Key term
OCR A-Level Ancient History H407
Relations Between Greek States and Non-Greek States, 492–404 BC
Topic overviewMardonius' expedition and the Persian demand for submission, 492–491 BCThe Battle of Marathon, 490 BCPersian aims and the preparations of both sides in the 480s BCThe Hellenic League and the divided response of the Greek statesThermopylae, Artemisium and the debate before SalamisPlataea, Mycale and the Greek alliance of 479 BCExplaining the Greek victory over PersiaThe consequences of victory and the founding of the Delian League, 479–477 BCThe growth of Athenian power in the Delian LeagueThe earthquake, the helot revolt and the break with Sparta, 465–461 BCThe First Peloponnesian War, 461–446 BCThe Egyptian expedition and the end of the Persian war, 460–449 BCThe Thirty Years' Peace and the revolt of Samos, 446–439 BCCorcyra, Potidaea and the outbreak of war in 431 BCThe causes of the Peloponnesian WarStrategy, the invasions of Attica and the plague at AthensPylos, Sphacteria and Brasidas in ThraceDivisions over peace and the Peace of Nicias, 422–421 BCThe alliance with Argos and the Battle of Mantinea, 418 BCThe Sicilian Expedition and the occupation of Decelea, 415–413 BCPersia and the defeat of Athens, 412–404 BCExplaining Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
Topic overviewThe agoge and the upbringing of Spartan boys and menThe education of Spartan girlsThe values the agoge was intended to instilSpartiates, perioikoi and helotsHelot revolts, the krypteia and the fear of the helotsThe status and role of Spartan womenThe Spartan kings and the gerousiaThe ephors and the Spartan assemblyGreat debates and influential individuals in Spartan politicsThe organisation of the Spartan army and who fought in itSpartan successes and failures on land, 465–418 BCThe Spartan navy and the commanders of the later warCorinthian and Athenian views of SpartaThe Peloponnesian League and the limits of Spartan actionOliganthropia, the decline of values and the Spartan mirage
The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC
Topic overviewDemocracy and oligarchy, and the critics of the Athenian systemThe ecclesia, the boule and the officials of the democracyOstracism and the popular lawcourtsAthens as leader of an empire and her treatment of the alliesLeadership in fifth-century Athens: Pericles, Cleon, Nicias and AlcibiadesCitizens, metics, slaves and women in Athenian societyThe Sophists and the teaching of rhetoricThe Sophists' view of Athenian society and its valuesSocrates: his method, his critique of democracy and his trialThe Persian Wars, Delian League funds and the origins of the building programmeThe buildings of the Acropolis and the AgoraAcropolis sculpture and the sanctuaries of AtticaThe City Dionysia, the Lenaea and the organisation of dramatic festivalsTragedy and comedy as genresAristophanes, Old Comedy and contemporary AthensAthenian attitudes to religion and the changing relationship with the godsThe festivals of the Athenian religious yearThe Panathenaea, Athena and Poseidon on the Acropolis
The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC
Topic overviewPhilip's accession and the securing of Macedon, 359–357 BCThe reform of the Macedonian army and its siege technologyPhilip's court, his patronage and his marriagesThe expansion of Macedon and the organisation of the new territoriesThessaly, the Third Sacred War and Philip's place in Greek institutionsThe Peace of Philocrates and the prospect of a common peaceThrace, Perinthus and ByzantiumChaeronea, the League of Corinth and the hegemonyAlexander's accession and the reassertion of control over GreeceThe crossing to Asia: Troy, the Granicus and HalicarnassusGordium, Issus and the conquest of the Levant and EgyptGaugamela and the occupations of Babylon and PersepolisThe pursuit of Darius, the fall of Bessus and the war in Bactria and SogdianaConspiracy and opposition: Philotas, Cleitus and CallisthenesAlexander's foundation cities and their roleThe Indus valley campaign and the rulers of the PunjabThe mutiny at the Hyphasis, the Mallians and the crossing of the Gedrosian DesertThe return from the east: the purges, the marriages at Susa and the mutiny at OpisThe Exiles' Decree, the death of Hephaestion and the last months at BabylonThe aims of Philip and Alexander: continuity and changePhilip's character: diplomacy, warfare and the treatment of the defeatedAlexander's character, the gods and his own divinityPhilip, Alexander and the Greek statesAlexander, his army and his CompanionsAlexander and the Persians: Darius' family, the satraps and the EpigonoiThe ancient sources for Philip and Alexander and their reliability
The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC–AD 68
