Classical Civilisation (Year 12)
Exam Board
OCR
What will you study?
Iliad books 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10
Homeric literary techniques and composition
Octavian to Augustus
Augustus as a Culture hero
Illiad books 16, 17, 18, 19
The heroic world: characterisation and themes
Augustus as Pater patriae
Illiad books 22, 23 & 24
The social, cultural and religious context of the Iliad
The representations of Augustus in art and literature
Useful tips and resources
- 🎤 King’s College London Outreach Materials
KCL offers free topic-specific packs designed for AS/A‑level: fact sheets, video talks, practice activities, and reading lists across Greek Religion, Theatre, Imperial Image, the Hero, Democracy, and more nottingham.ac.uk+11kcl.ac.uk+11classicalassociation.org+11.
Why it helps: Clear structure, academically vetted, and perfect for self-study alongside your syllabus.
- 🎬 Classical Association Enrichment Tools
Their PDF pack includes TED‑Ed-style videos on myths and philosophy, podcasts like “That’s Ancient History,” plus creative resources such as vase-animation projects and drama exercises suited for Greek tragedy/Oedipus classicalassociation.org+1classicalassociation.org+1.
Why it helps: Multi‑modal learning: visuals, sound and interactive activities support diverse learning styles.
- 🎓 University of Warwick AS/A‑level Resources
Warwick’s site gives topic-specific materials—slides, background texts, and teaching notes—for modules like The World of the Hero, Greek Theatre, Imperial Image, Beliefs & Ideas, and more warwick.ac.uk+4warwick.ac.uk+4warwick.ac.uk+4.
Why it helps: Tailored exactly to the AS syllabus and free to use—a great match for classwork and revision.
- 📹 Warwick’s Classics for All Video Series
Includes recordings of Prof. Michael Scott’s weekly “#AskAnAcademic” Q&As, Francesca Grilli’s detailed breakdowns of Greek Art for OCR, plus helpful insights on Homer, Virgil, Greek tragedy/comedy, and Roman life warwick.ac.uk+1warwick.ac.uk+1.
Why it helps: Short, engaging videos that bring ancient texts and art to life—perfect for visual and auditory learners.
What super curricular activities can KS4 students engage with at school?
- Spoken Latin/Drama Club – every week
- Ancient Greek – every week
- UKLO – Autumn Term
- Language Cabaret – Spring Term
- Trip to British Museum – Summer Term
- Trip to Sir John Soane Museum – Summer Term
- Trip to Italy/Greece – Biennial
Fiction based on Greek Mythology (older readers)
- A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
- The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes
- Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
- Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes
- Medusa by Rosie Hewlett.
- Clytemnestra by Constanza Casati.
- Ariadne by Jennifer Saint.
- Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
- Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywoodl
Podcasts
Let’s talk about Myths, Baby
Partial Historians
In Our Time
Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics
Primary Reading
Homer’s Iliad
Homer’s Odyssey
Plato’s Last Days of Socrates + Republic
Greek Tragedy – performances every year at Kings College London and UCL, as well as occasional professional productions
Herodotus (audiobook)
Virgil’s Aeneid
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Secondary Reading
Mary Beard’s SPQR
Mary Beard and John Henderson’s Very Short Intro to Classics
Keith Hopkins’ A World Full Of Gods
Paul Cartledge’s Alexander
Ronald Syme’s Roman Revolution
Nigel Spivey’s Classical Civilization: Greeks & Romans in 10 Chapters
Alan Davidson’s Courtesans and Fishcakes
Robert Graves’ Greek Myths
Tom Holland’s Rubicon & Persian Fire
Morley’s Why Study Classics
Jones’ An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Classics
Fiction
I, Claudius, by Robert Graves is a brilliant overview of the first four Roman emperors in the medium of fiction
The “Imperium” series by Robert Harris gives a good introduction to the political turmoil of the late republic.
“Catullus’ Bedspread” by Daisy Dunn is part fiction, part biography, shining a light on Roman culture through the eyes of Catullus, the Roman love poet.
“The Song of Achilles” and “Circe” by Madeline Miller are enjoyable retellings of the Iliad and the Odyssey respectively through the eyes of characters who were minor in the original. Miller is a Classicist and teacher herself, and she explores themes of feminism and sexuality.
“The Silence of the Girls” by Pat Barker is a much grittier retelling of the Iliad, from the point of view of Briseis, one of the Trojan women captured by the Greeks. It doesn’t leave any stones unturned when it comes to the fates of women who become collateral damage in war.
“The Penelopiad” by Margaret Atwood flips the script on the Odyssey, telling it from the point of view of his wife, Penelope.
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes. A retelling of the myth of Medusa.
Specialisms
Homer
GRIFFIN, J [1983]. Homer on life and death – OUP (883.07 GRI)
JENKYNS, R [1998]. Classical epic: Homer and Virgil – BCP (880.07 JEN)
NICHOLSON, A. (2015) The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters, William Collins
ALEXANDER, C. (2011) The War That Killed Achilles, Faber
Virgil
CAMPS, W. A. (1969) An Introduction to Virgil’s Aeneid, Oxford University Press
GRANSDEN, K. W. (2004) Virgil: The Aeneid (Landmarks of World Literature), Cambridge University Press
GRIFFIN, J. (2013) Virgil (Ancients in Action), Bloomsbury Martindale, C. (ed) (1997) The Cambridge Companion to Virgil, Cambridge University Press
HARDIE, P [1998]. Virgil: Greece and Rome (New surveys in the classics No 28) – OUP
Ancient philosophy:
Julia Annas, Ancient Philosophy. A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2000).
Greek history:
Robin Osborne, Greek History: the Basics (Routledge, 2013)
Roman history
For insights into late-republican Rome and the Augustan period (our focus in Part IA):
Kathryn Tempest, Brutus: The Noble Conspirator (Yale University Press, 2017).
Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Augustan Rome (Bloomsbury, 2018).
- H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero: a history of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68
Pamela Bradley, Ancient Rome: Using Evidence
Greek and Roman art:
Robin Osborne, Archaic and Classical Greek Art (Oxford University Press, 1998).
Mary Beard and John Henderson, Classical Art: From Greece to Rome (Oxford University Press, 2001)
Linguistics:
- H. Matthews, Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2003).
James Clackson Language and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds (Cambridge, 2015)