Aeneid 2: the fall of Troy - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (War and Warfare) Exam Questions

Practise 37 exam-style questions on Aeneid 2: the fall of Troy for OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (War and Warfare). Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.

37 questions
1–15 marks each
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20 questions, marked as you go

Sample questions with model answers

Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.

Question 1

1 mark

In Aeneid 2, Pyrrhus kills one of Priam's sons in front of his parents just before he kills Priam himself. Name this son.

Model answer

Polites.

Explanation

Wounded, Polites flees from Pyrrhus along the colonnades and through the empty halls, and collapses dead before his parents' eyes. His death provokes Priam's curse and his feeble spear-throw, and Pyrrhus then drags Priam to the altar, slipping in his son's blood.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Polites
Do not accept Hector, Deiphobus or Paris.

Question 2

2 marks

Source A: Virgil, Aeneid 2

'Right in front of the entrance hall, on the very threshold, Pyrrhus leaps about in triumph, flashing with weapons and the glare of bronze: like a snake that has come out into the light, fed on poisonous plants, which the cold winter kept swollen under the earth; now, its old skin shed, new and gleaming with youth, it rolls its slippery back, lifts its chest high towards the sun, and flickers a three-forked tongue in its mouth.'

Explain why the simile of the snake is an appropriate description of Pyrrhus. Make two points.

Model answer

The snake that has shed its old skin is 'gleaming with youth', which matches Pyrrhus 'flashing with weapons and the glare of bronze' and also suits him as the young son of Achilles, a new generation of Greek warrior. The snake has also fed on 'poisonous plants', suggesting that Pyrrhus is deadly and evil, as his killing of Polites and Priam will prove.

Explanation

The simile introduces Pyrrhus as dazzling but menacing: the shining skin and the snake rising towards the sun suggest youthful energy and arrogance, while the poison and the 'three-forked tongue' warn of the slaughter to come. Answers must explain a link between the simile and Pyrrhus.

Mark scheme

1 mark
One valid explanation linking the simile to Pyrrhus: the snake's gleaming new skin is like Pyrrhus' flashing bronze armour; its renewed youth suits Pyrrhus, a young warrior / Achilles' son taking his father's place; it has fed on poison, so Pyrrhus is deadly / evil / malicious; it has been hidden underground all winter and now bursts out, like the Greeks hidden in the wooden horse (or after the long war) now emerging; it rears its chest towards the sun, showing Pyrrhus' arrogance / exultation; snakes have already brought death to Trojans in Book 2 (Laocoon), so it is a threatening image.
One mark per valid explanation that links a detail of the simile to Pyrrhus. Max 2. A bare quotation without explanation does not score.
1 mark
A second, different explanation from the list above.
Must be different from the first.

Question 3

4 marks

Source A: Virgil, Aeneid 2

'When Priam saw his city captured, the doors of his palace torn down and the enemy in the heart of his home, the old man put his armour, long unused, on shoulders trembling with age - all in vain - and strapped on a useless sword, and went to die among the thickest of the enemy ... When Hecuba saw Priam himself wearing the arms of his youth, she said: "What dreadful idea, my poor husband, has driven you to put on these weapons? Where are you rushing? The hour does not need help like this, or defenders like these - not even if my own Hector were here now. Come here, at last: this altar will protect us all, or you will die with us." So she spoke, and drew the old man to her and placed him on the sacred seat.'

What impressions do you gain of Priam in this passage? Make two points.

Model answer

Priam is still brave and patriotic: when he sees his city captured, he arms himself and goes 'to die among the thickest of the enemy'. But he is also pitifully old and weak, putting armour 'long unused' on 'shoulders trembling with age', so that his sword is 'useless' and his effort is 'all in vain'.

Explanation

Virgil makes Priam both admirable and pathetic: the king still acts like a warrior, but his age makes the gesture hopeless, as Hecuba sees. Her words 'not even if my own Hector were here now' remind us of the son he has already lost. The altar where she seats him will not protect him, which makes Pyrrhus' crime there worse.

Mark scheme

2 marks
First impression of Priam with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation from the passage that supports it. The evidence mark is awarded for a relevant reference or quotation even if the impression is missing, weak or wrong. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.
Two pairs from, e.g.: still brave / courageous (1) - he 'went to die among the thickest of the enemy' (1); old and frail (1) - 'shoulders trembling with age' / 'armour, long unused' (1); pitiful / his efforts are futile (1) - 'all in vain' / 'a useless sword' (1); patriotic / devoted to his city and home (1) - he arms when he sees 'his city captured' and 'the enemy in the heart of his home' (1); despairing / ready to die (1) - he 'went to die' (1); loved / pitied by his wife (1) - Hecuba calls him 'my poor husband' (1); gives in to / is protected by his wife (1) - she 'drew the old man to her and placed him on the sacred seat' (1); trying to recapture his youth (1) - 'wearing the arms of his youth' (1). The second pair must make a different point from the first. Points must come from the passage.
2 marks
Second, different impression with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression of Priam, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation from the passage that supports it. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.
As above; must be a different impression from the first point.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Virgil, Aeneid 2

Aeneas goes back into the burning city to search for Creusa.

