Life in the Roman World: overview of the SQA National 5 Classical Studies area
An overview of the SQA National 5 Classical Studies area Life in the Roman World: the family and the paterfamilias, the role of women, making a living, religion, entertainment such as the games and baths, and the evidence of Pompeii, with how the topic is examined.
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Life in the Roman World is one of the three areas of SQA National 5 Classical Studies, focused on Roman society and daily life. It examines the family and the wide power of its male head, the role of women, how people earned a living, religion at home and in the state, the great public entertainments, and the exceptional evidence of Pompeii, buried by Vesuvius in AD 79. As in the rest of the course, you are asked throughout to compare the Roman world with the modern one. This page maps the area and shows how its parts connect.
The area in topics
- The Roman family
- The household (familia), including relatives and enslaved people, was headed by the paterfamilias, whose legal power (patria potestas) was very wide, though softened in practice.
- The role of women
- A Roman woman was under a male guardian and excluded from office, yet she could own property and appear in public, giving her more everyday freedom than an Athenian woman.
- Making a living
- Most Romans farmed, while townspeople did crafts and trade; enslaved labour did much of the work, and the wealthy lived off estates while the poor laboured.
- Roman religion
- The Romans worshipped state gods (linked to Greek ones) and household spirits (the Lares and Penates), with sacrifice and divination, and religion was tied to the success of the state.
- Roman entertainment
- Gladiatorial games and beast hunts in the amphitheatre, chariot racing in the circus, and the social world of the baths, much of it free and used by rulers to win favour.
- Pompeii AD 79
- Vesuvius erupted and buried the town, preserving streets, houses, shops, paintings and body casts as exceptional, if not complete, evidence for Roman daily life.
How to study this area
- Learn the facts in detail. Describe questions reward several separate, developed points, so build specific detail on each topic.
- Use Pompeii as evidence. The buried town illustrates the family, work, religion and entertainment, so link it to the other topics.
- Master the comparisons. Roman women versus Athenian women, and rich versus poor, are favourite evaluative questions, as is comparison with the modern world.
- Drill the question types. Describe and evaluative "how far"/"how important" questions each have their own pattern; practise them on past papers.
For the official course specification
The SQA (now Qualifications Scotland) publishes the full National 5 Classical Studies course specification, specimen and past papers, marking instructions and the assignment task at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA past papers, and confirm which topics and themes your centre is teaching within this area.