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OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Myth and Religion) Smart practice A mixed round aimed at your weak spots
Unit 1
Greece
Gods
Greek gods: responsibilities, symbols and representation
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The Universal Hero: Heracles
Heracles and Olympia
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Religion and the City: Temples
Greek temples, priests and sacrifice
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Myth and the City: Foundation Stories
The foundation of Athens: Athena, Poseidon and Theseus
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Festivals
Greek festivals: the Great Panathenaia and the City Dionysia
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Myth and Symbols of Power
Myth and power in Greece: the Centauromachy and Amazonomachy
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Death and Burial
Greek death and burial
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Journeying to the Underworld
Persephone and Demeter: the Homeric Hymn to Demeter
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Unit 2
Rome
Gods
Roman gods: responsibilities, symbols and representation
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The Universal Hero: Hercules
Hercules in Ovid and Virgil
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Religion and the City: Temples
Roman temples, priests and sacrifice
0%
Myth and the City: Foundation Stories
The foundation of Rome: Aeneas, Alba Longa and Romulus and Remus
0%
Festivals
Roman festivals: the Lupercalia and the Saturnalia
0%
Myth and Symbols of Power
Myth and power in Rome: the Prima Porta Augustus and the Ara Pacis
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Death and Burial
Roman death and burial
0%
Journeying to the Underworld
Orpheus and Eurydice: Ovid, Metamorphoses 10
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Unit 3
Greece and Rome
Gods and heroes
Comparing Greek and Roman gods and heroes
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Religion and the City: Temples
Comparing Greek and Roman temples, priests and sacrifice
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Myth and the City: Foundation Stories
Comparing foundation myths: Theseus and Romulus
0%
Festivals
Comparing Greek and Roman festivals
0%
Myth and Symbols of Power
Comparing myth and power in Greek and Roman art
0%
Death, Burial and the Underworld
Comparing death, burial and the underworld
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Heracles and Olympia

Practise 32 exam-style questions on Heracles and Olympia for OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Myth and Religion). 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.

  • 32 questions
  • 1–8 marks each
  • Instant marking
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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

Heracles cleaned out the stables of King Augeas of Elis in a single day by turning rivers through them.

Name one of these rivers.

Model answer

The Alpheos.

Explanation

According to Apollodorus, Heracles broke through the wall of the cattle-yard and diverted the Alpheos and the Peneios so that they flowed through and washed out the dung. The Alpheos flows past Olympia itself, which is one reason why this labour was so suitable for the Temple of Zeus there.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    The Alpheos or the Peneios

    Accept Alpheus / Alpheios / Peneus / Peneius. Either river for the mark.

Question 2

2 marks

Explain why Heracles is so often shown in Greek art wearing a lion skin.

Model answer

The lion skin came from the Nemean Lion, which Heracles killed in his first labour. Because its hide could not be pierced by weapons, he wore it as armour, with the head as a helmet, and it became his trademark, showing his strength and his victory over monsters.

Explanation

Attributes such as the lion skin, club and bow let viewers recognise Heracles at once. The skin also carried meaning: it was the trophy of his first great victory and a sign of the wild, superhuman strength that set him apart from ordinary armed warriors.

Mark scheme
  1. 2 marks

    Two valid points of explanation, 1 mark each.

    e.g.: it was the skin of the Nemean Lion, which he killed in his first labour (1); the lion's hide could not be pierced by weapons, so it served him as armour / protection (1); he wore the lion's head as a helmet / hood (1); it was a trophy showing his strength and his victory over monsters (1); it made him instantly recognisable / was his identifying attribute (1). Max 2.

Question 3

3 marks

Eurystheus first set Heracles ten labours, but refused to count two of them, so Heracles had to perform twelve.

Name the two labours that Eurystheus refused to count, and explain why he refused to count one of them.

Model answer

Eurystheus refused to count the Lernaean Hydra and the Augean Stables. He did not count the Hydra because Heracles' nephew Iolaus helped him, burning the stumps of the necks so that the heads could not grow back.

Explanation

Apollodorus says Eurystheus rejected the Hydra because Heracles had help, and the Augean Stables because he did it for hire (Augeas had promised a tenth of his herds). These excuses show Eurystheus' meanness, and suggest that the labours were meant to be done alone and without reward.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    The Lernaean Hydra

    Either order for the two labours.

