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Classical StudiesQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every Scotland Classical Studies syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Assignment and skills
- Answering the Classical Society paper: handling 'describe' and 'explain' questions, structuring the 20-mark evaluative essay, using evidence and reaching a supported judgement.3Q&A pairs
- The Higher Classical Studies assignment: choosing a classical issue, researching it, comparing the ancient and modern worlds, and writing it up under controlled conditions for 30 marks.3Q&A pairs
Life in Classical Greece
- Power and freedom in classical Greece: the workings of Athenian democracy, its strengths and weaknesses, and the limits of freedom for women, slaves and metics.2Q&A pairs
- Religion and belief in classical Greece: the Olympian gods, worship and sacrifice, temples and festivals, oracles and the afterlife, and the place of religion in the Athenian state.2Q&A pairs
- Society and freedom in classical Greece: the lives and limited freedom of women, slaves and metics in Athens, and what their status shows about the reach of Athenian liberty.2Q&A pairs
Classical Literature
- Analysing classical literature for the question paper: handling a printed extract, commenting on the writer's techniques, discussing themes and values, and structuring the extended response.3Q&A pairs
- Virgil's Aeneid as a prescribed epic text: the theme of pietas and duty, the conflict between fate and personal desire (Dido), the values of Roman heroism, and Virgil's epic technique.2Q&A pairs
- Sophocles' Antigone as a prescribed text: the tragic conflict between divine and state law, the characters of Antigone and Creon, the role of the chorus, and the values the play promotes.2Q&A pairs
Life in the Roman world
- Power and freedom in the Roman world: the power of the emperor, the role of the Senate and old republican forms, Roman citizenship, and the limits of freedom under autocracy.2Q&A pairs
- Religion and belief in the Roman world: the state gods and worship, the imperial cult, Roman tolerance of foreign cults, and attitudes towards Christianity and its persecution.2Q&A pairs
- Society and freedom in the Roman world: the social hierarchy, slavery and its range, the place of freedmen, the position of women, and what these reveal about freedom under Rome.2Q&A pairs