'Improper' women in Rome: the meretrix, the lena, Clodia and Cytheris - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Women in the Ancient World) Exam Questions

Practise 29 exam-style questions on 'Improper' women in Rome: the meretrix, the lena, Clodia and Cytheris for OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Women in the Ancient World). 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.

29 questions
1–8 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

Figure 1 is a plan of central Rome (it also shows some buildings of later date). Clodia had a house on the hill labelled A, and Caelius rented a flat there to be near her.

In the Pro Caelio Cicero gave Clodia a nickname that combined the name of this hill with the name of a woman from Greek myth. What was the nickname?

Plan of part of an ancient city by a river, north at the top, with a scale bar of 1 km. A river winds down the west side, bending round a large area of flat land and flowing past a small boat-shaped island. Seven areas of higher ground (hills) are shaded pale brown: a small one by the river opposite the island, one south-east of it, a large one by the river in the south-west, a long one in the south-east, a large one in the east and two long narrow ridges in the north-east and north. A dashed-edged paved area lies in the valley between the small hill and the hill south-east of it, with a road running east from it to a large oval building with an arena. A long racetrack with a central barrier and one curved end lies in the valley between the two southern hills. On the flat land are a round building with a porch on its north side, a semicircular building with a large courtyard to its east, and in the north a small square monument beside a straight road running north-north-west from the small hill. A second semicircular building stands between the small hill and the river, and a small rectangular building stands near the river bank just downstream of the island. Label A is written on the hill between the paved area and the long racetrack, south of the paved area; the label "Forum Romanum" points to the paved open area between the small hill by the river and the oval amphitheatre; the label "Capitoline" points to the small hill just west of the paved area, nearest the river; the label "River Tiber" points to the river that winds through the west of the city; the label "Circus Maximus" points to the long racetrack with a central barrier, in the valley between the two southern hills.

Model answer

The 'Palatine Medea'.

Explanation

Medea was the foreign witch who betrayed her family for Jason and later murdered her own children; calling Clodia a Medea suggested she was a dangerous, passionate woman capable of poisoning. The Palatine was the most fashionable address in Rome, home to many leading politicians, including Cicero and Clodius.

Mark scheme

1 mark
The Palatine Medea (Palatina Medea).
Accept 'Medea of the Palatine'. Both parts are needed. Do not accept 'quadrantaria' (a different insult) or a different hill.

Question 2

2 marks

Figure 1 is a family tree of Clodia (shaded).

Name the men labelled A, her brother, who was Cicero's bitter enemy, and B, her husband.

Family tree titled "The family of Clodia": names in boxes joined by lines, with 3 generations in rows from the oldest at the top to the youngest at the bottom. A line between two boxes in a row joins a couple, and a line coming down from a couple, or from one person on their own, leads to their children; a dotted line shows descent over several generations. Top row, left to right: Appius Claudius Caecus (censor 312 BC). Second row, left to right: Appius Claudius Pulcher (consul 79 BC). Third row, left to right: Appius Claudius (consul 54 BC), box A (tribune 58 BC), Clodia and box B (consul 60 BC, died 59 BC). A dotted line marked "several generations" comes straight down from Appius Claudius Caecus alone to Appius Claudius Pulcher: a later descendant, several generations on. Appius Claudius Pulcher alone is the parent of Appius Claudius, box A and Clodia (the line comes straight down from that box). Clodia and box B are married (no children shown). The box of Clodia is shaded. Boxes B and A show letters instead of names.

Model answer

A is Publius Clodius Pulcher and B is Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer.

Explanation

Clodia came from the patrician Claudii, one of Rome's proudest families, descended from Appius Claudius Caecus. Her brother Clodius (who used the popular spelling of the family name) drove Cicero into exile in 58 BC, and Cicero hinted that Clodia had poisoned her husband Metellus, who died in 59 BC.

Mark scheme

1 mark
A: Publius Clodius Pulcher.
Accept 'Clodius' or 'Publius Clodius'. Do not accept Caelius or Appius Claudius.
1 mark
B: Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer.
Accept 'Metellus Celer' or 'Metellus'. Do not accept Caelius or Catullus.

Question 3

3 marks

Source A: a graffito (writing scratched on a wall) beside a doorway in Pompeii (before AD 79)

'Eutychis, a Greek girl, with sweet manners, 2 asses.'

What does Source A suggest about prostitution in Pompeii? Make three points.

Model answer

It suggests that many prostitutes were foreigners, since Eutychis is described as Greek, and she was probably a slave. It also suggests that sex was cheap - 2 asses was about the price of a cup of ordinary wine. Finally, it shows that prostitution was legal and openly advertised on the walls of the town, with the woman described like goods for sale.

Explanation

Pompeii has many such graffiti and a purpose-built brothel (the Lupanar) with small rooms and stone beds. Most prostitutes there had Greek or eastern names, which suggests slaves or freedwomen, a world away from wealthy courtesans like Cytheris.

