The foundation of Athens: Athena, Poseidon and Theseus - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Myth and Religion) Exam Questions

Practise 35 exam-style questions on The foundation of Athens: Athena, Poseidon and Theseus 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.

35 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

Source A: Bacchylides, Ode 18 (the chorus have asked the king why the war-trumpet is sounding in Athens; he replies)

'Just now a herald has come, having run the long road from the Isthmus. He tells of amazing deeds done by a mighty man. He has killed overbearing Sinis, the strongest of mortals; he has slain the man-killing sow in the glens of Kremmyon, and reckless Skiron; he has closed the wrestling-school of Kerkyon; and Prokoptes has dropped the mighty hammer of Polypemon, having met a better man.'

Name the king of Athens who is speaking.

Model answer

Aegeus.

Explanation

Bacchylides' Ode 18 is a dialogue between a chorus of Athenians and their king Aegeus, who reports the news of a young stranger who has cleared the road from the Isthmus. The audience knows the stranger is Theseus, Aegeus' son, though Aegeus himself does not, and he ends by saying he fears what will happen. The poem shows how well known the cycle of road deeds was in 5th-century Athens.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Aegeus
Do not accept Theseus, Pittheus or Kekrops.

Question 2

2 marks

In the centre of the west pediment of the Parthenon, Athena and Poseidon were shown springing apart from each other in a V shape.

Suggest two reasons why the sculptor showed them in this way.

Model answer

Showing the gods recoiling from each other captures the dramatic climax of the contest and makes the scene full of energy. The V shape also fits the triangular pediment, with the two biggest figures in the tall centre and space between them for the olive tree, so the eye is drawn to Athena's winning gift.

Explanation

Pedimental sculptors had to fit a story into a triangle, so the most important figures went in the tall centre and smaller, reclining figures in the corners. The diverging pose of Athena and Poseidon, known from the 1674 drawings, turns a quarrel into a moment of explosive action. Credit both artistic reasons (composition, drama) and reasons about meaning (rivalry, the winning gift).

Mark scheme

1 mark
First valid reason.
Two from, e.g.: it shows the climax / decisive moment of the contest (as the gifts appear / the verdict is given); it creates drama, movement and energy; it shows the conflict / rivalry between the two gods; the V shape suits the triangular pediment, with the two largest figures in the centre where it is tallest; it leaves space between them for the olive tree (the winning gift), drawing the eye to it; it shows the power of the gods - violent divine force; it balances the composition, each god with his or her own side and chariot. Max 2.
1 mark
Second, different valid reason.
As above.

Question 3

3 marks

In the contest for Athens, Poseidon produced a spring of salt water and Athena an olive tree.

Explain why the Athenians might have thought Athena's gift was the better one. Make three points.

Model answer

The olive tree gave food, and its oil was used for cooking, for lamps and for cleaning the body, so it was useful in everyday life. Olive oil could also be traded across the Mediterranean, which made Athens wealthy. Salt water, by contrast, could not be drunk or used to water crops, so Poseidon's spring was much less useful.

Explanation

The myth explains the importance of the olive to Attica, whose thin soil suited olive trees better than grain. The sacred olives (moriai) were protected, and their oil filled the Panathenaic prize amphorae. Some scholars suggest Poseidon's salt spring stands for sea power, which Athens also valued, so a top answer may note that both gifts mattered.

Mark scheme

1 mark
First valid reason.
Three from, e.g.: olives were a basic food; olive oil was used for cooking, lighting lamps, washing / cleaning the body (athletes), medicine and perfume; olive wood was useful (fuel, building, statues); olives and oil could be traded / exported, making Athens rich; olive trees grow well in the dry, rocky soil of Attica; the tree lives for centuries, a symbol of permanence / peace; salt water cannot be drunk or used to water crops, so Poseidon's gift was of little use; oil from the sacred olives was given as prizes at the Panathenaia, so the gift honoured the city; the olive was a gift of peace rather than war. Max 3.
1 mark
Second, different valid reason.
As above.
1 mark
Third, different valid reason.
As above.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: the west pediment of the Parthenon, Athens (about 438-432 BC). It was badly damaged in the late 17th century, but drawings made in 1674 record much of it. In the centre Athena and Poseidon spring apart from each other in a V shape; between them, probably, stood the olive tree. Behind each god is a chariot with rearing horses, driven by a goddess, with a messenger god nearby. Further out sit and kneel figures from Athens' myths, including an old king with a snake's coil beside him and his daughters, and in the corners recline river gods.

