What is the OCR Greek depth study about?

The Greek depth study in component H407/11 is the Politics and Society of Sparta 478 to 404 BC, Section B of the Greek paper. It examines the Spartan constitution (kings, gerousia, ephors and assembly), the helots and Spartan control, the agoge and syssitia, the position of women, and Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. It is assessed by one 36-mark essay chosen from two, built closely on the prescribed ancient sources.

Which sources are prescribed for the Sparta depth study?

The core literary sources are Thucydides (for the Peloponnesian War and Spartan attitudes), Xenophon's Constitution of the Lacedaemonians and Hellenica (for the constitution, the agoge and the end of the war), Plutarch's Lives of Lycurgus and Lysander (for the system and the war, but much later and idealising), and Aristotle's Politics Book 2 (a critical analysis of the constitution and of women). You must argue from these sources and evaluate them.

Why is source evaluation so important in the depth study?

Because the 36-mark essay rewards an argument built on and tested against the prescribed sources, not just narrative. The Sparta sources are unusually problematic: Xenophon admires the system, Plutarch idealises it centuries later, and Aristotle criticises it, so much of the picture is a 'Lycurgan' idealisation. Strong answers cite the sources by name, weigh their dates and agendas, and remember that the system rested on the helots.

How did Sparta win the Peloponnesian War?

Sparta could not win on land alone against Athens behind the Long Walls, so the war was decided at sea. Persian money from 412 BC funded a Spartan fleet, and the general Lysander, with his diplomacy with the Persian prince Cyrus, destroyed the Athenian navy at Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to surrender in 404 BC. Athenian errors, above all the Sicilian disaster, also contributed.

How should I revise the Sparta depth study?

Master the five themes (constitution, helots, agoge and syssitia, women, the war) and attach the prescribed sources to each, learning what Xenophon, Plutarch, Aristotle and Thucydides each say and where they disagree. Practise the 36-mark essay by building arguments (for example on whether the ephors were dominant, or why Sparta won the war) from named sources, and always evaluate the sources rather than narrating from them.

EnglandAncient History

OCR Ancient History Greek depth study: the Politics and Society of Sparta 478 to 404 BC, a complete overview

A complete overview of the OCR A-Level Ancient History Greek depth study, the Politics and Society of Sparta 478 to 404 BC. Explains the structure of Section B and the 36-mark essay, ties together the constitution, the helots, the agoge, women and the Peloponnesian War, and shows how to argue from the prescribed sources.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.814 min readH407Updated 2026-06-02

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How Section B works
The Spartan system
Sparta at war
Arguing from the sources

The OCR Ancient History Greek depth study, the Politics and Society of Sparta 478 to 404 BC, is Section B of the Greek component H407/11. Where the period study sweeps across eighty years through Herodotus, the depth study examines a single society in detail through its prescribed sources. This overview ties together the dot-point pages and the source skills the section demands.

How Section B works

The depth study is examined as Section B of the Greek paper (48 marks within the 98-mark paper), through one 36-mark essay chosen from two. The essay tests knowledge (AO1), analysis (AO2) and the use and evaluation of the prescribed ancient sources (AO3), so it rewards an argument built on and from the sources, not narrative.

The Spartan system

The constitution. The dual kingship, the gerousia, the ephors and the apella assembly, balanced against one another, with the Great Rhetra tradition.
The helots. The unfree population that farmed the land and underpinned the whole system, controlled by the krypteia and institutionalised terror, and a source of constant fear.
The agoge and syssitia. The state upbringing and the common messes that made a Spartiate and gated citizenship.
Women. Their physical training, household role and property, and the unusual public freedom that other Greeks found remarkable.

Sparta at war

The depth study ends with the Peloponnesian War (431 to 404 BC): the strategic stalemate of the Archidamian War, the rise of Brasidas, and the decisive part of Persian money and Lysander, ending in the defeat of Athens at Aegospotami (405 BC) and its surrender in 404 BC.

Arguing from the sources

Cite by name. Thucydides, Xenophon, Plutarch and Aristotle each have a distinctive view; name them and use them.
Weigh their bias. Xenophon admires, Plutarch idealises centuries later, Aristotle criticises, so the "Lycurgan" Sparta is partly a construction.
Remember the helots. The whole system rested on helot labour, which is the deep cause behind much of Spartan policy.

Sources & how we know this

OCR A Level Ancient History H407 specification — OCR (2017)