Iliad 5 and 6: Diomedes, Glaucus, Hector and Andromache - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (War and Warfare) Exam Questions

Practise 35 exam-style questions on Iliad 5 and 6: Diomedes, Glaucus, Hector and Andromache 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.

35 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

Source A: Homer, Iliad 6

'"Godlike Achilles killed my father when he sacked the fine city of the Cilicians, Thebe of the high gates. He killed him, but he did not strip his armour - he shrank from that in reverence - but burned him with his finely made armour and heaped a mound over him; and the mountain nymphs, daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis, planted elm trees around it."'

Name the speaker's father, who is described in this passage.

Model answer

Eetion, king of Thebe in Cilicia.

Explanation

Andromache is the daughter of Eetion, king of Thebe-under-Plakos. Achilles killed him and her seven brothers in a single day, and her mother died later, so Hector is now her whole family. The respect Achilles showed Eetion's body - burning him in his armour and building a mound - contrasts sharply with his treatment of Hector's body in Book 22.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Eetion
Accept minor misspellings (e.g. Aetion, Eetion). Do not accept Priam, Cisseus or Antenor.

Question 2

2 marks

Source A: Homer, Iliad 6

'Nor did Paris linger in his high house. Once he had put on his splendid armour, decorated with bronze, he rushed through the city, trusting in his swift feet. As when a stabled horse, well fed on barley at the manger, breaks his halter and gallops thundering over the plain, used to bathing in the fair-flowing river, glorying in it; he holds his head high, and his mane streams about his shoulders; trusting in his splendour, his legs carry him lightly to the haunts and pastures of the mares: so Paris, son of Priam, came down from the height of Pergamus, gleaming in his armour like the shining sun, laughing aloud, and his swift feet carried him on.'

Explain two ways in which this simile is an appropriate description of Paris.

Model answer

The horse has been 'well fed on barley at the manger', which suits Paris, who has been sitting comfortably at home while other Trojans fight. It also 'holds his head high... trusting in his splendour', which matches Paris' vanity and pride in his looks as he gleams in his armour 'like the shining sun'.

Explanation

The simile is double-edged: it shows Paris' beauty and sudden energy, but also his pampered life and love of pleasure (the mares' pastures). Homer uses the same simile of Hector later in the poem, where it suggests pure warlike energy, so its use here for Paris is gently ironic. Each mark needs a clear link between a detail of the horse and Paris.

Mark scheme

1 mark
A valid link between the stallion and Paris, e.g. the well-fed stabled horse matches Paris, who has been idle and comfortable at home while others fight
Two from (max 2): the well-fed stabled horse = Paris has been pampered / idle at home while others fight (1); breaking his halter = Paris finally escapes his room and rushes eagerly to battle (1); 'trusting in his splendour', head held high, mane streaming = vanity / pride in his good looks (1); the gleaming horse = Paris gleaming in his armour 'like the shining sun' (1); heading for 'the haunts and pastures of the mares' = his love of women / pleasure (Helen) (1); galloping lightly and fast = his speed / energy, 'his swift feet' (1); the carefree, exuberant horse = Paris 'laughing aloud', not taking the war seriously (1). Credit other valid points; each must link the horse to Paris.
1 mark
A second, different link
As above.

Question 3

4 marks

Source A: Homer, Iliad 6

Glaucus speaks to Diomedes:
'"But if you want to learn this too, so that you know my family well - and many men know it... Hippolochus was my father, and I say that I am his son. He sent me to Troy, and gave me many instructions: always to be the best and to stand out above the rest, and not to bring shame on the family of my fathers, who were by far the best men in Ephyre and in wide Lycia. This is the family and the blood I am proud to claim."
... But then Zeus, son of Cronos, took away Glaucus' wits, for he exchanged armour with Diomedes, son of Tydeus, gold for bronze, the worth of a hundred oxen for the worth of nine.'

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

Model answer

Glaucus is very proud of his family and its reputation: he says 'many men know it' and ends by calling it 'the family and the blood I am proud to claim'. He is also ambitious and anxious to live up to his ancestors, since his father told him 'always to be the best and to stand out above the rest'. Finally, he seems generous or naive, because he gives Diomedes gold armour for bronze, 'the worth of a hundred oxen for the worth of nine'.

Explanation

Hippolochus' advice ('always to be the best') sums up the heroic ideal of excelling and winning glory. The narrator's comment that Zeus 'took away Glaucus' wits' is a rare touch of humour, and critics argue whether the unequal exchange shows Glaucus' foolishness or his generosity. Two different impressions, each with evidence, are needed.