To what extent was the west pediment of the Parthenon designed to show the power and importance of Athens? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

To a large extent the west pediment was designed to show that Athens was special, although it was also an act of worship. Source A shows the climax of the contest: Athena and Poseidon spring apart in a V, with the olive tree between them. The message is that two of the greatest Olympians fought over Attica, so Athens was a prize worth having, and that the city's goddess was Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, whose olive gave Athens its wealth. The figures further out reinforce this local pride: the old king with the snake's coil is Kekrops, the earth-born first king, and the river gods in the corners, such as the Kephisos, set the scene in the landscape of Attica. The Athenians boasted that they were autochthonous, born from their own soil, and the pediment puts their ancestors right beside the gods.

The location matters too. The west end faced visitors as they came up through the Propylaia, so this was the first sculpture they saw. The Parthenon itself, built from 447 to 432 BC on the site of the temple the Persians burned, partly with money from the Delian League, was a statement of imperial confidence, and the pediment was its 'front page' for arriving visitors.

However, the pediment was not only propaganda. It was in Athena's temple and honoured her victory, and it explained the sacred olive and salt spring that worshippers could see by the Erechtheion. Poseidon is shown with dignity, with his own chariot, perhaps because Athens, a naval power, also needed his favour after his angry flood. The main pediment over the entrance, the east, showed Athena's birth, not the city.

Overall, the west pediment was mainly about Athens' importance, but for the Athenians worshipping Athena and celebrating their city were the same thing: to show that the gods chose Athens was both piety and a claim to power.

Explanation

Top answers combine details of the sculpture (the V, the olive, Kekrops, river gods) with its context (position facing the Propylaia, Pericles' building programme, the Persian destruction) and weigh political against religious purposes. A judgement that recognises how closely religion and civic pride were linked in Athens is more convincing than a simple 'yes'. Purely descriptive accounts of the pediment stay 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 west pediment and of the Parthenon and its context, using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of the cultural context and possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how far the pediment was designed to show the power and importance of Athens, 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 of the purposes of the pediment 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: the contest of Athena and Poseidon for Attica - Poseidon's salt spring from the trident blow, Athena's olive; judged by the twelve gods or by Kekrops; the central V of the two gods with the olive between them; chariots driven by Nike and Amphitrite, Hermes and Iris; Kekrops (snake coil) and his daughters, other early Athenian royal families; river gods (Kephisos, Ilissos) placing the scene in Attica; the west end faced visitors coming through the Propylaia, so it was the first sculpture seen; the Parthenon built 447-432 BC under Pericles with Pheidias overseeing, paid for partly from Delian League funds, on the site of the temple burned by the Persians in 480 BC; east pediment birth of Athena, metopes of Gigantomachy, Amazonomachy, Centauromachy and Troy, frieze of the Panathenaic procession, gold and ivory Athena Parthenos holding Nike. AO2: for - the gods competing shows Athens was a prize worth fighting for; Athena's victory means the city was chosen by the goddess of wisdom and war; the olive symbolises Athens' prosperity; Kekrops and the river gods tie the Athenians to their own land (their pride in being autochthonous); its position, scale and cost made it a public statement of the city's power at the height of its empire. Against / other purposes - it was primarily an act of worship honouring Athena in her own temple; it explained (aetiology) the sacred olive and salt spring on the Acropolis; Poseidon is honoured too, perhaps reconciling the two gods or warning of divine anger (his flood); the drama and skill of the sculpture had artistic aims; the more important east pediment showed Athena's birth rather than Athens. Judgement: e.g. largely designed to show Athens' importance, but in Athens religion and civic pride were inseparable, so honouring Athena was itself a claim to power.

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