OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation Key Terms

The minimum property wealth required to become a member of the senatorial order.

The minimum property wealth required to qualify for the equestrian order.

A counting board used for arithmetic where beads or stones were moved along grooves to represent different numerical values.

A gritty substance, such as sand or emery powder, used alongside tools to grind or polish hard materials like ivory.

A method providing a specific calendar year or date range for an object or site.

The process by which unintended fires during palace destructions baked soft, unbaked clay tablets into permanent ceramic records.

The Roman practice of reclining on the left elbow to dine, a symbol of high status.

A shape-shifting river-god who fought Hercules for the hand of Deianira.

The highest, most easily defensible point of a city where palaces were typically built to manifest dominance.

The wide side entrances used exclusively by the elite to reach the orchestra seating.

A formal address or speech given by a Roman general or emperor to the army to inspire loyalty and reinforce authority.

The young, distressed hero in love, a common stock character in Roman comedy.

The restricted inner chamber of a temple where the oracle was delivered.

The sacred shrine within a Roman fort's headquarters where the legion's eagle and standards were kept.

A magistrate responsible for the maintenance of public works, temples, and the organization of games.

Junior magistrates in a Roman town responsible for maintaining streets, markets, and public games.

Athena's divine shield or breastplate, used to inspire overwhelming terror in her enemies.

Meaning "Egypt Captured," the motto used on Augustan coins to celebrate the transformation of Egypt into a Roman province.

Trojan hero and ancestor of the Romans, used on the Ara Pacis to symbolize duty (pietas).

The dedicated military treasury established by Augustus to fund veteran pensions.

A literary work or passage that explains the cause or origin of a custom, place, or name.

The capacity to act independently and make choices, which women primarily found through religious roles rather than politics.

An earth rampart created from the soil excavated from the defensive ditch (fossa).

A term for professional Roman charioteers who drove in the public games.

The rigorous state-sponsored education and military training program mandated for all male Spartan citizens.

A formal debate or contest between two characters in a play.

An assembly place or market that serves as a marker of a civilised society.

A term used in Hittite texts to describe a powerful seafaring people, widely identified by historians as the Achaeans (Mycenaean Greeks).

The intense sense of shame or fear of societal disgrace that pressures a hero to fight rather than flee.

The profound sense of shame, duty, and internalised fear of disgrace that prevents a hero from acting cowardly.