What is Classical Civilisation?

Think about the background sections of the Cambridge Latin Course.  Did you always find those little bits about Roman civilisation interesting, and wish that you could spend more time on them?  Or do you know about Greek mythology from when you were younger and wish that you could learn more about it?  Even if all you know about Greek and Roman culture is from films like Gladiator and Troy, then Classical Civilisation could be the subject for you.  There's no Latin involved.  Classical Civilisation is a way to study the Greeks and Romans without also learning Latin.

          

Why study Classical Civilisation at GCSE?

• You can learn about the Greek and the Romans without studying an ancient language.  This has many advantages.  We can cover more material, and also study more varied topics than we can in Latin.  We can also offer modules in history (with a bit of archaeology thrown in) as well as literature in translation (i.e. in English).  The literature that we study is all mythology, treated in a serious and mature way, although you won't have heard of all of it before.
   
• For those who also wish to study Latin and/or Greek, Classical Civilisation lets you expand your knowledge of the Greek and Roman world while you also work on your language skills.  Not only will you develop your linguistics, you will be able to support your Latin or Greek by learning far more about Greek and Roman culture than studying the languages alone would allow you to.
   
• Classical Civilisation is an excellent complement to many other subjects, even non-Classical ones.  The skills that you learn in Classical Civilisation will help your work in English, History, and even R.S.  As a result, GCSE Classical Civilisation will also help you with whatever A-Level subjects you choose to do in two years' time, because it feeds into many other humanities subjects.
   
• You get to learn about Greek myths, The Roman gods,  the Olympics,chariot-racing, gladiators and the Spartans all in a single subject.  But be warned!  Classical Civilisation is a serious and challenging GCSE option.  You'll learn a great deal of very varied information in Classical Civilisation, and you will study it in a rigorous and analytical way.  It's not for the faint-hearted!

What modules are studied?

1) Rome
Ancient Rome was the capital of the whole Mediterranean, and possessed a culture that others tried to mimic, and have done so ever since.  This module studies the Roman state religion of Jupiter and his family, the daily life of citizens and slaves in the city, and the events which kept the Romans entertained: the gladiator fights and the chariot races.

2) Homer's Odyssey
After helping the Greeks to sack the city of Troy at last, Odysseus was doomed to wander the seas for ten years before he could see his country, Ithaca, again.  The Odyssey, one of the oldest pieces of Western literature (written in about 700BC), chronicles the end of this journey, and the events that take place in Ithaca in his absence.  It sees him through his last few trials and his eventual return to his home.

3) Sparta
Ask anyone about Sparta (or watch the film 300) and you will learn about a city where all men were soldiers, where children were raised from birth to fight, and whose army was feared across the Greek world.  This module studies the city's institutions and way of life, asks how it came to exist in the first place, and how we know about them at all.

4) The Olympic Games
In 1859 the modern Olympic games were established, deliberately modelling themselves on the Ancient Greek Olympics.  The ancient games originated over 2,500 years ago, and this module will study the games by themselves and in comparison with the modern games.  This module will be examined under controlled assessment.