GCSE EDUQAS Latin: GRADE 9 Latin Literature Revision Pack
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Course
Latin
Institution
GCSE
I know from personal experience how hard it can be to get a hold of resources and revision notes for GCSE Latin. Despite the Theme being Superstition and Magic (2023), hopefully these notes can give you a sense of full mark style answers and the most effective revision techniques for Latin Literatu...
GCSE EDUQAS MODEL ANSWER LATIN LITERATURE
[MODEL 16 MARKER]
I partially agree with the statement as the general consensus of the Romans was that omens were to be taken
seriously, with it being an important part of Roman religion and superstition, though many were sceptical, and
therefore mocking or being dismissive about them.
Image 5 suggests that Romans were serious about interpreting omens. Here, Romulus and Remus are
presented as engaging in augury to decide who would rule what is now called Rome. This indicates that
interpreting omens were considered so important that they could decide something as monumental as the future
of Rome. The source suggests that omens were named as signs from the divine which had much weight on
Romans. Hence, Romulus and Remus are shown in this source to be serious about omens
This same idea can be seen in image 6, where another important figure in Roman history, Augustus, is using
augury. The source depicts the observation of birds eating (which was part of tripidium - the military auspices
before a campaign. If interpreting omens from augury was enough to decide whether a military campaign (which
was very important) had good or bad omens, they must have been important and taken seriously by Romans.
Image 6 also has the depiction of tools, such as the lituus, used to mark out the sky to observe the behaviour of
birds. Perhaps the use of tools shows how Romans went to great lengths to show a good or bad omen, so omens
can be interpreted as being serious. This can also be seen in Image 4 of the bronze liver model which can be
used to read the entrails of sacrificial victims to tell the future, where the use of tools and magical artefacts show
the great lengths that people would go through to get a valid omen, therefore rendering them as serious.
Finally, as in image 5, Suetonius, may also depict how life-altering omens could be. Caesar ignored all the signs
and omens of his death, such as the horses stubbornly refusing to graze and copiously weeping, the king bird
(representing Caesar) being pursued and the laurel twig tearing apart(representing loss of Rome), Calpurnia (his
wife) dreaming of the pediment of the house collapsing and Caesar holding hands with Juppiter in his dream.
Just after these events, Caesar dies. Hence, Suetonius warns the need to pay heed to omens or they will result
in dire consequences (like death, in Caesar’s case).
However, Suetonius also depicts those who are not serious about omens (Caesar). Caesar ignored all the signs
of his death and went inside one senate house, having scorned superstition and mocking Spurinna (the haruspex
who told him of some omens) and accusing him of being false. Caesar represents those in Roman society who
disregarded omens and did not take them seriously.
Many others mocked omens, such as Horace, who teases Galateea for fearing any bad omens as shown by
saying to his lover to let an omen of an owl hooting escort the wicked people. He teases Galatea about
unnecessarily worrying about bad omens (also shown by him teasing that he is a far-sighted augur). Horace’s
mocking tone throughout the poem may indicate that he does not take interpreting omens seriously.
This same mocking attitude can be seen in Martial’s epigram, where he speaks of using up both the salted grain
and the heaps of frankincense (an expensive material), no pigs, nor birds in hen coops, nor eggs remaining and
his flocks decreased and his lambs constantly killed. Martial mocks the extent to which many believed in omens
(as Horace does with Galatea). This can be seen especially with the heaps of frankincense, which were very
costly. Martial’s hyperbolic tone mocks the great lengths that many would go to and suffer to obey omens. He
mocks the general Roman opinion that omens were important.
All in all, I partially agree with the statement. I believe that the general consensus in the Roman world was that
omens were important, as seen by the far-reaching consequences of the omens of image 5 and 6 and Suetonius’
writing of Caesar, as well as the great lengths that people would go through to obtain valid omens (as seen in
image 6 and 4). Despite this, a few individuals did not heed omens and therefore were not serious about them,
such as Caesar (though it can be argued that not heeding omens were his downfall). As well as this, other
individuals mocked omens (Horace and Martial) and therefore also did not take them seriously.
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