Unit 4: Study of an Ancient Period

13 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

Why did the Sicilian Expedition fail, and how did Persian intervention and Spartan naval power bring about the fall of Athens?

The Sicilian Expedition, the role of Persia and Lysander, and the final defeat and surrender of Athens in 404 BC

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Greece option on the decisive later phases of the Peloponnesian War, covering the Sicilian disaster, Persian gold, Lysander and the surrender of 404 BC, grounded in Thucydides, Xenophon and Plutarch.

6 min read →

How did Horemheb restore order and royal authority at the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and how did he treat the Amarna legacy?

The reign of Horemheb, the restoration of administration and order, and the erasure of the Amarna kings

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Egypt option on Horemheb, covering his rise as a general, his administrative and legal reforms, his erasure of the Amarna kings, and his role in ending the dynasty, grounded in his Edict, the Coronation Inscription and his monuments.

6 min read →

How did Pericles lead Athenian democracy and empire, and how did his leadership shape the path to and conduct of the Peloponnesian War?

The leadership of Pericles, the working of Athenian democracy, and the nature of the Athenian empire on the eve of and during the war

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Greece option on Pericles, covering Athenian democracy, the Delian League turned empire, his war strategy and his death, grounded in Thucydides, Plutarch and the tribute lists.

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How did Augustus construct the Principate, and how did the settlements of 27 and 23 BC disguise monarchy as restored Republic?

The establishment of the Augustan Principate, the settlements of 27 and 23 BC, and the nature of Augustus' power and authority

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Rome option on the Augustan settlement, covering the constitutional arrangements of 27 and 23 BC, auctoritas, and the powers of the princeps, grounded in the Res Gestae, Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio.

6 min read →

How did imperial women such as Livia and Agrippina the Younger exercise power within the Julio-Claudian dynasty?

The role and influence of imperial women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty, including Livia and Agrippina the Younger

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Rome option on imperial women, covering the influence of Livia and Agrippina the Younger, dynastic politics and the hostile sources, grounded in Tacitus, Suetonius and inscriptions and coins.

6 min read →

How was power and authority exercised, justified and contested by key individuals across the ancient period studied?

The nature and exercise of power and authority, the role of religion and ideology, and the significance of key individuals

WACE ATAR Ancient History focus on power and authority, comparing how leaders such as Augustus, Nero, Hatshepsut and Akhenaten justified rule through religion, ideology and the army, and how key individuals shaped their period.

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What was the Amarna revolution, and how did Akhenaten transform Egyptian religion, art and politics?

The religious revolution of Akhenaten, the cult of the Aten, the new capital at Akhetaten and the Amarna art style

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Egypt option on the Amarna period, covering the cult of the Aten, the move to Akhetaten, the new art style and the question of monotheism, grounded in the Great Hymn to the Aten, boundary stelae and Amarna reliefs.

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How did the army and the Praetorian Guard come to determine imperial succession under the Julio-Claudians?

The role of the army and the Praetorian Guard in imperial succession and the exercise of power under the Julio-Claudians

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Rome option on the Praetorian Guard and the army in succession, covering Sejanus, the accession of Claudius and the fall of Nero, grounded in Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio.

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How and why do historians disagree about the ancient past, and how should students use competing interpretations?

The analysis and evaluation of competing historical interpretations and the contestability of the ancient past

WACE ATAR Ancient History requirement on interpretations, explaining why historians disagree, how to compare modern scholarship, and how to use contestability in essays, with worked examples from Rome, Egypt and Greece.

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How was the traditional order restored after Akhenaten, and what does Tutankhamun's reign and tomb reveal about the period?

The restoration of traditional religion under Tutankhamun and the historical significance of his reign and intact tomb

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Egypt option on Tutankhamun, covering the restoration of the cult of Amun, the Restoration Stela, the role of advisers and the significance of the intact tomb, grounded in the Restoration Stela and the tomb finds.

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Why did Athens and Sparta go to war, and how did the Peloponnesian War reshape the Greek world between 431 and 404 BC?

The causes, key phases and consequences of the Peloponnesian War and the role of leaders such as Pericles, Alcibiades and Lysander

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Greece option, covering the causes, the Archidamian War, the Sicilian Expedition and the fall of Athens in 404 BC, grounded in Thucydides, Plutarch and Xenophon.

6 min read →

How did the Egyptian New Kingdom develop and recover through the Amarna revolution from Amenhotep II to Horemheb?

The peak of empire, the Amarna religious revolution under Akhenaten, and the restoration of order from Tutankhamun to Horemheb

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Egypt option, covering the imperial peak under Amenhotep II and III, the Amarna revolution of Akhenaten, the restoration under Tutankhamun, and the reign of Horemheb, grounded in the Amarna Letters and archaeology.

6 min read →

How did the Principate develop and the exercise of imperial power change under the Julio-Claudian emperors from AD 14 to 68?

The consolidation of the Principate, the nature of imperial power, and the role of the army, Senate and imperial family under the Julio-Claudians

WACE ATAR Ancient History Unit 4 Rome option, covering the consolidation of the Principate under Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero, the role of army, Senate and imperial family, grounded in Tacitus, Suetonius and inscriptions.

6 min read →