Classics

Course summary

In Year 12 you will study two units, both focusing on the ancient Greeks: Unit 1: The World of the Hero The most important form of literature to the Ancient Greeks and the Romans was epic poetry. In Year 12 you will study the Odyssey, which is one of the two most important Greek epics. It involves gods, monsters and heroes, and at the same time is a psychologically sophisticated exploration of human character. You will study it in a prose translation in which it reads as something closer to a fantasy novel than poetry. Unit 2: The Invention of the Barbarian The Ancient Greeks regarded all the peoples who lived around them as being barbarians. This unit is based around the history of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians in which the Greeks developed their hostility to the barbarian world, and some of the plays and works of art in which they expressed that hostility. What will you study in Year 13? In Year 13 you will study two units, both focusing on the Romans: Unit 1: The World of the Hero You will finish this unit by studying the Aeneid, which is the most important Roman epic. It involves a similar combination of fantasy and realism as the Odyssey. Like the Odyssey, you will also study it in prose translation. Unit 3: The Politics of the Late Republic The Romans originally had an elected government (albeit not exactly a democratic one). This unit is an exploration of the history of the period in which that elected government was overthrown and replaced by the dictatorship of the Emperors.