Roman death and burial - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Myth and Religion) Exam Questions

Practise 29 exam-style questions on Roman death and burial 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.

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

Many Roman epitaphs, especially from the first century AD onwards, begin with the letters D M.

What words do these letters stand for?

Model answer

Dis Manibus - 'to the spirits of the dead'.

Explanation

The Manes were the spirits of the dead, thought of together as divine beings, so a tomb was dedicated to them as a holy place. The formula shows the belief that the dead continued to exist in some form and were owed respect and offerings.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Dis Manibus
Accept the translation 'to the spirits of the dead' / 'to the divine shades (Manes)'. Do not accept 'Dominus' or 'dead man'.

Question 2

2 marks

Who were the pollinctores and the libitinarii, and what did each do when a Roman died?

Model answer

The pollinctores washed, anointed and dressed the body so that it could be laid out. The libitinarii were the undertakers, based at the grove of Venus Libitina, who organised the funeral and hired out what was needed, such as bearers, musicians and mourners.

Explanation

Funerals were a business: a family contracted the libitinarius, whose staff included the pollinctores, the bearers and a master of ceremonies. Answers need a separate, accurate job for each group to score both marks.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Pollinctores: the men (often slaves of the undertaker) who washed, anointed and dressed the body / prepared it for the laying out.
Accept 'prepared the body (washing, perfuming, dressing it)'.
1 mark
Libitinarii: the undertakers who organised and supplied the funeral (staff, bearers, musicians, mourners, equipment).
Accept 'undertakers'; accept detail such as being based at the temple / grove of Venus Libitina or recording deaths. Do not accept 'priests'.

Question 3

3 marks

Source A: Pliny the Elder, Natural History 35.6

'It was different in the halls of our ancestors: there, portraits were set out to be looked at - not statues by foreign artists, nor bronzes or marbles, but faces modelled in wax, each arranged in its own cupboard, to provide likenesses to accompany the funerals of the family. And always, when someone died, every member of the family who had ever lived was present. The family trees, too, ran in painted lines to the portraits.'

What does this passage tell us about the imagines and how they were used? Make three points.

Model answer

The passage tells us that the imagines were wax masks of the family's ancestors, kept in the atrium, each in its own cupboard, where visitors could see them. They were taken to the family's funerals, worn by actors, so that every ancestor who had ever lived was 'present' when someone died. Painted lines on the wall linked the portraits into a family tree, showing pride in the family's history.

Explanation

Only families whose ancestors had held high office kept imagines, so they were a badge of nobility. Pliny is contrasting this old custom with the fashion of his own day for collecting Greek statues, which he sees as less Roman.

Mark scheme

3 marks
Any three valid points, 1 mark each, e.g.: they were faces / masks modelled in wax; they were kept in the atrium ('halls') of noble houses; each was kept in its own cupboard; they were on display to be seen by visitors; they were carried / worn at family funerals; so that all the ancestors were 'present' at each funeral; family trees were painted on the wall linking the portraits; they were a Roman tradition, unlike Greek statues and bronzes.
Max 3. Points should be drawn from or inferred from the source; credit relevant own knowledge that develops a point (e.g. worn by actors who resembled the ancestors).

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Ovid, Fasti 2.547-556 (on the Parentalia)

'But once, while they were waging long wars with fighting weapons, they neglected the days of the Parentalia. It did not go unpunished: for they say that from that ill omen Rome grew hot with funeral pyres outside the city. I can hardly believe it, but they say our ancestors came out of their tombs and complained in the silent night, and that shapeless ghosts, an empty crowd, howled through the streets of the city and the wide fields. Afterwards the honours that had been left out were paid to the tombs again, and there was an end to the portents and the deaths.'

To what extent did the Romans believe that the living had a duty to look after the dead? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A suggests that Romans believed the living had a serious duty to the dead. When the Parentalia was neglected during a long war, the ancestors came out of their tombs and complained, ghosts howled through the streets and Rome 'grew hot with funeral pyres', meaning many people died. Only when the honours were paid again did the portents stop. The dead, then, depended on the living, and neglecting them brought disaster.

There is much other evidence for this duty. At the Parentalia every family visited its tombs with simple gifts such as wreaths, grain, salt, bread soaked in wine and violets; Ovid says the dead ask for little, but devotion pleases them. The most basic duty was proper burial: in Virgil's underworld the unburied must wander for a hundred years before Charon will ferry them across, and in Pliny's ghost story a haunting ends only when the bones are found and buried. Families placed a coin for Charon with the body, held feasts at the tomb on the day of the funeral and on the ninth day, and dedicated tombs Dis Manibus, to the spirits of the dead. Even slaves joined burial clubs to make sure they would be buried; one club promised a funeral 'for the image' of a slave whose master refused to hand over the body.

However, the duty was not only loving care. At the Lemuria the head of the household drove restless spirits out of the house at midnight, so the dead were also feared. Beliefs also varied: some epitaphs say 'I was not, I was, I am not, I do not care', showing that some Romans did not believe in an afterlife at all, and Ovid himself says he can 'hardly believe' the ghost story.

In conclusion, Romans believed to a great extent that the living had a duty to look after the dead, through burial, offerings and festivals. This duty came from a mixture of family love, piety and fear, and it was kept up even by those who doubted that the dead felt anything.

Explanation

Strong answers use Source A's story of neglect and punishment and range across burial, the Parentalia, offerings, epitaphs and burial clubs, then evaluate: was the duty based on love, fear or tradition, and did all Romans believe it? Note Ovid's own scepticism as a point of critical analysis.

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 Roman beliefs and practices concerning the dead, using both Source A and own wider knowledge (burial, offerings, festivals, epitaphs); shows very good understanding of the religious context and of the range of Roman beliefs; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how far the living were thought to have a duty to the dead, 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 - when the Parentalia was neglected in wartime, Rome was punished with deaths (pyres); the ancestors left their tombs and complained; ghosts howled through the city; once the honours were restored the portents stopped; Ovid's 'I can hardly believe it'. Duties: the Parentalia (13-21 February) - visits to family tombs with wreaths, grain, salt, bread soaked in wine and violets (Ovid, Fasti 2.533-540); temples closed; the Feralia on 21 February; proper burial (Virgil, Aeneid 6: the unburied wander for a hundred years; Pliny's ghost, laid to rest after burial); the coin for Charon; the silicernium and cena novendialis at the tomb; Dis Manibus on epitaphs (the dead as divine Manes); tombs with space for offerings and meals; burial clubs ensuring even slaves were buried (the funeral 'for his image'); the imagines kept and honoured in the atrium. Other attitudes: the Lemuria - the head of the household drives restless spirits out of the house with black beans, so the dead were also feared; some epitaphs show disbelief in an afterlife ('I was not, I was, I am not, I do not care'); Epicurean philosophers denied any life after death. AO2: the evidence for a strong sense of duty is wide - law, festivals, family rites and burial clubs. The duty was partly love and pietas towards ancestors and partly fear of what neglected dead might do, as Source A shows. But beliefs varied: some Romans doubted any afterlife, and Ovid himself is sceptical, so ritual duty may have continued from tradition as much as belief. Possible judgements: most Romans believed strongly in a duty to the dead, expressed in regular rituals, even if their beliefs about what the dead experienced varied.

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