OCR • Classics: Classical Civilisation

Notes on: - origins of tragedy and how it developed during the 5th century BC - including its relationship to satyr plays, the contribution of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, use of actors and the chorus, use of masks, costumes and props, common themes of tragedy, relationship between the cultural context and social matter of the plays, Aristotle’s theories about tragedies - including peripiteia (reversal of fortune), hamartia (tragic mistake) and catharsis (purging of emotions)

Notes on: - origins of comedy and how it developed during the 5th century BC - including the contributions of Aristophanes, use of actors and the chorus, use of masks, costumes and props, types of humour, comic techniques and effects, common themes of comedy, relationship between the cultural context and subject matter of the plays

Notes on: - role and significance of drama and the theatre in ancient Athenians society - including the religious context of dramatic festivals, the organisation of the city Dionysia - including the makeup and involvement of the theatre audience, structure of the theatre space, and how this developed during the 5/4th centuries BC - including the machinery associated with the theatre (crane and wheel platform) and how they contributed to the staging of Greek drama

Notes on: - plot structure , plot devices - including messenger speeches, agon, parabis, use and choice of language, literary devices & descriptive techniques - including imagery and dramatic irony, characterisation - including the role of the chorus, styles and techniques of the different playwrights

Notes on: - ancient religious concepts, beliefs & practices - including role of the gods and death & the afterlife, representation and satire of tragedy, importance of the polis (city) - including the position & role of men, women and slaves in society and political ideas & ideals

Notes on: - ancient religious concepts, beliefs and practices, the role of the gods, fate & free will, prophecy & prophets, religious rituals & acts, importance of the polis (city) - including position & role of men, women & slaves in society, political ideas & ideals, importance of family relationships, tragic heroism - including the nature of heroes & heroism, justice & revenge

Notes on Masso9lit series by Richard Jenkyns on the Aeneid that can be used as scholarship for 30 markers

Notes on: - concepts, values and behaviour of a Greek and Roman hero, the characterisation of major and minor characters, the role of Aeneas in Rome’s imperial destiny, the portrayal of war and the portrayal of different nations - Trojans, Greeks, Carthaginians, Italians

Notes on all the important events that take place within the required books for the exam, OCR board

Looking at the contexts seen within the Iliad, including notes on: the power of fate, the role of immortals and the relationship between immortals and mortals, family and friendship, hospitality and guest friendship (xenia), the relationships between men and women, parents and children, the part played by women in the epic and their position in society and the role of slaves