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Ancient History

Question: In Plato’s Crito, is there a valid ‘agreement’ between Socrates and the City of Athens, as Socrates claims? Would such an agreement justify Socrates’ decision?

Answer: In Plato’s Crito, Socrates has been sentenced to death for corrupting the youth of Athens with teachings of philosophy. In it, Socrates argues that he cannot escape prison because he would be breaking his tacit agreement with the City of Athens. What follows, is a discussion of whether there is such a valid agreement and consequently, whether such an agreement would justify Socrates’ decision ......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: How valid are the arguments against Athenian democracy presented by the Old Oligarch?

Answer: The Old Oligarch wrote his Constitution of the Athenians towards the end of Pericles’ career . Unlike Thucydides, he was not an active politician; and the purpose for which he composed his work remains obscure . Nothing is known about the author, but we can infer from his negative, though often admiring, comments on Athenian democracy and from his consistent use of pejorative and laudatory adjec......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Outline the dominant meanings of leisure activities & public entertainment in the Roman empire including the effectiveness of this discourse.

Answer: Fronto, writing in the second century, stated that Trajan knew that the Roman people were held fast by two things – the free corn distribution and the shows; Juvenal, writing a little earlier, observed that the Roman people who were once the safe-keepers of sovereign imperial power, worried about and looked forward to two things only – bread and games. The circus was the most popular event t......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Assess the differences and similarities between the tombs belonging to kings and those of their subjects.

Answer: To first assess the differences and similarities between the tombs of the pharaohs and those of their subjects, it is perhaps fitting to discuss why tombs were such a focal point of ancient Egyptian life. It was not uncommon to spend a good proportion of one’s life preparing the place where you would be buried; the ancient Egyptians had relatively short life spans, and especially amongst women ......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: For what reasons does Cicero think that the state and its laws have come into existence? Do you agree?

Answer: Cicero’s commonwealth represents a natural conclusion to his theory of man; that the state is a construct of human desire for companionship, consensus and sociability. The laws instituted within that state are there to protect the property and possessions of men and to allow them to show benevolence to mankind through sharing and donation.......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: 1) Explain what is meant by the ‘social shaping’ of technology, using the example of irrigation
2) Give two further examples of technologies applied in the Near East that could be said to have been socially shaped
3) To what extent was the water supply of ancient Greece socially shaped?

Answer: Perhaps the simplest way in which to define the term the “social shaping of technology” would be to the effect that the needs of a society determine its progress in terms of the methods it adopts to meet those requirements, i.e. society drives technological advances rather than being driven by them.......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Approaches to the past are largely determined by the intellectual climate of the times. To what extent does this statement apply to Book One of Herodotus?

Answer: Herodotus’ Histories were to some extent undoubtedly determined by the intellectual climate of the times. This essay will explore ways in which aspects such as literacy, myth and causation of the intellectual climate have influenced Herodotus in his writings.......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: What were the main themes of Herodotus’ work? What is Herodotus’ perspective on foreign cultures and history?

Answer: One of the themes that permeates throughout the whole of ‘the Histories’ and echoes hauntingly in the offbeat closing anecdote, is the theme of excess. The Greeks were preoccupied with balance and the order of things. Herodotus’ beliefs on the order of the universe and the limits that the ‘jealous and divine’ place on mortal ambitions, radiate throughout ‘The Histories’.......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: What does painted pottery tell us about the importance of myth in archaic society?

Answer: The stories told in myths from archaic Greece are rich in description, and full of information that may tell us what societies from the period were like. A lot of our knowledge about the importance placed on myth in these societies is derived from the physical evidence, which we can still see today. A great deal of this evidence is found in pottery. Indeed due to its unusually durable properties, ......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: What kind of Image of Roman Society do we perceive from the story of the Sabine Women?

Answer: The famous story of the Sabine women was told by Livy in his earliest book and is part of a series of foundation myths that he uses to describe the creation of Rome. Livy’s version of events describe how the legendary Romulus needed one element to complete the founding of the great city of Rome; women who would be able provide the city with children in order to ensure the continuous growth of Ro......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

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Ancient History

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