Topic overviewActium and the presentation of Augustus' victoryThe constitutional settlements of 27 BC and 23 BCThe Res Gestae and the debate over the restored RepublicAugustus' military achievements and the frontiers of the empireThe administration of Rome and the provinces under AugustusReligion, moral revival and the Imperial Cult under AugustusThe image of Augustus in poetry, coinage and the building programmeThe imperial family, conspiracies and the successionTiberius and the views of the classical authorsTiberius, Germanicus and SejanusMutinies, revolts and the treason trials under TiberiusTiberius, religion and the government of RomeThe presentation of Gaius' character by the ancient sourcesGaius, religion and the Imperial CultGaius' rule in Rome and the assassination of AD 41The accession of Claudius in AD 41The invasion of Britain in AD 43Claudius' wives, freedmen and the government of RomeNero, Britannicus and the death of ClaudiusThe presentation of Nero's character by the ancient sourcesNero's early reign and the changing role of AgrippinaNero's wives and the imperial householdThe Great Fire of AD 64 and the Pisonian conspiracyNero, religion and the government of RomeCorbulo, the revolt of Vindex and the fall of Nero
The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88–31 BC
Topic overviewThe Senate, its membership and the force of senatus consultaThe popular assemblies and the making of lawThe magistracies, the cursus honorum and the electoral processThe tribunes of the plebs and their power in the stateThe courts, the quaestiones perpetuae and the politics of prosecutionThe Gracchi, Marius and the origins of the crisis of 88 BCSulla's dictatorship and the Sullan reformsThe undoing of Sulla's settlement in the 70s BCSpartacus, Crassus and the consulship of 70 BCThe Catilinarian Conspiracy of 63 BCThe First Triumvirate and Caesar's consulship of 59 BCPolitical breakdown and disorder in the 50s BCThe causes of the Civil War of 49 BCCaesar's dictatorship and social changeThe assassination of Caesar and the Ides of MarchAntony against the Senate and the Second TriumvirateOctavian's victories in Italy, at Actium and in EgyptPatronage, clientela and the politics of factionOratory, political marriage and scandal in public lifeLand bills, largesse and the buying of popular supportBribery, corruption, intimidation and violence in Roman politicsMilitary commands, veteran loyalty and the threat of forceThe senatorial and equestrian orders and the publicaniThe rural poor, migration to Rome and the changing urban plebsThe roles of Sulla, Lepidus, Crassus and PompeyThe roles of Cicero, Cato, Catiline and ClodiusThe roles of Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, Antony and OctavianThe ancient sources for the Late Republic and their reliability
The Flavians, AD 68–96
Topic overviewThe fall of Nero and the failure of GalbaOtho, Vitellius and the civil wars of AD 69Vespasian's bid for power and the men who backed himLegitimising the accession: army, Senate, people and the godsVespasian's settlement on his accession and the powers of the princepsThe treasury, taxation and the recovery of the stateThe Flavian family, its supporters and the dynastic successionDomitian and the transformation of the princeps' powerVespasian's reign, his character and his dealings with the SenateThe principate of Titus, AD 79–81Domitian in Rome: government, opposition and the terrorThe Flavians and the empire: Britain, Germany, the Danube and the EastPropaganda and the legitimation of the dynastyThe Flavian building programme in RomeTriumphs, games and festivals as imperial spectacleLiterature, art and the image of the princepsTraditional Roman religion and the emperors' place in itForeign cults and the alternatives to traditional religionThe imperial cult and the deification of the Flavians
Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43–c.128
Topic overviewBritain and Rome before the invasion of AD 43Claudius' reasons for the conquest of BritainThe invasion of AD 43 and the conquest of southern BritainRoman military policy under the governors from Ostorius to FrontinusAgricola's campaigns in Britain, AD 77–83Frontier policy after Agricola and Domitian's retrenchmentTrajan's retrenchment and the Stanegate frontierHadrian's decision to build the WallThe features and functions of Hadrian's WallThe reasons for British resistance and the forms it tookCaratacus and the war against Plautius and OstoriusThe Boudiccan Revolt: causes, course and consequencesVenutius, Cartimandua and unrest in BrigantiaCalgacus and the Roman image of the British leaderThe governor and the procurator in the Roman provinceBritish collaboration with Roman ruleClient rulers: Prasutagus, Cartimandua and CogidubnusThe deployment and role of the Roman army in BritainEconomic exploitation and changes in agricultureRoads, trade and the army's impact on the British economyUrbanisation and the different types of Roman townTown life: public buildings, leisure and economic growthRomanisation, the Romanised elite and Fishbourne Palace
