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 Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
- 15 subtopics
- 43 things to know
- Component Group 1
What The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC covers
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC is examined in Component Group 1, Greek period study and Greek depth study. It covers the agoge and the upbringing of Spartan boys and men, the education of Spartan girls, the values the agoge was intended to instil, Spartiates, perioikoi and helots, helot revolts, the krypteia and the fear of the helots, the status and role of Spartan women, the Spartan kings and the gerousia, the ephors and the Spartan assembly, great debates and influential individuals in Spartan politics, the organisation of the Spartan army and who fought in it, Spartan successes and failures on land, 465–418 BC, the Spartan navy and the commanders of the later war, Corinthian and Athenian views of Sparta, the Peloponnesian League and the limits of Spartan action and oliganthropia, the decline of values and the Spartan mirage.
Where it is assessed
Component Group 1
Greek period study and Greek depth study.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 15 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The agoge and the upbringing of Spartan boys and menRecall questions on the age a boy left home, the deliberate hunger and the flogging for theft, the contest at Artemis Orthia, laconic speech, the mothakes, and the common messes.Open →
- The education of Spartan girlsRecall questions on the girls' races, wrestling and discus, why they did no spinning or weaving, their festival choruses, the age of marriage, Lampito in Lysistrata, Plutarch's reliability, Alcman's maiden-songs for Hagesichora and Agido, and the bronze running-girl figurine in the British Museum.Open →
- The values the agoge was intended to instilRecall questions on obedience and Demaratus' answer to Xerxes, karteria, conformity among the homoioi, the treatment of a tresas and the men of Sphacteria, contempt for wealth, respect for elders, returning with your shield or on it, eunomia, the views of Plato, and Tyrtaeus' ideal of the fighting man.Open →
- Spartiates, perioikoi and helotsRecall questions on the homoioi and the conditions of full citizenship, the kleros and mess contributions, why Spartiates could not farm or trade, the perioikoi and their economic role and lack of rights, how helots differed from slaves and what they owed, the Messenian helots, helots on campaign, and the evidence of Herodotus, Strabo and Tyrtaeus.Open →
- Helot revolts, the krypteia and the fear of the helotsRecall questions on Thucydides' verdict on helot fear, the ephors' yearly declaration of war, the krypteia as Plato and Aristotle explained it, the revolt of 464 BC and Mount Ithome, the dismissal of the Athenians and its consequences, the two thousand helots who disappeared, the neodamodeis, the Messenians at Pylos, and Myron of Priene.Open →
- The status and role of Spartan womenRecall questions on property and land in women's hands, Aristotle's criticism, the wedding and child-bearing customs our sources report, the naming of the dead on graves, and the power women lacked.Open →
- The Spartan kings and the gerousiaRecall questions on the Agiad and Eurypontid dual kingship, the kings' religious and judicial duties, command on campaign and royal privileges, mourning a king, the monthly oath and the ephors' star-watching, the punishment of Agis II, and the membership, election, functions and Aristotle's criticisms of the gerousia.Open →
- The ephors and the Spartan assemblyRecall questions on how the five ephors were chosen, their powers over the kings, ordinary citizens and foreign affairs, Aristotle's criticisms of the ephorate, who sat in the assembly, voting by shout, what it could and could not decide, its monthly meetings, the rider on crooked motions, and how far Sparta was a democracy.Open →
- Great debates and influential individuals in Spartan politicsRecall questions on the regent's conduct at Byzantium, the debate of the 470s on sea power, the assembly of 432 and how its vote was taken, Alcibiades' advice, and Lysander's rise.Open →
- The organisation of the Spartan army and who fought in itRecall questions on the enomotia, pentekostys and lochos, the chain of command from king to polemarchs, the hippeis and the Skiritai, perioikoi and helots in the army, calling out the age-classes, the pipers and pre-battle sacrifices, how religion could delay campaigns, Xenophon's view of Spartan professionalism, and the secrecy over army size.Open →
- Spartan successes and failures on land, 465–418 BCRecall questions on the weakness exposed at Ithome, Pylos and the surrender on Sphacteria, the use Athens made of the prisoners, Brasidas and Amphipolis, and the battle of 418.Open →
- The Spartan navy and the commanders of the later warRecall questions on the Persian subsidies and what they cost Sparta, the office of navarch, Cyzicus and the captured dispatch, Notium and Aegospotami, and the limits of Xenophon's narrative.Open →
- Corinthian and Athenian views of SpartaRecall questions on the Corinthian complaint about the Spartan character, the Athenian envoys' defence of empire, the charge against Spartans abroad, Athenian admirers of Sparta, and why the speeches are argument.Open →
- The Peloponnesian League and the limits of Spartan actionRecall questions on the League's oath and decision-making, what Sparta and her allies gained, how it differed from the Athenian empire, short campaigns, failures of leadership in the 470s BC, the helot danger, xenelasia, Spartan slowness, commanders who were not kings such as Brasidas and Lysander, and the problem of Athenian sea-raiding.Open →
- Oliganthropia, the decline of values and the Spartan mirageRecall questions on oliganthropia and the figures of Herodotus and Aristotle, loss of citizenship through poverty and inheritance, the hypomeiones, how Sparta made up its numbers, Lysander's wealth and Xenophon's complaint of decline, Thermopylae and the Spartan mirage, and the problems of Plutarch, Xenophon, Aelian and Phylarchus as sources.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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What part did the ephors play in foreign affairs and war?