  2. 1 mark

    The Augean Stables

  3. 1 mark

    Explanation for one of them: the Hydra was not counted because Iolaus helped him; the Augean Stables were not counted because Heracles did the work for payment.

    For the Hydra accept: his nephew Iolaus helped by burning (searing) the stumps of the necks so the heads could not grow back. For the Augean Stables accept: he did it for hire / Augeas promised him a tenth of his cattle; accept also 'the rivers did the work for him'.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: the metope of the Augean Stables from the east end of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, about 460 BC. Heracles, using both hands, drives a long tool (probably a crowbar) down into the ground. Beside him stands Athena, wearing her helmet and with her shield on her arm; she seems to be guiding his work with her spear, which was probably added in metal and is now lost.

To what extent do the metopes of the Temple of Zeus show Heracles relying on the help of the gods? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A suggests that Heracles did rely on the gods. In the Augean Stables metope Athena, in her helmet and with her shield, stands beside him and seems to guide his work with her spear, as if showing him where to break through. Since this was the last metope, placed over the front of the temple, visitors saw Heracles and Athena working together.

Athena appears in other metopes too. In the Stymphalian Birds she sits relaxed on a rock and turns to receive the birds from Heracles, and in the Atlas metope she stands behind him and calmly raises a hand to help him hold up the sky. In the myths she also gave him the bronze rattles that drove the Stymphalian Birds into the air.

However, in most of the twelve metopes Heracles faces his task alone. In the first, the Nemean Lion, he is a weary youth resting his foot on the lion he has killed; in the Cretan Bull, hero and bull pull against each other in a great diagonal struggle; and he fights the Hydra and Geryon and drags Cerberus on his own. Even where Athena is present, Heracles does the hard physical work: she guides, supports or approves, but does not do the labour for him. The series also shows his own growth from youth to mature, bearded hero.

The setting helps to explain this balance. At Olympia, athletes trained hard but hoped for the gods' favour, so the metopes suggest that great achievement needs both human effort and divine support.

Overall, the metopes show Heracles relying on the gods only to a limited extent. Athena's help at key moments shows divine favour, but the labours remain his own achievement, completed through his strength and endurance.

Explanation

Good answers know all twelve metopes, not just the ones with Athena, and analyse what kind of help she gives (guiding, supporting, receiving). Linking the balance of divine favour and human toil to the athletic context of Olympia lifts an answer into the top level.

Mark scheme
  1. 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 twelve metopes and the myths they show, using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of the context of the temple and sanctuary and of possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how far the metopes show Heracles relying on the gods, 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 of the metopes; a focused response with relevant analysis and a judgement.
    Level 2 (3-4 marks): sound, mostly accurate knowledge; engages with the general topic of the metopes; limited range of evidence; 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 answer with little analysis or judgement cannot go above Level 2.

    Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): AO1: Source A - Athena, helmeted and with her shield, guides or helps Heracles as he works with a crowbar to clear the stables. Own knowledge of the metopes - Athena also appears in the Stymphalian Birds (seated on a rock, receiving the birds) and in Atlas (calmly helping him hold up the sky); in many other metopes Heracles struggles alone with his opponent: the Nemean Lion (weary youth with his foot on the lion), the Hydra, the Cretan Bull (a great X-shaped struggle), the Ceryneian Hind, the Amazon, Geryon, the Mares of Diomedes, Cerberus (dragged on a lead); the Boar shows Eurystheus cowering in a jar. Wider myth - Athena gave him bronze rattles to scare the Stymphalian Birds; Iolaus (a mortal) helped with the Hydra; in the Odyssey Heracles says Hermes and Athena guided him when he fetched Cerberus. AO2: for - Athena's presence in several metopes, including the final one over the front porch, shows that success depends on divine favour; her calm contrasts with his effort; a message for athletes at Olympia that victory needs the gods' blessing. Against - in most metopes he works alone, and even where Athena appears he does the physical work: she guides, supports or receives rather than doing the labour for him; the series shows his own development from weary youth to mature hero; the metopes celebrate his strength and endurance. Judgement, e.g.: the metopes show divine help at key moments, but as support and favour for Heracles' own efforts rather than dependence - a partnership of human toil and divine approval.

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