OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation Myth and Religion (Temples and Festivals): a complete overview of temples, priests, sacrifice and festivals

What this option demands

This overview covers the religion-in-practice half of OCR's Myth and Religion thematic study (Component J199/11), worth 50% of the GCSE. Where the gods-and-heroes pages dealt with what the Greeks and Romans believed, these pages deal with how they worshipped: in temples, through priests, with sacrifice and prayer, and at the great festivals. The exam rewards precise knowledge (AO1) and the analysis of sources (above all temple and festival images) plus your own argument (AO2), and it expects you to compare Greek and Roman practice throughout.

Sacred space and the Greek temple

Worship needed sacred space: the sanctuary, a precinct dedicated to a god, with the altar at its heart. The temple was the house of the god, sheltering the cult statue in the cella, surrounded by a colonnade (in the Doric or Ionic order) and crowned with pediments of sculpture; worship happened outside at the altar. The Parthenon (Doric, to Athena, with its pediments, metopes and Panathenaic frieze) is the key example of a temple that was both a god's house and a statement of civic pride.

Roman temples and architecture

Roman temples kept the Greek idea but added a high podium, steps at the front only, a deep frontal porch, and engaged side columns, so they faced forwards and dominated. They favoured the ornate Corinthian order, stood in the forum, and were often dedicated by emperors. Examples include the well-preserved Maison Carree and the Pantheon (with its concrete dome and oculus), which showed off Roman engineering and power.

Religion in the city and the priesthood

Religion was public and civic: the city believed its well-being depended on the gods' favour, so the state ran festivals, funded temples and held public sacrifices. Priests and priestesses were usually citizens (often from leading families) holding a priesthood as a public role, chosen by birth, election or lot; their duties were sacrifice, care of the temple, and leading festivals. Rome added priestly colleges (the pontiffs, the augurs who read omens) and the Vestal Virgins who guarded Rome's sacred flame.

Sacrifice, prayer and offerings

The central act of worship was animal sacrifice at the altar: procession, purification, prayer, killing, burning the bones and fat (the smoke for the gods), and a shared feast (the meat for the people). Worship also used libations (poured offerings), other offerings (cakes, fruit, incense), prayer (naming the god and asking for help), and votive offerings (gifts in hope or thanks). The guiding idea was reciprocity: honour the gods, and they will help you.

Greek and Roman festivals

Festivals combined worship with spectacle and community. The Panathenaia honoured Athena (the peplos procession, sacrifice, competitions and a feast); the City Dionysia honoured Dionysus with drama competitions. At Rome the Lupercalia was a fertility and purification festival, and the Saturnalia a winter festival of feasting, gifts and role-reversal. Festivals honoured the god while binding and displaying the city.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall questions covering the temples-and-festivals content. Attempt them, then check the solutions.

1. What was the cella of a temple for? (1 mark)
2. Name the two main Greek architectural orders. (2 marks)
3. Give two ways a Roman temple differed from a Greek temple. (2 marks)
4. How were Greek and Roman priests usually chosen? (2 marks)
5. In a normal sacrifice, what was burned for the gods, and what happened to the rest? (2 marks)
6. What is a libation? (1 mark)
7. What was carried to Athena in the Panathenaic procession? (1 mark)
8. Name a Roman festival and say what happened at it. (2 marks)