Classical Civilisation introduces you to the beliefs, ideas and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. We explore what we can understand about how people saw the world from texts, artefacts and archaeological sites.
You will begin by reading Homer’s Iliad. The is the first Greek epic, set during the Trojan War, and we cover themes such as ideas about heroism, the role of the gods, and the position of men and women in Homeric society. You’ll be given your own copy of the text to read and annotate.
After the Iliad we move the early days of Imperial Rome and the ways in which the first emperor, Augustus, manipulated his image through statues, buildings, poetry and other artefacts, so that the people of Rome would accept his rule.
In the second year we draw on all of this to help us understand Virgil’s Aeneid, an epic in the style of the Iliad which was written in the time of Augustus.
Finally, we study Greek Religion, beginning with what the Iliad teaches us about the Olympian Gods.
This Getting Ahead work will help to prepare you for our first topic, the World of the Hero as represented by Homer’s Iliad.
Specification for OCR Classical Civilisation:
https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/315133-specification-accredited-a-level-classical-civilisation-h408.pdf
What makes a hero?
Think about the kinds of people we call heroes – this might be a firefighter who risks their life to rescue people, or somebody who inspires us to be behave differently or to try something new. Who are your heroes? Why?
Heroes in the Classical world were defined a little differently, based on the social norms of the time. Watch this video to learn more about Homer’s heroes. What are the key features of a Homeric hero?
The Greeks followed the Heroic Code in order to demonstrate their status as a hero – it was very important that everybody knew how heroic they were!
Watch this video to find out about the Heroic Code. Make some notes about the Greek ideas of kudos, aidos, kleos and timê.
Book 1 of the Iliad
The chapters of the Iliad are referred to as ‘books’ – this is because they were written on individual scrolls before modern printing.
Use this website to summarise the key events of Book 1 of the Iliad.
Drawing on what you know about the Heroic Code, can you understand why Achilles was so angry?
Who do you think is in the right, Agamemnon or Achilles?
