Ancient History and French

The MA (Hons) in Ancient History explores the history of Greece and Rome, and that of neighbouring peoples such as the Persians and Carthaginians. Students study the period from the beginning of Greek writing and urbanism in eighth century BCE through to the collapse of the western Roman empire in the fifth century CE. Geographically, the subject is centred on the Mediterranean world, which at times extends from the Persian Gulf to the Clyde and from the Crimea to the Sahara.

Thematically, the course deals not only with political and military history, but also with topics such as gender and sexuality, slavery, colonisation, religion, cultural contacts between peoples, and the ecology and economy of the ancient Mediterranean. Students will also study the nature of ancient evidence and the way that the Greeks and Romans represented the past and reinvented it to meet their changing needs. The MA (Hons) in Ancient History is a four-year course run by the School of Classics.

In the first year, no previous experience of ancient history or classical languages is required; any student is eligible to take ancient history.