← Classical Civilisation syllabus

EnglandClassical Civilisation

Roman City Life

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did Romans spend their leisure, and what did the baths, amphitheatre and circus reveal about their society?

Roman leisure and entertainment: the public baths and their social role, the amphitheatre (such as the Colosseum) and gladiatorial games, chariot racing in the circus (such as the Circus Maximus), and what these reveal about Roman society and the role of the emperor.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of leisure in Roman City Life. Covers the public baths and their social role, the amphitheatre (the Colosseum) and gladiatorial games, chariot racing in the circus (the Circus Maximus), and what these reveal about Roman society and the role of the emperor, with the source and essay skills the J199/22 paper rewards.
17 min answer →

Why are Pompeii and Herculaneum such valuable evidence for Roman city life?

Pompeii and Herculaneum as evidence for Roman city life: how the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 preserved the towns, what they reveal about housing, work, leisure and daily life, and how to use such archaeological evidence with awareness of its strengths and limits.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Roman City Life. Covers how the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 preserved the towns, what they reveal about housing, work, leisure and daily life, and how to use archaeological evidence with awareness of its strengths and limits, with the source and essay skills the J199/22 paper rewards.
16 min answer →

How were Roman children educated, and how did schooling differ by wealth and gender?

Roman education: the stages of schooling (the ludus under the litterator, the grammaticus and the rhetor), what was taught, the place of the paedagogus, and how education differed according to status, wealth and gender.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of education in Roman City Life. Covers the stages of schooling (the ludus, the grammaticus and the rhetor), what was taught, the place of the paedagogus, and how education differed according to status, wealth and gender, with the source and essay skills the J199/22 paper rewards.
15 min answer →

How did the Romans live, and what did their houses reveal about wealth and status?

Roman housing: the town house (domus) and its layout (atrium, tablinum, peristyle, cubicula), the apartment block (insula) and the country villa, and the decoration of homes (wall paintings, mosaics and furniture) as evidence of wealth and status.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Roman housing in Roman City Life. Covers the town house (domus) and its layout, the apartment block (insula) and the country villa, and the decoration of homes (wall paintings, mosaics and furniture) as evidence of wealth and status, with the source and essay skills the J199/22 paper rewards.
16 min answer →

What was the experience of enslaved people in Rome, and how could they gain freedom?

Slavery and freedmen in Roman society: the sources of enslaved people and the range of their work and treatment, their legal status, the process of manumission (gaining freedom), and the position and opportunities of freedmen.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of slavery in Roman City Life. Covers the sources of enslaved people and the range of their work and treatment, their legal status, the process of manumission (gaining freedom), and the position and opportunities of freedmen, with the source and essay skills the J199/22 paper rewards.
16 min answer →

How was the Roman family organised, and what were the roles of men, women and children?

The Roman family and household: the power of the paterfamilias, the role and status of women, marriage, the upbringing of children, and the place of the household gods in family life.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of the Roman family in Roman City Life. Covers the power of the paterfamilias, the role and status of women, marriage, the upbringing of children, and the place of the household gods in family life, with the source and essay skills the J199/22 paper rewards.
16 min answer →