule of law in democratic societies like our own.

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.

This unit explores Greek religion as a defining feature of what it meant to be Greek. We will investigate similarities and differences between religious beliefs and practices throughout the ancient Greek world and trace how religion changed over time. Topics addressed include sacrifice, religious festivals and games, the use (and abuse) of divination, and shared notions of purity and pollution.

'The city, stick to the city, and live in its light.' (Cicero) This unit will explore the rich history of Rome's urban landscape from the middle Republic (c.200BCE) to the early fourth century CE. We will examine the ways in which the physical city interacted with and even affected the political, religious and cultural life of the Romans and how the great monuments of Empire were eventually destroyed, recovered and reinvented by later ages.

The legacy of Alexander the Great is often defined as one of military conquest. However it was also an age when scholars revolutionized the way poetry was written, artists found new ways of representing the body in extraordinarily life-like terms and radical new philosophies competed for hearts and minds. From Greece to Afghanistan we will explore a wonderfully diverse and vibrant world that was as much united by culture and learning as it was statecraft and steel.

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.

The first century AD is a fascinating and important period of tension and negotiation between the emperor, senate, and people of Rome. The empire expanded to its physical apogee, and new avenues of power and arenas of competition emerged to transform politics. This unit examines the period 14-117 AD, comprising the reigns of the Julio-Claudians (Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero), Flavians (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian), Nerva, and Trajan. It will treat politics, court culture, the imperial family, foreign policy, conspiracy and propaganda.

Oedipus, Agamemnon, Medea - tragedy as a genre and as a worldview was invented in Classical Athens and has dominated Western culture ever since. This unit will explore all aspects of tragedy in Athens and Rome from the poetry of its language to the theatricality of its staging, but with particular emphasis on how it reflected and shaped the societies in which it was performed, and engaged with those societies' central concerns: gender, religion and politics, war, justice and ethnicity.

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.

Ancient epic helped shape the European cultural imagination. These masterpieces treat issues of universal concern: life, death, love, war, fate, the supernatural, and journeys of experience. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are both entertainment and serious explorations of social values. Vergil's Aeneid recounts the foundations of Rome, and considers the individual's plight amid unstoppable historical and supernatural forces. Lucan's Civil War presents a disturbing vision of a world descending into chaos. This unit explores in detail these brilliant and influential poems.

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.

Julius Caesar, politician, general, author. Loved and hated, the story of Caesar still inspires strong debate. This unit interrogates the narrative of first-century BCE Rome and Caesar's place within it. Why did Caesar and the 'Fall of the Republic' have such an impact on Western culture?

The Roman 'revolution' of the First Century BCE involved civil wars, political chaos, lawlessness and violence against civilians. From it emerged a regime which celebrated peace, political harmony, law, justice and the happiness of the citizens. Augustus was at the heart of this change. This unit explores the transformation of the Republic in his lifetime.

The Peloponnesian War dominates the Greek world in the second half of the fifth century BC. At the same time, throughout this period, we see art and culture flourish as never before. This unit of study aims to trace these two features and examine the relationship between them. It looks at the stimulus war provides to culture, and the way culture responds to war's anxieties. It also examines the position that the Peloponnesian War has occupied in western European thought.

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.

This unit will specifically investigate the back-story to one of the greatest confrontations in the history of the Ancient World: the rivalry between Carthage and Rome. It will explore the extent to which it is possible to reclaim the history of Carthage from the grip of hostile Greek and Roman historians. What will emerge is a vibrant and dynamic civilisation that dominated much of the southern and western Mediterranean for over three centuries.

Honours is an intensive year-long program of advanced study based around research. Honours is undertaken after successful completion of a Bachelor degree and where the overall mark is a minimum credit average (70%). Entry into Honours is selective and work at this level is challenging. Honours is available in most subjects areas taught in the Faculty, and which are listed under Tables A and B in the Handbook. Students will complete a thesis and coursework seminars throughout the year. For further information contact the Honours Coordinator in the department or consult the Handbook entry for the relevant subject area.

Refer to ANHS4011

Refer to ANHS4011

Refer to ANHS4011