Classical Civilisation - A Level

Studying Classical Civilisation at Lansdowne will allow you to gain a thorough understanding of the key concepts and themes of the culture, literature and intellectual life of the ancient world. You will study literary and artistic works that formed the basis for the Western tradition of storytelling and drama: for example, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the satires of Juvenal and Horace, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides.

As well as examining written works, you will have the opportunity to study elements of the archaeology, architecture, art, history, philosophy, politics, social history and religion of the Classical world. Thus, you may choose to study the excavation of Troy, Classical Greek sculpture, Platonic philosophy, conflict within the Roman senate, Roman imperialism, or ancient Greek religious festivals and cults.

You will acquire skills relating to literary criticism and historical analysis, and develop your ability to critically assess primary and secondary sources: training which will equip you with a set of transferable skills for further study in this or other fields.

What will I study in Classical Civilisation?

AS Units 1 and 2
You may choose from a variety of options: for example, techniques of archaeological investigation and the rise and fall of Mycenaean civilisation; epic style, heroism and the supernatural in Homer’s Odyssey; social satire on the poor and nouveau-riche in Rome; the philosophies of Stoicism and Epicureanism; the tragedies of Oedipus Rex and Medea; the role of the gods, oracles and retribution in Greek tragedy; the histories of Herodotus and Plutarch; the physical and social landscape of Rome.

A2 Units 3 and 4
Options available in the A2 include: life in an outpost of the Roman Empire – Celtic Britain and Boudicca’s revolt; composition, form and function in Greek art and architecture – temple, sculpture, mosaic and vase; comic drama in Ancient Greece and the origins of humour and escapism – bathos and pathos; Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’ – the hero’s voyage to the underworld, and the historical and social context of Virgil’s writing.

How will I be assessed?

The course is assessed by short answer question and essay based papers – 2 in the AS year and 2 in the A2.

Do I need to have studied Classical Civilisation before?

No, but you should be broadly interested in historical and socio-cultural issues in ancient society.

Who will teach me?

Claire Hoult has been teaching Classics for nearly twenty years, first in the United States and then in London. She has a BA and a PGCE from Oxford University. Her favourite book is the Odyssey and she learns something new every year she teaches it.

Peter Olive is an Oxford graduate with a particular interest in Ancient Greece and Classical Greek.