Classical Civilisation

Class Civ

An introduction to studying the Classical World, the learning will break down into two strands: World of the Hero and Greek Theatre. The World of the Hero element of the course will provide the mythological background to this epic poem of ancient themes of justice, revenge and wrath. The Greek Theatre element will provide background understanding to the social, historical and political context of theatre in Athens, it will also introduce the conventions of theatre and how to structure learning and notes.

Lesson Outline:

Element 1: World of the Hero – Each week the lesson will be used to introduce the social, historical and political context of the World of the Hero module. We may possibly study a shortened version of the Odyssey. Week 1 – Story telling through the ages Week 2 – Mythologising and oral poetry Week 3 – Story background to the epics of Homer Week 4 – Ancient Greek heroism

Element 2: Greek Theatre – Each week the lesson will be used to introduce the social, historical and political context of the Greek Theatre module and to read Euripides’ Medea. Week 1 – Social context and introduction to the three tragedians Week 2 – Historical context

Week 3 – Political context Week 4 – Euripides’ Medea

Element 3: Love and Relationships – Each week the lesson will be used to introduce the social, historical and political context of the Greek and Roman World in the times of Plato, Seneca, Sappho and Ovid.

Week 1 – Social context and introduction to the four authors Week 2 – Historical context

Week 3 – Political context Week 4 – Reading Plato and Seneca

Project Outcome: Preparation for the A Level with considerable notes and resources. Students will create fake dating pages for the four authors they will study in Love and Relationships, and biographies to ensure they are confident in the historical position of each author and their personal views. Students will also have the option of creating podcasts or displays relating to their studies. The introduction to the world of Epic poetry will ensure that they have knowledge of Homer, the mythology used by him and they will have researched and created notes on certain art works associated with the Trojan cycle, chosen by them.