The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC
- 18 subtopics
- 45 things to know
- Component Group 1
What The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC covers
The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC is examined in Component Group 1, Greek period study and Greek depth study. It covers democracy and oligarchy, and the critics of the Athenian system, the ecclesia, the boule and the officials of the democracy, ostracism and the popular lawcourts, Athens as leader of an empire and her treatment of the allies, leadership in fifth-century Athens: Pericles, Cleon, Nicias and Alcibiades, citizens, metics, slaves and women in Athenian society, the Sophists and the teaching of rhetoric, the Sophists' view of Athenian society and its values, Socrates: his method, his critique of democracy and his trial, the Persian Wars, Delian League funds and the origins of the building programme, the buildings of the Acropolis and the Agora, Acropolis sculpture and the sanctuaries of Attica, the City Dionysia, the Lenaea and the organisation of dramatic festivals, tragedy and comedy as genres, Aristophanes, Old Comedy and contemporary Athens, Athenian attitudes to religion and the changing relationship with the gods, the festivals of the Athenian religious year and the Panathenaea, Athena and Poseidon on the Acropolis.
Where it is assessed
Component Group 1
Greek period study and Greek depth study.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 18 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Democracy and oligarchy, and the critics of the Athenian systemRecall questions on demokratia and oligarchy, isonomia and isegoria, the lot against election, Ephialtes' reform of the Areopagus, state pay, direct democracy and the thetes, the Four Hundred, the Five Thousand and the Thirty, and the criticisms of the Old Oligarch, Thucydides and Plato.Open →
- The ecclesia, the boule and the officials of the democracyRecall questions on the assembly on the Pnyx and how it debated and voted, the probouleuma, the council of five hundred and its limits and duties, the prytaneis and the epistates, dokimasia and euthyna, the archons and thesmothetai, and why the elected strategia became the most powerful office.Open →
- Ostracism and the popular lawcourtsRecall questions on the procedure, quorum and penalty of ostracism, the ostracisms of Themistocles, Cimon, Thucydides son of Melesias and Hyperbolus, arguments for and against it, the selection, size and pay of juries, how a trial ran, graphe and dike, the graphe paranomon, and allied cases heard at Athens.Open →
- Athens as leader of an empire and her treatment of the alliesRecall questions on the tribute and the move of the treasury, cleruchies and the standards decree, the terms imposed on Chalcis and Thasos, the Mytilenean debate, and Melos.Open →
- Leadership in fifth-century Athens: Pericles, Cleon, Nicias and AlcibiadesRecall questions on Pericles' background, citizenship law, generalships, war strategy, funeral speech and deposition, Cleon's rise, Mytilene line, Pylos and death, Nicias' mining wealth, peace and Sicilian command, Alcibiades' links to Pericles and Socrates, the charges of 415 BC and his advice to Sparta, and Thucydides' judgement on Pericles' successors.Open →
- Citizens, metics, slaves and women in Athenian societyRecall questions on the qualifications, enrolment and duties of citizens, the status, obligations, restrictions and economic role of metics and Xenophon's Poroi, the sources and work of slaves, the demosioi and slave testimony, and citizen women's legal position, household role, religious prominence, the hetairai and Pericles' remark on women.Open →
- The Sophists and the teaching of rhetoricRecall questions on who the Sophists were and why rhetoric mattered, Gorgias of Leontini and his visit in 427 BC, Protagoras and the weaker argument, dissoi logoi, the Sophists' arete, Aristotle's means of persuasion and kinds of oratory, Plato's Gorgias, and the logographoi.Open →
- The Sophists' view of Athenian society and its valuesRecall questions on nomos and physis, Protagoras' man the measure, Antiphon on Greeks and barbarians, Thrasymachus on justice, Sophistic defences of empire, resentment of fees, Plato's Protagoras and Hippias Major, the problem of Plato as a source, and conservative fears and young men's enthusiasm for Sophistic education.Open →
