VCE Ancient History past exams 2023–2025

Every question from the last three VCE Ancient History exams, matched to the lesson that teaches it, with class averages from the examiners' reports and worked solutions. VCE Ancient History (Year 12) lessons.

2025 Exam

• A1a (3 marks, class average 80%): Outline, from a historian's extract, how the Amen-Ra cult gained economically from Thutmosis III's campaigns. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1b (4 marks, class average 68%): Describe how New Kingdom kings showed their power as warriors, using a chariot decoration of Thutmosis IV. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1c (5 marks, class average 62%): Explain Hatshepsut's main motives for her building programs, using an obelisk inscription from Karnak. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1d (5 marks, class average 58%): Explain Akhenaten's reasons for leaving Thebes and founding Akhetaten, using a boundary stela text. Lesson: Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1e (8 marks, class average 45%): Analyse how relations between the Amen-Ra priesthood and the king fed the crisis of the Amarna Period. Lesson: Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• A2a (4 marks, class average 70%): Describe what Athens required of its resident foreigners (metics), using a historian's account. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2b (8 marks, class average 24%): Analyse how Ephialtes' reforms contributed to the development of democracy in Athens. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• A2c (3 marks, class average 83%): Outline why the Spartans felt sure of winning a war against Athens, from Archidamus' speech in Thucydides. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2d (5 marks, class average 42%): Explain how the Megarian Decree helped bring on the Archidamian War, using a map of Greece in 431 BCE. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2e (5 marks, class average 58%): Explain how Lysander brought Athens to surrender in 404 BCE, using a passage of Plutarch. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3a (3 marks, class average 87%): Outline how Romulus became Rome's founder in 753 BCE, from Livy's account. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3b (4 marks, class average 43%): Describe the cultural expressions that defined life in the early Republic, using a painting of Coriolanus. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3c (5 marks, class average 54%): Explain the limitations of the Republic's political institutions, using Polybius on the people's role. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3d (5 marks, class average 56%): Explain why the young Pompey's victories and popular following alarmed the Roman elite. Lesson: Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3e (8 marks, class average 30%): Analyse how the major battles from 49 to 45 BCE decided the war Caesar fought against Pompey. Lesson: Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B1 (20 marks, class average 53%): Essay: despite an unconventional reign, did Akhenaten fulfil the Egyptian role of the god-king?. Lesson: Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B2 (20 marks, class average 53%): Essay: though Sparta blamed Athens, was Sparta itself largely to blame for the Archidamian War?. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B3 (20 marks, class average 53%): Essay: did the erosion of Roman morals and values bring about the demise of the Republic?. Lesson: Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses

2024 Exam

• A1a (3 marks): Outline, from a historians' extract, how Thutmosis III added to Egypt's power. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1b (5 marks): Explain what was new in New Kingdom burial customs and religion, using the painted tomb chapel of Nakht. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1c (4 marks, class average 48%): Describe how Rameses II brought trade goods and tribute into Egypt from the Levant and Africa. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy
• A1d (5 marks, class average 56%): Explain where Egyptian women stood in society, using a stela in which Ahmose honours his grandmother. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1e (8 marks, class average 45%): Analyse what Amenhotep III and Akhenaten aimed to achieve, politically and socially, through their buildings. Lesson: Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• A2a (3 marks, class average 83%): Outline, from Murray's extract, what Greek tyranny was like and how Greeks judged it. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2b (5 marks, class average 62%): Explain what Greek women did and how they were regarded, using a painted funerary plaque. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2c (4 marks, class average 50%): Describe the changes Solon made to how Athens was governed and who could hold office. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy
• A2d (5 marks, class average 52%): Explain how Cleon's leadership shaped Athens' part in the Archidamian War, using a passage of Aristotle. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2e (8 marks, class average 48%): Weigh the gains and costs for an ally of belonging to Athens' alliance from 460 BCE on. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Ancient Greece — The Persian Wars (490–479 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• A3a (3 marks, class average 90%): Outline the military powers of the consuls from an extract by Polybius. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3b (5 marks, class average 62%): Explain how the end of the monarchy in 509 BCE reshaped Roman government, using a historian's account. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3c (5 marks, class average 56%): Explain what Roman women did and where they fitted, using a frieze of the imperial family from the Ara Pacis. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3d (4 marks, class average 55%): Describe the ways Gaius Marius helped weaken the Roman Republic. Lesson: Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE)
• A3e (8 marks, class average 41%): Weigh Actium against the other turning points in the struggle between Octavian and Antony. Lesson: Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B1 (20 marks, class average 50%): Essay: how far was Nefertiti to blame for the upheaval of the Amarna Period?. Lesson: Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B2 (20 marks, class average 50%): Essay: how much did Alcibiades shape the way the war of 413 to 404 BCE ended?. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B3 (20 marks, class average 50%): Essay: how far was Sulla to blame for the collapse of the Republic?. Lesson: Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses

2023 Exam

• A1a (3 marks, class average 80%): Outline, from Shaw's extract, how foreign tribute and trade reshaped Egyptian society and government. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1b (6 marks, class average 55%): Explain how Amarna art, shown in a house altar of the royal family under the Aten, reflects the crisis. Lesson: Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A1c (6 marks, class average 43%): Explain the consequences of Thutmosis III's military campaigns for New Kingdom Egypt. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy
• A1d (10 marks, class average 42%): Analyse Amenhotep III's influence as king and against earlier Eighteenth Dynasty kings, using a Babylonian letter. Lesson: Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• A2a (3 marks, class average 90%): Outline what Aristotle saw as democratic in Sparta's system of government. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2b (6 marks, class average 63%): Explain why the helots mattered so much to Sparta, using a historian's account of how they were treated. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A2c (6 marks, class average 42%): Explain the consequences of the Ionian revolt for Ancient Greece. Lesson: Ancient Greece — The Persian Wars (490–479 BCE), Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy
• A2d (10 marks, class average 46%): Analyse how far the plague at Athens shaped the outcome of the Archidamian War, using a mass-grave plan. Lesson: Crisis in Greece — The Peloponnesian War (460–404 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• A3a (3 marks, class average 80%): Outline the relationship between Roman patrons and clients, from an extract by Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3b (6 marks, class average 53%): Explain why slavery mattered to Roman society, using a Pompeii wall painting of a dinner party. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Early Rome — The Punic Wars (264–146 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography
• A3c (6 marks, class average 28%): Explain the consequences of the Second Samnite War for Rome. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders
• A3d (10 marks, class average 51%): Analyse how the tribunates of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus brought political change to the Republic. Lesson: Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE), Working With Ancient Sources — Evidence, Historians and Historiography, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B1 (20 marks, class average 52%): Essay: did all women have the same social and political roles throughout New Kingdom Egypt?. Lesson: New Kingdom Egypt (1550–1069 BCE) — Pharaoh, Society, Religion and Economy, Crisis in Egypt — The Amarna Period and Key Individuals, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B2 (20 marks, class average 52%): Essay: was Cleisthenes solely responsible for developing democracy in Athens?. Lesson: Ancient Greece (800–454 BCE) — The Polis, Sparta, Athens and Democracy, Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses
• B3 (20 marks, class average 52%): Essay: from Romulus to Augustus, was Rome always ruled by powerful individuals?. Lesson: Early Rome (c.753–146 BCE) — Kings, Republic and the Conflict of the Orders, Crisis in Rome — The Fall of the Republic (133–23 BCE), Ancient History Exam Strategy — Sources, Significance and Extended Responses