• Classical Civilisation is a first tier academic A level highly valued by all universities including Oxbridge. • As a subject it is best classed as ‘interdisciplinary’ or to put it another way – it incorporates aspects of History, Literature, Philosophy, Politics, even Performing Arts (the Greeks and Romans prised rhetoric very highly!) • You will probably not have studied Classical Civilisation at GCSE. In terms of your A Level compass it sits somewhere between History and English Literature. • Classical Civilisation obviously compliments A Level Humanities subjects like History and Law. However, you can take it with any combination of subjects you wish. • Classical Civilisation allows you to understand the society, politics and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. • It allows to engage with the literature, beliefs, customs and ideas that have shaped modern European Civilisation. • Ancient Greece and Rome are the cornerstone of western culture – be it democracy; theatre, visual arts or literature.

Tasks to complete: Google image a map of the Roman Empire in 44BC. See how vast an Empire Rome already had in 44BC. Try and identify the modern day countries that were once part of the Roman Empire. Now refer back to the map to see what the names of these territories were then. Find out who had emerged as Supreme ruler of the Roman Empire in 44BC? What political title did he hold? Why has he become the famous Roman ever? Why on March 15th 44BC was he brutally assassinated? Other famous Romans – find out 3 things about each of the following: • Cicero (106-43BC) • Pompey (105-48BC) • Cato the Younger (95-46BC) • Crassus (115-53BC) • Octavian, later Caesar Augustus (63BC – AD14) Ancient Greece in the 8th Century BC, was the period in which one of the first authors of western literature, , wrote 2 tales connected to perhaps the most famous event of the ancient world – the sack of the city of Troy. Google image a map of the Homeric world. This is how the Greeks of Homer’s time saw the world. What lies around the perimeter of the World as they understood it? Find out 3 things about the following: • Homer • The city of Troy

• The ‘Trojan Horse’ • ‘’ • Paris, a Trojan Prince • Agamemnon

• Menelaus • Odysseus If you are definite about wanting to study A Level Classical Civilisation at Pendleton College you may wish to purchase the following: All of these texts can be bought cheaply on Amazon or Ebay – the important thing to check is the ISBN number, as older versions of these texts may have different front covers to those which are recent • Homer: The Odyssey, Dominic Rieu (Editor), Peter Jones (Introduction), E. V. Rieu (Translator), Publisher: Penguin . ISBN-13: 978-0140449112 • Cicero: Selected Works, by Michael Grant (Translator). Publisher: Penguin Books. ISBN-13: 978-0140440997 • Suetonius: The Twelve Caesars, by Robert Graves (Author), Suetonius (Author). Publisher: Penguin Classics. ISBN-13: 978-0140455168

Articles to read: Economic collapse: The real message of the fall of Troy, by Tim Bowler, Business reporter, BBC News, 8th February 2018; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42864071 Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Statesman, scholar and writer, written by: John Ferguson, John P.V. Dacre Balsdon https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cicero Natalie Haynes's Classics Quiz: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2W0ps2ynS285nGpBP19skcg/na talie-hayness-classics-quiz

Films to watch: BBBBC/Netflix drama Troy, Fall of a City

Websites to visit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j6srl - The Trojan War https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bh5x1y - The https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y297 - The Odyssey https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01d0rhz - Continuing appeal of The Odyssey https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09nrsfg - Cicero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZA3szW3plI – Dangerous Minds ep 1, ‘Cicero’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0902mnc - Natalie Haynes stands up for Classics – lecture on Cicero

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