- Socrates: his method, his critique of democracy and his trialRecall questions on Socrates' background, the elenchus and aporia, the Delphic oracle, how he differed from the Sophists, his objections to the lot, his stands over Arginusae and Leon of Salamis, Critias and Alcibiades, the charges of 399 BC and the daimonion, his penalty and execution, Xenophon's Memorabilia and Plato, and Aristophanes' Clouds.Open →
- The Persian Wars, Delian League funds and the origins of the building programmeRecall questions on the sack of the Acropolis, the Oath of Plataea, the charge that allied money paid for the buildings, Pericles' answers to it, and the surviving building accounts.Open →
- The buildings of the Acropolis and the AgoraRecall questions on the Parthenon's dates, architects, Pentelic marble, Doric and Ionic features and refinements, Phidias' Athena Parthenos, Mnesicles' Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike and its parapet, the Erechtheion and Caryatid porch, the Hephaisteion, the Bouleuterion, Tholos, Painted Stoa and Odeion, and the Agora's role.Open →
- Acropolis sculpture and the sanctuaries of AtticaRecall questions on the Parthenon pediments, metopes and frieze and how they are interpreted, the Athena Promachos, the Severe Style, Polyclitus' Doryphoros and contrapposto, the temple of Poseidon at Sounion, the bears of Artemis at Brauron, and why Athens built sanctuaries across Attica.Open →
- The City Dionysia, the Lenaea and the organisation of dramatic festivalsRecall questions on Dionysus and the timing of the City Dionysia, its opening ceremonies and their political meaning, the proagon, what a tragedian presented, the archon and the choregos, how winners were judged, the Lenaea and comedy, the theatre building and stage machinery, and theatre-going as a civic duty.Open →
- Tragedy and comedy as genresRecall questions on tragedy's mythical subjects and Aeschylus' Persians, the chorus, actors and masks, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the satyr play, Old Comedy and the parabasis, and Euripides' Hippolytus: its plot, Phaedra, the Nurse, oaths, Theseus' curse, Artemis, legitimacy, the gods and its value as evidence for women.Open →
- Aristophanes, Old Comedy and contemporary AthensRecall questions on Aristophanes' value and limits as a source, his feud with Cleon, Knights and the character Demos, Wasps and the jurors, Thesmophoriazusae and the Thesmophoria, comedy and the war, and Clouds: its production, plot, the Thinkery, Zeus and Vortex, the Better and Worse Argument, and its unreliable Socrates.Open →
- Athenian attitudes to religion and the changing relationship with the godsRecall questions on polis religion and ritual over belief, reciprocity, how priesthoods were filled, animal sacrifice and divination, the plague's effect on piety, Anaxagoras, Protagoras on the gods and the invented-gods theory, the Sophistic threat, impiety as politics, the scandals of 415 BC, and how little everyday practice changed.Open →
- The festivals of the Athenian religious yearRecall questions on the lunar festival calendar and its many festival days, what a festival involved and why it mattered socially, the Eleusinian Mysteries and who could be initiated, the Thesmophoria, the Anthesteria, the Apatouria, deme religion and the Rural Dionysia, and how festivals were paid for.Open →
- The Panathenaea, Athena and Poseidon on the AcropolisRecall questions on the annual and Great Panathenaea, the procession's route and participants, the peplos and Athena Polias, the hecatomb, the apobates race and rhapsodes, prize amphorae of olive oil, the allies' offerings, Athena's contest with Poseidon, her three Acropolis cults, and Poseidon's place in the Erechtheion and the west pediment.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What duties came with Athenian citizenship?
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State the obligations that metic status carried.
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Distinguish between nomos and physis.
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What ceremonies took place in the theatre before the plays at the City Dionysia?
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Why did religious offences become political matters in Athens?
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What was the Thesmophoria?
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Define the term isonomia.
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State the quorum that applied to an ostracism.
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Why was the Delian League founded in 478/7 BC?
