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Ancient History

From the city-states of Greece and the Roman Empire to the river valleys of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus and the Yellow River, and the cities of the Maya, Aztec and Inca, the civilizations of the ancient world stretch thousands of years into the past, yet they continue to affect and inform ideas and events in the modern world. Their languages, beliefs, and societies have left a deep footprint on modern philosophy, political science, sociology, law, architecture, aesthetics, linguistics, and the scientific method. And yet many beliefs held among members of these societies about love, social organization, identity, gender, and spirituality would sound quite alien to a modern observer.In this course, we work to gather an accurate picture of ancient civilizations – how rulers justified their power, governed diverse peoples and built empires, and how the farmers, laborers, artisans, soldiers, and enslaved people who made up the majority of these societies actually lived.

Students may focus on one of five regions: the Greco-Roman world, Ancient Egypt and the Near East, Ancient China and East Asia, Ancient South Asia, and the Ancient Americas. Or they may take a comparative approach, examining how ancient societies connected with, resembled, and differed from one another. Along the way, students learn to work with the full range of evidence historians rely on, from literary texts, inscriptions, and legal codes to archaeological remains.

Pre-approved Topic List

The Greco-Roman World

  1. How was slavery classified in the Greco-Roman world? What alternative forms of bondage existed alongside it?
  2. How was love expressed among people in the Greco-Roman world? Are there any compelling cases in other eras that merit further comparisons?
  3. What components were used to help develop a shared ethnic identity? Against whom was this ethnic identity juxtaposed?
  4. What were some of the accepted gender roles in the Greco-Roman world? In what ways did people push against or defend these societal norms?
  5. In what ways did religion influence the decisions and lives of the people of the Greco-Roman world?
  6. How was the Greco-Roman family and household organized? What roles were available to the various members?
  7. What was the culture of militaristic nations, such as Sparta and Rome, like? How did warfare shape their lives on and off the battlefield?
  8. What were the opportunities available to women in the Greco-Roman world? How might we imagine their lives and treatment?
  9. How can one utilize ancient literary sources as a means to better understand the history of the Greco-Roman world?
  10. What messages can we gather from the mythology of this era to better understand the religious and personal beliefs of the Greco-Roman world?

Ancient Egypt and the Near East

  1. How did the idea of the pharaoh as a divine ruler shape Egyptian politics, religion and daily life?
  2. What legal and economic rights did women have in ancient Egypt, and how did these compare with other ancient societies?
  3. What does the Code of Hammurabi reveal about justice, social class and everyday life in ancient Babylon?
  4. How did the Achaemenid Persian Empire govern peoples of many languages and religions across its vast territory?
  5. How did the Kushite kings of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty present themselves as legitimate pharaohs, and how did Egyptians respond to their rule?

Ancient China and East Asia

  1. How did the Mandate of Heaven justify the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties?
  2. How did Confucian ideas shape family life, gender roles and the duties of rulers and subjects?
  3. How did the Qin dynasty use Legalist ideas to unify China, and why did its rule collapse so quickly?
  4. How did the Han Empire define itself against outsiders such as the Xiongnu, and what does this reveal about Chinese identity?

Ancient South Asia

  1. What can archaeology tell us about the Indus Valley civilization, given that its writing has never been deciphered?
  2. How did Emperor Ashoka use his edicts and Buddhist ideas to govern the Maurya Empire?
  3. How did Buddhism first arrive in China, and how did it adapt to Chinese beliefs and values?
  4. What does the Arthashastra reveal about statecraft, spying and economic control in ancient India, and how closely did it reflect how the Maurya Empire actually worked?
  5. Was the Gupta period really a “golden age”? How have historians judged its achievements in mathematics, science, literature and art?

The Ancient Americas

  1. What do Maya inscriptions and monuments reveal about kingship, warfare and religion?
  2. Why were many Classic Maya cities abandoned, and what does this suggest about environmental and political collapse?
  3. How did warfare, tribute and religious sacrifice shape life in the Aztec Empire?
  4. How did the Inca govern a vast empire without a known writing system, using tools such as the khipu?

Comparative and Global Themes

  1. How did slavery and other forms of bondage differ across ancient societies?
  2. How did trade between the Roman Empire and India work, and what goods, people and ideas moved along these routes?
  3. How did large empires such as Rome, Persia, the Maurya and the Han hold together diverse populations?
  4. How do myths on shared themes, such as creation, floods or the afterlife, compare across cultures?
  5. Why do ancient states collapse? Compare cases such as the Late Bronze Age Mediterranean, the Western Roman Empire and the Classic Maya.
  6. Was the Trojan War a real event? How do Homer’s epics compare with the archaeological evidence from the site of Troy?