Overview

Analyse ancient myths, explore Greek and Roman temples such as the Parthenon, examine funerary practices and engage in a philosophical discussion about what it means to 'live well'.

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What can we learn about the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome from stories which involve gods mingling with mortals? Make sure you know the main gods and goddesses from both Greece and Rome (Zeus/Jupiter, Hera/Juno, Poseidon/Neptune, Athena/Minerva, etc.) and a few of the myths that highlight their personalities such as Zeus and his affairs with mortals, the contest between Poseidon and Athena, as well as tales such as Medusa or some heroes' epic quests.

Funeral practices: make sure you know the order of funerals in both cultures (prosthesis, eulogy, cremation, etc.) as well as the cultural value of each of these stages. What do these funerary practices tell us about belief in the afterlife in ancient Greece and Rome? Try to compare them to modern experiences and funerary practices.

Temples: you’ll explore the great temples of the ancient world. While it’s important to know the main architectural features of these temples (layout, pediment, metope, etc.), you will also need to examine how the people attending them would have experienced them. Examine the roles of the attendees, priests and priestesses but also how they were centres of worship and culture.

Philosophy: philosophy lies at the heart of what we’ve inherited from ancient Greece and Rome. You’ll be asked to examine the work of Plato and Horace to determine two things:

• what did these writers say about 'living well'?
• What are their opinions on fate, destiny and free will?

The idea of 'living well' might sound daunting but it’s simple once you get into it; it’s your own well-being. What does it mean to live a good life?

Overview

Explore the epic quests of Odysseus and Aeneas in Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, examining the main events, themes and cultural relevance of some of the world’s oldest stories.

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You don’t need to know every event in both epics but there are a few important ones, such as Odysseus and Polyphemus, trips to the underworld, the fall of Troy or Aeneas and Dido that you should be familiar with, among others. The main thing to take away is what these events tell us about our characters and the world they live in. Some key themes and elements to be aware of include:

• examining these works as examples of 'anti-war poetry' or propaganda;
• a study of the main characters and what they represent;
• examining the role of the gods in both of these epics (especially Athena and Poseidon in the Odyssey, as well as Venus and Juno in the Aeneid);
• the role of Zeus/Jupiter and the theme of justice;
• analysing the roles of men and women in both epics;
• understanding poetic and storytelling techniques used throughout (digression, in medias res, similes, ecphrases, etc.)

Overview

Recreate the spectacle of attending the Roman gladiatorial games in the Colosseum or chariot races in the Circus Maximus. Analyse an ancient Greek play such as Medea, Oedipus, etc. and then examine the ancient Athenian festival of the Dionysia.

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In Greek drama, you’ll explore, examine and analyse an assigned Greek play. You’ll study this play in detail, exploring its plot, main themes and exactly how Greek theatre used to work. For Roman spectacle, you’ll get to examine two of the most famous buildings in all of Rome: the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. While the architecture and structure of both buildings are important, you could be asked an exam question on this so you’ll also need to focus on the experiences of the attendees during the gladiatorial games and chariot races. Make sure you know:

• the political and cultural significance of these games (as they weren’t just held to entertain the Roman people);
• how gladiatorial games started off at funerals and became a way for emperors to win over the support of the population after Julius Caesar used them to promote himself.

Ask yourself the following questions when comparing these times to modern ones:

• How does Greek drama fare against your study of Shakespeare or your favourite film in the cinema?
• Why do you think theatre is still an incredibly popular form of entertainment, thousands of years after it was invented?
• How do gladiator fights compare with boxing or UFC?
• Chariot racing was an incredibly dangerous sport in the ancient world, is horse racing much safer?
• Why do we like the same forms of entertainment as people who lived thousands of years ago?

Overview

Examine the careers of two of history's great military leaders, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Analyse their military engagements and evaluate their decisions and treatment of their enemies.

More about this topic

You'll pick one of these leaders to study in detail but then you'll have to compare Alexander and Caesar against each other in terms of their treatment of the Persians and Gauls respectively. For your chosen leader, learn about:

• their rise to power to their leadership skills and faults;
• their growth of power and the aftermath of their deaths;
• the main events during their lives to highlight what it tells you about the characters of these men;
• one key military engagement in detail as well as the tactics and make-up of the armies of your chosen leader (Alessia for Caesar or Issus, Gaugamela or Tyre for Alexander).

The context of who wrote about these men is vitally important. For example, Caesar’s account, The Gallic Wars, is written by him meaning it is highly biased. Arrian and Plutarch wrote about Alexander and they were big fans of his. This doesn’t mean that all these accounts are worthless, it just means we need to be careful of bias or misinformation when we read them.

The treatment of their enemies by Alexander and Caesar is a key point to consider. This is the only time you need to know information about both men as you need to compare their views and actions. Both the Greeks and Romans had distinct ideas of what was 'civilised' and what was 'barbarian'. Compare these and the actions undertaken by Alexander and Caesar in their treatment of these conquered peoples.

Basically, this focuses on artefacts from the past such as buildings, ruins, art, architecture, objects, human remains, etc. An example of a brief you could be given is:

• present a Research Study Report on the ways in which physical and visual evidence from the ancient world can help us to better understand the staging of Roman gladiatorial games.

This topic focuses on written works such as epics, novels, poetry, etc. You could focus on a character(s) or theme from a literary work or compare different interpretations of them across several works. Here’s an example of a brief you could get:

• present a Research Study Report on the portrayal of female characters (excluding goddesses) in Greek and/or Roman epic poetry.

This allows students to research an element of history from the classical studies course. Projects here should be narrow in focus so don’t get sucked into writing about a really long period of time. Try to pick an event or person to write about or limit yourself to a short period of time. This will make it easier to focus your research, rather than attempting to cover a massive period of history. Here’s an example of a potential brief:

• present a Research Study Report on key political events which followed the death of either Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar. Candidates must limit their research to the twenty-five-year period after the death of their chosen historical figure, although they may focus on a much shorter period of time if they wish.

Here we have a topic that focuses on the great thinkers and ideas from the classical world. Philosophy is one of the great legacies of our classical past and their achievements, ideas and philosophies influence our lives today. This topic lets you examine these ideas in greater detail and opens up new avenues to further your own understanding. Here’s an example of a brief you could be assigned:

• present a Research Study Report on the work of any Greek or Roman Stoic philosopher and assess the importance of their contribution to the Stoic school of philosophy.