Ancient History

Course summary

In the Lower Sixth, there is a detailed study of the wars (and diplomacy) between Greeks and Persians, and the increasingly fraught relations between the Greek states, culminating in the 30 years of the Peloponnesian War. We study the establishment by Augustus of a military dictatorship and its evolution under the other Julio-Claudian emperors. In the Upper Sixth, we focus on Athens in greater detail, studying the workings of the democracy and the development of Athenian culture during the 5th century BC. While, in Rome we study the late Republic, focusing on the causes for its collapse: the violence, corruption and competition between the various military leaders.