Mark scheme

1 mark
First valid point, e.g.: many prostitutes were foreign / Greek, and probably slaves.
Three from: many prostitutes were foreign (Greek), probably slaves or freedwomen; it was cheap - 2 asses, about the price of a cup of ordinary wine or a loaf; prostitution was legal and advertised openly in public places; the woman is treated like goods with a price - a commodity; her personality ('sweet manners') was used as a selling point; the low price suggests her clients were ordinary or poor men; the advertisement was probably written by someone else (her owner or a pimp, or a customer), not by her.
1 mark
Second, different valid point.
As above.
1 mark
Third, different valid point.
As above; each point must be different.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Cicero, Pro Caelio 49 (56 BC)

'If a woman without a husband has opened her house to the desires of every man, and has openly set herself up to live the life of a prostitute; if she has made a habit of holding dinner parties with men who are complete strangers; if she does this in Rome, in her gardens, amid the crowds at Baiae; if, finally, she behaves in such a way - not only in her walk, but in her clothes and her companions, in the flash of her eyes and the freedom of her talk, and also in her embraces and kisses, her beach parties, her boating trips and her dinner parties - that she seems to be not just a prostitute, but a shameless and wanton one: if some young man happened to have spent time with her, would you think, Lucius Herennius, that he was an adulterer or simply a lover, that he wanted to storm her chastity or just to satisfy his desire?'

To what extent is Cicero's picture of Clodia in the Pro Caelio a fair one? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

In Source A Cicero paints a vivid picture of a woman who, 'without a husband', has opened her house to every man's desire, lives openly like a prostitute and holds parties with strangers in Rome, in her gardens and at Baiae. He never names her here, but every detail fits Clodia: she had been a widow since Metellus Celer died in 59 BC, she owned gardens by the Tiber and she spent time at Baiae. Elsewhere in the speech he calls her the 'Palatine Medea', makes her ancestor Appius Claudius Caecus rise from the dead to condemn her affairs with 'other women's husbands', hints at incest by 'mistakenly' calling her brother her husband, and even suggests that she poisoned Metellus.

There are strong reasons to think this picture is unfair. It comes from a defence speech: Cicero's job was to win, and since Clodia's evidence was central to the case against Caelius, destroying her reputation destroyed the prosecution. He also had a personal motive, as her brother Clodius had driven him into exile in 58 BC. Sexual slander was a normal weapon in Roman invective, used against men as well as women, so the jury may not have taken it all literally - the speech was meant to entertain as well as persuade. Cicero carefully avoids direct accusations, using phrases like 'if a woman ...' so that he can deny slandering her, and we have no account from Clodia herself.

On the other hand, there may be some truth behind it. Clodia was a wealthy, independent widow from one of Rome's greatest families who clearly lived a free social life, with parties, gardens and holidays at Baiae, and Caelius had been her lover. If Catullus' Lesbia is Clodia, his poems also show a sophisticated woman with several lovers. But what Cicero presents as the behaviour of a prostitute may simply have been the lifestyle of a rich woman who ignored traditional ideas of female modesty.

Overall, Cicero's picture is not fair: it exaggerates and distorts real details for the purposes of a law-court speech and a personal feud, though it shows how conservative Romans viewed an independent woman.

Explanation

Strong answers analyse why Cicero wrote as he did (purpose, audience, feud, invective conventions) and separate the likely facts (widow, gardens, Baiae, an affair with Caelius) from the interpretation he puts on them. The judgement should recognise that the speech tells us at least as much about Roman ideas of 'proper' female behaviour as about Clodia herself.

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 Pro Caelio and of Clodia's life and family, using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of the context (the trial, Cicero's feud with Clodius, the conventions of Roman invective, ideas of 'proper' female behaviour); a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how fair Cicero's picture is, 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; 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 - a woman without a husband living like a prostitute, dinner parties with strangers, her gardens, Baiae, her walk, clothes, eyes, free talk, kisses, beach parties, boating - 'a shameless and wanton' prostitute; she is not named, but the details fit Clodia (a widow since Metellus Celer died in 59 BC, gardens by the Tiber, visits to Baiae); elsewhere Cicero calls her the 'Palatine Medea', makes her ancestor Appius Claudius Caecus condemn her affairs with 'other women's husbands', hints at incest by 'mistakenly' calling Clodius her husband, and suggests she poisoned Metellus; the case: Caelius, Cicero's former pupil and Clodia's ex-lover, charged with the gold and poison plots; Clodia's evidence central to the prosecution; Cicero's feud with her brother Clodius, who drove him into exile in 58 BC; the speech was given during the Ludi Megalenses; Caelius was acquitted; Catullus' Lesbia (if Clodia) as a sophisticated woman with several lovers. AO2: a defence speech, designed to destroy a witness's credibility, not to be fair; personal hatred of Clodius; sexual slander was a normal weapon of Roman invective, used against men too, and meant partly to entertain the jury; Cicero avoids direct accusation ('if a woman ...') so he can deny slander; no account from Clodia survives; but there may be truth - she was a wealthy, independent widow who lived a free social life that conservative Romans saw as improper, and Caelius had been her lover; what Cicero calls prostitution may be a rich woman ignoring traditional ideas of modesty; possible judgement: largely unfair and distorted, though based on real details of her life.

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