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What could the assembly not do?
Evaluation
Why did the Spartan chain of command give their army an advantage over other Greek armies?
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Why did the Spartans advance into battle to the sound of pipes?
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What went wrong on the Spartan left at Mantinea, and how did the battle end?
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How did Gylippus change the war in Sicily after 414 BC?
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Why was Sparta so slow to act, and what did it cost her?
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Why did Athenian sea-raiding cause Sparta particular difficulty?
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Why is the evidence for Sparta unusually difficult to work with?
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Where were Spartan girls brought up, and how was this different from the boys' arrangement?
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Why did the training work so hard to make the young conform?
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What did the Spartiates call themselves, and what did the name claim?
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How does Thucydides sum up the effect of the helots on Spartan decision-making?
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How did Gorgo reply when a foreign woman said that Spartan women alone ruled their men?
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What was unusual about Sparta's monarchy?
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What was the long-term consequence of Sparta's decision in the 470s BC not to contest the sea?
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State the complaint the Corinthians made about the Spartan character in 432 BC.
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At what age was a Spartiate's son taken from his home, and what did he enter?
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Why were Spartan girls not taught spinning and weaving as Greek girls elsewhere were?
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Why were the Spartans taught to despise wealth and display?
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State the conditions a man had to meet to hold and keep full Spartiate citizenship.
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Give two different explanations of the krypteia offered by ancient writers.
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Why is the evidence for Spartan women particularly unreliable?
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From the end of the sixth century BC, how many kings could take the army out on campaign, and why was the rule made?
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What brought the Spartan assembly together to hear complaints in 432 BC?
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How did the Athenians come to hold Pylos in 425 BC?
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What did Sparta concede to Persia in return for its subsidies, and why was that awkward?
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What did the Corinthians say about Sparta's institutions?
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How did the way land was inherited contribute to the shortage of citizens?
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Which official had overall charge of the boys' upbringing?
Evaluation
What criticism does Plato make of the Spartan system in the Laws?
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What did a Spartiate have to hand over to his mess each month?
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What event set off the great helot revolt in 464 BC?
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What happened at Sparta when a king died?
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State how many ephors there were, how they were chosen and how long they served.
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What did the Spartan assembly decide in 432 BC, and what happened next?
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Describe the structure of the Spartan army as Thucydides sets it out at Mantinea.
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How did a Spartan force come to be trapped on Sphacteria?
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Describe the Spartan office of navarch.
Evaluation
Why must the Corinthian speech be read as argument rather than description?
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Outline how decisions were reached in the Peloponnesian League.
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How did Sparta make up for the shortage of citizen soldiers?
Take The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Helots vs Perioikoi
Helots: unfree agricultural labourers belonging to the Spartan state rather than to an individual owner, tied to the land they worked and handing over a fixed share of the harvest. Perioikoi: Free inhabitants of the towns of Laconia and Messenia who ran their own local affairs but held no Spartan citizenship and were bound to follow Sparta into war.
Gerousia vs Ephorate
Gerousia: the council of twenty-eight elders aged over sixty, elected for life, which framed the motions put before the citizens and judged the most serious cases. Ephorate: The board of five ordinary citizens elected for a single year, holding executive and disciplinary power and able to arrest and prosecute even a king.
The krypteia vs The agoge
The krypteia: a secret operation in which a few picked young men were sent into the countryside with a dagger, hiding by day and killing the most dangerous of the unfree population by night. The agoge: The state upbringing that every citizen boy entered at the age of seven, living and training in age-classes away from his family.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
At what age was a Spartiate's son taken from his home, and what did he enter?
Model answer
At seven he left his family and was enrolled in the state upbringing known as the agoge, in which he lived and was trained with boys of his own age.
- 2
How were the boys grouped once they entered the agoge?
Model answer
They were organised into age-classes and into packs or herds, each pack led by the boy judged the best of it, who gave the orders and was obeyed.
- 3
Which official had overall charge of the boys' upbringing?
Model answer
The paidonomos, a Spartiate magistrate appointed by the state, supervised the whole system and had young men with whips to carry out his punishments.
- 4
What was an eiren?
Model answer
An eiren was a youth of about twenty placed in charge of a group of younger boys, who drilled them, questioned them and punished them.
- 5
Describe the clothing and bedding allowed to boys once their training became severe.
Model answer
From about the age of twelve a boy was given one cloak to last the whole year and slept on a bed of reeds that he had to gather from the Eurotas with his bare hands.
- 6
Why were the boys deliberately underfed?
Model answer
Hunger was meant to harden them for campaign and to drive them to forage and steal, which developed cunning, stealth and self-reliance.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC revision questions
- What does The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC cover in OCR A-Level Ancient History?
- 15 subtopics: the agoge and the upbringing of spartan boys and men, the education of spartan girls, the values the agoge was intended to instil, spartiates, perioikoi and helots, helot revolts, the krypteia and the fear of the helots, the status and role of spartan women, the spartan kings and the gerousia, the ephors and the spartan assembly, great debates and influential individuals in spartan politics, the organisation of the spartan army and who fought in it, spartan successes and failures on land, 465–418 bc, the spartan navy and the commanders of the later war, corinthian and athenian views of sparta, the peloponnesian league and the limits of spartan action and oliganthropia, the decline of values and the spartan mirage. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC organised?
- By the OCR H407 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
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