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Summarise the strategy Pericles urged on the Athenians at the start of the Peloponnesian War.
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Why did rhetoric matter so much in fifth-century Athens?
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Define the term elenchus.
Who and when
What did the Persians do to the Athenian Acropolis in 480 BC?
Numbers
When was the Parthenon built, and who were its architects?
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Name the subjects shown on the Parthenon metopes.
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What kind of material did Athenian tragedy normally take as its subject?
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What is the plot of Knights, and whom does it attack?
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What was the Panathenaea?
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What is meant by isegoria?
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Who was entitled to attend and vote in the ecclesia?
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Name two prominent Athenians ostracised in the first half of the fifth century.
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What was the phoros, and who made the first assessment of it?
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How did Cleon die?
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What did Protagoras mean by saying that man is the measure of all things?
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What did Socrates hold to be necessary for good government?
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What change in the war with Persia is thought to have released the League's funds for building?
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Give three refinements built into the Parthenon and explain their purpose.
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Give one alternative interpretation of the Parthenon frieze.
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Define the term proagon.
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Name the one surviving tragedy known to have dealt with recent history, and its author.
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Who is Demos in Knights, and what does the character represent?
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What is meant by saying that Athenian religion was a religion of the polis?
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Roughly how much of the Athenian year was taken up with festivals?
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Explain how the Great Panathenaea differed from the annual celebration.
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Why did Athenians regard selection by lot as more democratic than election?
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How was business normally brought before the assembly?
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What happened at the ostracism of Hyperbolus, and what followed from it?
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What alternative to paying tribute did a few allies keep?
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Where did Athenian slaves come from?
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How could Sophistic teaching be used to defend the Athenian empire?
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Why did Socrates' associations damage him after 404 BC?
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Which opponent led the attack on Pericles' spending, and what became of him?
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What is the Propylaea, and who designed it?
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What difficulties face anyone interpreting the Parthenon sculptures?
Take The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Parthenon frieze vs Parthenon metopes
Parthenon frieze: a continuous Ionic band carved round the outside of the temple's inner chamber, generally read as the Panathenaic procession. Parthenon metopes: Separate Doric panels above the outer colonnade, each side carrying one mythical battle such as Greeks against centaurs or gods against giants.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Explain the literal meaning of the Greek word demokratia.
Model answer
It means that power is held by the demos, the people, meaning the whole citizen body rather than a privileged section of it.
- 2
What does oligarchy mean, and who held power under it?
Model answer
Oligarchy means rule by the few, in practice by a small group of wealthy men who qualified for office through a property qualification.
- 3
Define the term isonomia.
Model answer
Isonomia is equality before the law, the principle that every citizen has the same legal standing whatever his birth or wealth.
- 4
What is meant by isegoria?
Model answer
Isegoria is the equal right of every citizen to stand up and speak in the assembly.
- 5
Why did Athenians regard selection by lot as more democratic than election?
Model answer
The lot gave every eligible citizen the same chance of office, whereas election favoured the well known, the wealthy and the persuasive.
- 6
Which Athenian offices continued to be filled by election rather than by lot, and why?
Model answer
The generals and the senior financial officials were elected, because those posts needed proven expertise that the Athenians were unwilling to leave to chance.
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The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC revision questions
- What does The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC cover in OCR A-Level Ancient History?
- 18 subtopics: democracy and oligarchy, and the critics of the athenian system, the ecclesia, the boule and the officials of the democracy, ostracism and the popular lawcourts, athens as leader of an empire and her treatment of the allies, leadership in fifth-century athens: pericles, cleon, nicias and alcibiades, citizens, metics, slaves and women in athenian society, the sophists and the teaching of rhetoric, the sophists' view of athenian society and its values, socrates: his method, his critique of democracy and his trial, the persian wars, delian league funds and the origins of the building programme, the buildings of the acropolis and the agora, acropolis sculpture and the sanctuaries of attica, the city dionysia, the lenaea and the organisation of dramatic festivals, tragedy and comedy as genres, aristophanes, old comedy and contemporary athens, athenian attitudes to religion and the changing relationship with the gods, the festivals of the athenian religious year and the panathenaea, athena and poseidon on the acropolis. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC organised?
- By the OCR H407 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
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