OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation

Gods

• Greece
• Rome

Heracles and Hercules

• Greece
• Rome

Temples and Religion

• Greece
• Rome

Foundation Stories

• Greece
• Rome
• Both

Festivals

• Greece
• Rome

Myth and Symbols of Power

• Greece
• Rome

Death and Burial

• Greece 3 notes
  • Greek Funerary Rituals: The Prothesis and Ekphora
  • Greek Burial Methods and Grave Markers
  • The Genesia: Greek Festivals for the Dead
• Rome 3 notes
  • Preparation of the Body and Roman Funeral Clubs
  • Roman Funerary Processions and Burial Methods
  • Roman Festivals of the Dead: Parentalia and Lemuria

Journeying to the Underworld

• Greece
• Rome

Prescribed Sources

• Literary Sources 4 notes
  • Homeric Hymns: Demeter and Heracles the Lion Hearted
  • Historical and Comparative Sources: Plutarch and Livy
  • Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Heroes and Transformation
  • Virgil’s Aeneid
• Literature Study Requirements 2 notes
  • Literary Techniques and Analysis
  • Context and Audience Reception
• Visual and Material Sources
• Visual Culture Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Analyzing the Physicality and Function of Material Remains
  • Methodological Issues in Classical Source Analysis
  • Historical Context and Audience Interpretation

Women of Legend

• Greece
• Rome

Young Women

• Greece
• Rome

Women in the Home

• Greece
• Rome

Improper Women

• Greece
• Rome

Women and Religion

• Greece
• Rome

Women and Power

• Greece
• Rome

Warrior Women

• Greece
• Rome

Women to be Feared

• Greece
• Rome

Prescribed Sources

• Literary Sources 4 notes
  • Greek Drama and Archaic Poetry
  • Greek Epic and Biography
  • Roman Social, Legal, and Lyric Sources
  • Roman History and Epic Poetry
• Literature Study Requirements 2 notes
  • Literary Analysis of Prescribed Sources
  • Historical Context and Reception of Prescribed Literature
• Visual and Material Sources
• Visual Culture Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Analysing the Appearance and Purpose of Material Remains
  • Archaeological Methodology and Evaluative Challenges
  • Historical Interpretation and Audience Perspectives

Key Sites

• The dating of the Mycenaean age
• Key sites

Life in the Mycenaean Age

• Palaces
• Everyday life
• Linear B tablets

Decorative Arts

• Frescoes
• Jewellery
• Decorative objects and their creation

Tombs, Graves, and Burial

• Burial customs and structures
• Funerary objects and grave contents

Visual and Material Sources

• Visual and Material Sources
• Visual Culture Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Physical Analysis and Purpose of Material Remains
  • Methodological Challenges and Cultural Interpretation
  • Historical Synthesis and Ancient Audience Reception

Literary Techniques and Composition

• Homer as a story-teller and the idea of epic
• Narrative and descriptive techniques

• Themes in the Odyssey 3 notes
  • Xenia, Civilisation and Barbarism
  • Justice, Revenge and Deceit
  • Nostos and Fate

• The character of Odysseus

Key Characters in the Odyssey

• The portrayal of key characters 4 notes
  • The Role and Portrayal of the Gods
  • Penelope and Telemachus
  • The Suitors, the Crew and the Slaves
  • Supernatural Figures: Polyphemus and Circe

Literary Sources

• Prescribed Texts
• Literature Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Narrative and Literary Techniques in the Odyssey
  • Core Themes of the Odyssey
  • Cultural Context and Ancient Audience Responses

• Roman Housing

The Roman Home and Family

• Paterfamilias and Patronage
• The education of children
• The dinner party (cena)

Roman Society

• Citizens and citizenship
• Senators and equites
• Slaves and freedmen

Leisure and Entertainment

• The amphitheatre
• The chariot races
• The theatre
• The baths

Visual and Material Sources

• Visual and Material Sources
• Visual Culture Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Identification and Purpose of Roman Material Remains
  • Historical Context and Cultural Significance of Visual Sources
  • Archaeological Methodology and Interpretations

• Satire and Fiction 2 notes
  • Roman Satire: Origins and the Styles of Horace and Juvenal
  • Roman Fiction: Petronius’ Satyricon and Narrative Techniques

• Pliny and his Letters

• Experiencing Roman city life

• Relationships and Roman society

Literary Sources

• Prescribed Texts
• Literature Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Techniques of Literary Analysis: Plot, Character, and Theme
  • Form, Purpose, and Genre: Satire and Epistolary Literature
  • Historical Context and Audience Reception

Sparta at War in the 5th Century

• Spartan society, army and command 3 notes
  • Spartan Social Structure and the Agoge
  • Spartan Battle Tactics and Equipment
  • The Spartan Command Structure and Non-Citizen Roles
• The idealisation of war and warfare
• The battle of Thermopylae

Athens at War in the 5th Century

• Athenian military structure and tactics 3 notes
  • Athenian Military Organisation, Recruitment and Funding
  • Athenian Land and Naval Tactics and Equipment
  • The Political and Social Impact of the Athenian Military
• The battle of Salamis

• The Roman Military in the Imperial Period 3 notes
  • Recruitment, Training and Funding of the Imperial Military
  • Legionary Organization and the Legionary Fortress
  • Roman Military Equipment and Battle Tactics

The Romans at War

• The battle of Actium
• Trajan’s campaign against the Dacians 2 notes
  • Trajan’s Dacian Campaign: Strategy and Imperial Image
  • The Dacian Wars: Material Sources and Human Impact

Visual and Material Sources

• Visual and Material Sources
• Visual Culture Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Analyzing the Design and Purpose of Military Monuments
  • Challenges and Context in Interpreting Military Sources
  • Historical Realities and Audience Responses to Visual Culture

• Literary Context 2 notes
  • Authors, Genres and Composition of Classical War Texts
  • Narrative Techniques, Style and the Divine in War Literature

• Characterisation 3 notes
  • Actions and Traits of Main Characters
  • Character Interactions and Relationships
  • Depictions of Social Groups and Non-Combatants

Themes in Warfare Literature

• Themes 3 notes
  • Glory, Honour and Comradeship
  • Ideology, Hubris and Personal Motivations
  • The Horror, Glorification and Human Impact of War

• Heroes and Warfare 3 notes
  • Defining the Classical Hero
  • Literary Contexts and Attitudes towards War
  • Ancient Audience Responses to Military Themes

Literary Sources

• Prescribed Texts 2 notes
  • Greek Literary Sources on Warfare: Homer and Tyrtaeus
  • Roman Literary Sources on Warfare: Virgil and Horace
• Literature Study Requirements 3 notes
  • Analysing Literary Form, Plot and Characterisation
  • Evaluating Military Themes and Social Realities
  • Applying Contextual Knowledge and Audience Response