Scotch College

HISTORY Year 10 — 2012

Classical Greek Civilisation [Semester Unit]

Rationale 

Ancient Greece is often described as the birthplace of western Civilization.  Many of our political concepts, including democracy and politics, derived from the Greeks, as do ideas about the arts, philosophy, sport and mathematics.
That contribution and the context in which these concepts were made are the subjects of this course, which covers
the period between the legendary siege of Troy and the death of Alexander the Great. Students are encouraged to follow their own interests in this broad area: they can research topics as diverse as Greek philosophy, Greek
seafaring or hoplite warfare. 

Student Outcomes 

• develop an understanding of the rise, climax and decline of one of the great civilizations 
• learn about the foundations of modern political and cultural ideas 
• build on analytical and writing skills gained in Years 7-9 
• develop research skills in the use of primary sources, such as Homer and Herodotus 
• extend skills in the use of the apparatus of humanities research, such as footnotes and bibliographies. 
• use  the Internet for research with the many reputable Greek sites 
• develop an excellent background in skills required for VCE History 

Course Content 

• The geography of ancient Greece.
• Greece before 800 BC, including Mycenaean and Minoan Civilization.
• Troy; readings from the Iliad and a study of the archaeological search for Troy.
• The growth of city-states examined via simulation of a typical Greek city Sparta, with emphasis on the military, social and political features that made it admired and feared Athens, with emphasis on its political outlook in the sixth and fifth centuries BC.
• The Persian Wars, including Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis.
• The Golden Age of Greece: the 50 years of Greece’s greatest cultural and political achievement.
• The Peloponnesian Wars: Athens and Sparta vie for dominance, thereby destroying the city-states’ system. 
• Alexander the Great and the Rise of Macedon: Macedonian pre-eminence in Greece - Alexander conquers most of the known world.

Assessment 

Examination 

Essays 

Unit Tests 

Research Assignments