Mark scheme

2 marks
First point with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression of Glaucus, 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.
Two pairs from, e.g.: proud of his family / ancestry (1) - 'many men know it', 'the family and the blood I am proud to claim' (1); ambitious / sets himself high standards (1) - 'always to be the best and to stand out above the rest' (1); a dutiful son who obeys his father (1) - Hippolochus 'gave me many instructions' (1); anxious about honour and shame (1) - 'not to bring shame on the family of my fathers' (1); confident / self-assured (1) - 'if you want to learn this too' (1); generous or naive / foolish (1) - he exchanges 'gold for bronze, the worth of a hundred oxen for the worth of nine' / 'Zeus... took away Glaucus' wits' (1); honourable, respecting the bond of xenia (1) - he agrees to exchange armour (1). The second pair must make a different point from the first. Credit a relevant reference (1) even if the impression is weak. Points must come from the passage.
2 marks
Second, different point with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression of Glaucus, 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: Homer, Iliad 5

'But Athena and Hera were watching, and they tried to provoke Zeus, son of Cronos, with mocking words. The grey-eyed goddess Athena began: "Father Zeus, will you be angry with me for what I say? Surely the Cyprian has been urging some Achaean woman to follow the Trojans, whom she now loves so dearly, and while she was stroking one of these well-dressed Achaean women, she scratched her delicate hand on a golden brooch." So she spoke, and the father of men and gods smiled, and he called golden Aphrodite and said to her: "My child, the works of war are not for you. You look after the lovely works of marriage; all these other things will be the business of swift Ares and Athena."'

To what extent does Homer present the gods in Iliad 5 as figures of fun? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge of Iliad 5 and 6.

Model answer

In Iliad 5 Homer does present some of the gods as figures of fun, but this is only one side of them: they also have terrifying power over the battle and over mortal lives.

Source A is almost comic. Athena and Hera try 'to provoke Zeus... with mocking words', and Athena jokes that Aphrodite must have scratched her 'delicate hand on a golden brooch' while urging some Greek woman to run off with a Trojan - a sly reference to Helen. Zeus 'smiled' and tells Aphrodite that 'the works of war are not for you', sending her back to 'the lovely works of marriage'. The gods treat a wound as a family joke.

Other scenes add to the comedy. Aphrodite screams and drops the son she came to save, borrows Ares' chariot and falls into her mother's lap, and Dione comforts her with stories of other gods hurt by mortals, such as Ares shut in a bronze jar for thirteen months. Aphrodite's wound is healed at once; her blood is ichor, because the gods do not eat bread or drink wine. Compared with Pandarus, whose tongue is cut off at the root, divine suffering seems trivial.

However, the gods are also deadly serious. Athena gives Diomedes his father's strength, removes the mist from his eyes and guides the spear into Pandarus' face. Apollo rescues Aeneas in a dark cloud, beats back Diomedes three times and terrifies him with the warning that gods and men 'are never the same'; he leaves a phantom of Aeneas for the armies to fight over and rouses Ares to help the Trojans. In Book 6 Athena refuses the Trojan women's prayer, a sign that Troy is doomed.

Overall, the comic scenes on Olympus are real, but their main effect is to contrast the gods' easy, deathless lives with the deaths of mortals. The gods are figures of fun only when they are among themselves; on the battlefield they decide who lives and who dies.

Explanation

Strong answers recognise that Homer's gods can be comic because they are immortal, and then argue that this comedy serves a serious purpose: it throws the reality of human death into relief. They balance the Olympian scenes against the gods' decisive interventions on the battlefield. Listing gods without judging the question stays in Level 2.

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 gods' actions in Iliad 5 (and 6), using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of the role of the gods in Homeric epic and of possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how far the gods are figures of fun, supported by a range of well-selected evidence, including critical analysis of the contrast between gods and mortals.
Level 3 (5-6 marks): accurate knowledge, using both Source A and own knowledge; a focused response with relevant analysis of comic and serious presentations of the gods, and a judgement.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): sound, mostly accurate knowledge; engages with the general topic of the gods; limited range of evidence; some analysis.
Level 1 (1-2 marks): limited knowledge, may only use Source A; isolated analysis with little or no judgement.
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 - Athena and Hera try to provoke Zeus 'with mocking words'; Athena's joke that Aphrodite scratched her hand on a golden brooch while urging a Greek woman to run off with a Trojan (a dig at Helen); Zeus 'smiled'; 'the works of war are not for you... the lovely works of marriage'. Own knowledge - comic: Aphrodite screams and drops Aeneas; Diomedes taunts her; she borrows Ares' chariot and falls into Dione's lap; Dione's stories of gods hurt by mortals (Ares in a bronze jar for thirteen months; Hera and Hades wounded by Heracles); ichor, because gods do not eat bread or drink wine; her wound healed at once. Serious: Athena gives Diomedes Tydeus' strength and divine sight and guides the spear into Pandarus' face; Apollo rescues Aeneas in a dark cloud, beats back Diomedes three times and warns him terribly; Apollo places Aeneas in his temple, makes a phantom of him and rouses Ares, who urges on the Trojans in the form of Acamas; Book 6 - Athena refuses the Trojan women's prayer; Zeus blinded Lycurgus; Zeus took away Glaucus' wits. AO2: on Olympus the gods behave like a squabbling family and their suffering is trivial and temporary; this contrasts with mortal deaths (Pandarus' tongue cut out), making human suffering more tragic; but on the battlefield the gods are powerful and dangerous and decide who lives and dies; Homer can be light-hearted about gods because they cannot die. Judgement - e.g. comic among themselves, deadly serious in their effect on mortals.

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