Upper 6th Form Curriculum

A2 Classical Civilisation

Syllabus Followed: OCR JACT Classical Civilisation (7816)

Areas of Study

The A2 course continues with the three topics studied for the AS examinations: Epic, Tragedy and Art & Architecture.

• Epic will involve a study of Virgil’s Aeneid with three books identified for comment. This is a very different epic from Homer’s Odyssey (studied for the AS course) since Virgil is a patriotic Roman writing with pride about the origins of his race and the foundation of Rome. His work is more sophisticated in that social, political and historical references and perspectives are important elements of his literary style. The examination paper for this unit is synoptic and includes questions about Homer’s Odyssey. Therefore, candidates must be prepared to analyse, comment on and compare both of these epic works.
• Tragedy moves on to three new plays: Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Electra. This will involve the study of some important and, at times, sophisticated issues to which there are no simple answers. Candidates are encouraged to have an informed but open mind about such issues and to express their own opinions. The examination paper for this unit is synoptic and includes questions about Euripides’ Bacchae, Hippolytus and Medea (all studied for the AS course). Therefore, candidates must be prepared to analyse, comment on and compare the content and style of these plays by different authors.
• Art & Architecture is the only A2 unit which is not synoptic and so does not require the information on architecture and vase-painting covered in the AS course. The focus of study is sculpture, from the early classical period through the high classical period (including the famous Elgin marbles) to the late classical period which includes the work of Praxiteles, Skopas and Lysippos.

Assessment

As with the AS course, assessment at A2 level is entirely by written examination. The candidate’s performance in the three AS units will account for 50% of the final A Level grade. Details of the three A2 examinations (each of 1½ hours duration) are as follows:

Unit 1: Greek & Roman Epic (16.7% of A Level)

Section A: Choice of one from two context questions.
Section B: Choice of one from three essay questions.

Unit 2: Greek Tragedy 3 (16.7% of A Level)

Section A: Choice of one from two context questions.
Section B: Choice of one from three essay questions.

Unit 3: Greek Art & Architecture 2 (16.7% of A Level)

Section A: Choice of one from two context questions.
Section B: Choice of one from two essay questions.

Other Information

The study of Classical Civilisation provides a great variety of issues and information about the classical world which has been so influential on our modern world. It also develops useful skills in terms of analysis, evaluation, comparison and communication, which are transferable to other subjects, degree subjects and careers.

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