'And now, in the empty colonnades of Juno's sanctuary, Phoenix and dread Ulysses, chosen as guards, were watching over the plunder. Here, from every side, the treasure of Troy was heaped up, torn from burning shrines - tables of the gods, bowls of solid gold and captured clothing. Boys and terrified mothers stood around in a long line.'

To what extent are women and children presented as the main victims of the fall of Troy in Aeneid 2? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A shows women and children as victims in a particularly painful way: 'boys and terrified mothers' stand in a long line beside the gold bowls and captured clothing, treated as part of the plunder. They are about to become slaves, guarded by Phoenix and Ulysses. Elsewhere in Book 2 Virgil returns often to their suffering. Cassandra is dragged by her hair from Minerva's temple, her tender hands in chains. When Pyrrhus breaks into the palace the women's wailing 'strikes the golden stars' and terrified mothers cling to the doorposts and kiss them. Hecuba and her daughters huddle round the altar like doves in a storm, and Polites is killed in front of his mother. Creusa begs Aeneas to protect the house and little Iulus, and is then lost in the darkness; her ghost's relief that she will not be a slave to Greek women shows what awaited the others.

However, men are victims too. The streets are full of bodies, Aeneas' young comrades - Coroebus, Rhipeus, Hypanis, Dymas - and the priest Panthus are all killed, and the most horrifying death in the book is that of old Priam, slaughtered at the altar. Old men like Priam and Anchises are as helpless as the women. Some women's fates are also complicated: Helen is hiding in fear of punishment, but Aeneas sees her as the cause of the war.

Overall, women and children are presented as the most pitiable victims, because their fate is slavery and they cannot fight back, but Virgil shows the whole city - warriors, old men, women and children - as a victim of the war.

Explanation

A top answer uses the source (captives as plunder) and a range of other examples (Cassandra, the palace women, Hecuba, Polites, Creusa), then weighs them against the male victims (the band, Panthus, Priam). The judgement should explain why women and children may be the 'main' victims - their helplessness and the threat of slavery - or argue that Virgil presents the whole city as the victim.

Mark scheme

8 marks
Levels of response (8 marks). AO1 (4) and AO2 (4) are equally weighted.
Level 4 (7-8 marks): consistently accurate and detailed knowledge of the victims of the sack in Aeneid 2 - women, children, old men and warriors - using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of the fate of the defeated in ancient war and of possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on whether women and children are the main victims, supported by a range of well-selected evidence, including critical analysis.
Level 3 (5-6 marks): accurate knowledge, using both the source and own knowledge; a focused response with relevant analysis and a judgement.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): sound, mostly accurate knowledge; engages with the general topic, with a limited range of evidence and some analysis.
Level 1 (1-2 marks): limited knowledge, may only use the source given; isolated analysis.
0 marks: no response or no response worthy of credit.
A mainly descriptive or narrative answer with little analysis or judgement cannot go above Level 2.
Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): AO1: Source A: boys and terrified mothers lined up beside the treasure - human plunder, future slaves - guarded by Phoenix and Ulysses in Juno's sanctuary. Own knowledge: Cassandra dragged by her hair from Minerva's temple, hands in chains; in Priam's palace the women's wailing strikes the stars and terrified mothers cling to the doorposts and kiss them; Hecuba and her hundred daughters-in-law; Hecuba and her daughters huddled round the altar like doves driven by a storm; Polites killed before his parents; Creusa's plea for herself and Iulus; Creusa lost in the dark and killed; her ghost is glad not to be a slave to Greek women; Iulus is at risk (Venus says the flames and swords would have taken the family without her protection); Helen hides in fear of punishment. Male victims: the many bodies in the streets and houses; Coroebus, Rhipeus, Hypanis, Dymas and Panthus killed; old Priam butchered at the altar; Anchises wishes to die; Aeneas loses city, king and wife. AO2: women and children suffer a fate often seen as worse than death - slavery - and are helpless; Virgil focuses on their fear and grief to create pathos; but the men die in large numbers and old men too are helpless victims; Iulus survives, which matters for Rome's future; Helen complicates the picture (cause or victim?); possible judgement: women and children are the most pitiable victims, but Virgil presents all of Troy as a victim.

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