Themes, heroes and attitudes to war in the texts - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (War and Warfare) Exam Questions

Practise 34 exam-style questions on Themes, heroes and attitudes to war in the texts 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.

34 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

In Odes 3.2, Horace's ideal young Roman soldier harasses which fierce enemy of Rome as a cavalryman with his spear?

Model answer

The Parthians.

Explanation

The Parthians, Rome's great enemy in the east, had defeated Crassus at Carrhae in 53 BC and captured Roman standards, so they were a live issue when Horace wrote the Roman Odes in the 20s BC. Augustus recovered the standards by diplomacy in 20 BC. Horace's choice of enemy ties his poem to Augustus' policies.

Mark scheme

1 mark
The Parthians
Do not accept the Persians, the Gauls or the Carthaginians.

Question 2

2 marks

Alice Oswald's poem Memorial (2011) is based on the Iliad. It leaves out most of the story and instead lists the deaths of about two hundred soldiers named in the poem, together with many of Homer's similes.

What does this suggest about how a modern reader may respond to the Iliad? Make two points.

Model answer

It suggests that a modern reader may see the Iliad less as a story of heroic glory and more as a lament for the dead, like a war memorial listing names after the World Wars. It also shows an interest in the ordinary soldiers whom Homer names as they die, rather than in great heroes such as Achilles and Hector.

Explanation

Oswald's title points to the war memorials found in every British town after the First World War. By stripping away the plot, she draws attention to something already in Homer: his habit of giving even a minor warrior a name, a home and a family at the moment of death. This is a good example of how a modern audience can find new meaning in an ancient text.

Mark scheme

1 mark
One valid point: modern readers may focus on the cost of war / the dead rather than on glory; they may be more interested in the ordinary soldiers than in the great heroes and their quarrels; they may read the Iliad as a lament or war memorial (like the lists of names on modern war memorials after the World Wars); Homer's similes, often drawn from peaceful nature and everyday life, remind modern readers of the life that is lost; modern readers may notice how Homer gives even minor victims a name and a short life story, showing sympathy for all the dead; the heroic code (kleos) may matter less to modern readers than human suffering.
One mark per valid point. Max 2.
1 mark
A second, different point from the list above.
Must be different from the first.

Question 3

4 marks

Source A: Horace, Odes 3.2

'Virtue, which knows nothing of shameful defeat, shines with honours that are never stained, and does not take up or lay down the axes of office at the whim of the people's breeze. Virtue, opening heaven to those who do not deserve to die, tries a path denied to others, and with flying wing scorns the common crowd and the damp earth.'

What impressions do you gain of virtus (virtue or courage) in this passage? Make two points.

Model answer

Virtus seems unshakeable and pure: it 'knows nothing of shameful defeat' and 'shines with honours that are never stained', and it does not depend on 'the whim of the people's breeze'. It also brings a glorious reward, 'opening heaven to those who do not deserve to die' and soaring 'with flying wing' above the common crowd.

Explanation

After praising the soldier who dies for his country, Horace widens virtus to include public life: true virtue does not need to win elections (the 'axes' are the symbols of a magistrate's power). Its reward is immortality. This links military courage with the moral renewal that Augustus wanted for Rome after the civil wars.

Mark scheme

2 marks
First impression of virtus with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation from the passage that supports it. The evidence mark is awarded for a relevant reference or quotation even if the impression is missing, weak or wrong. 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.: it is never defeated / unshakeable (1) - 'knows nothing of shameful defeat' (1); it is pure and honourable (1) - 'shines with honours that are never stained' (1); it does not depend on popular opinion or politics (1) - it does not take up or lay down 'the axes of office at the whim of the people's breeze' (1); it brings immortality / a reward after death (1) - 'opening heaven to those who do not deserve to die' (1); it is rare / for an elite (1) - 'tries a path denied to others' (1); it rises above ordinary people and earthly things (1) - 'with flying wing scorns the common crowd and the damp earth' (1); it is glorious / shining (1) - 'shines' (1). The second pair must make a different point from the first. Points must come from the passage.
2 marks
Second, different impression with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression, 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: Virgil, Aeneid 2

The ghost of Creusa speaks to Aeneas.

'"What good does it do to give way so much to mad grief, my sweet husband? These things do not happen without the will of the gods; it is not right for you to take Creusa with you from here, nor does the great ruler of high Olympus allow it. Long exile is your lot, and a vast stretch of sea to plough; and you will come to the land of Hesperia, where the Lydian Tiber flows with gentle stream through rich fields farmed by men. There happy times, a kingdom and a royal wife have been won for you; drive away your tears for your beloved Creusa."'

To what extent would Virgil's Roman audience in the time of Augustus have found Aeneid 2 inspiring rather than disturbing? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A shows why Augustan readers could find Aeneid 2 inspiring. In the middle of the burning city, Creusa's ghost reveals that everything happens by 'the will of the gods' and that Aeneas will reach Hesperia, 'where the Lydian Tiber flows', and win 'a kingdom and a royal wife'. For Romans this was the beginning of their own history. The book contains many other inspiring moments: Hector's ghost entrusts Troy's gods to Aeneas, the flame on Iulus' head marks out the ancestor of Augustus' family, and the image of Aeneas carrying Anchises and leading Iulus was celebrated in Augustan Rome as the model of pietas. The book ends with refugees gathering, ready to follow him across the sea - a new people born from the ruins, just as Rome had found peace under Augustus after the civil wars.

However, much of Aeneid 2 would be deeply disturbing. Virgil describes 'death in many forms', bodies on the thresholds of the gods, Cassandra dragged from a temple and the Trojans killed by their own side. Pyrrhus kills Polites before his parents and Priam at the altar, and Priam's headless body on the shore would remind readers of Pompey's death in the civil wars they had lived through. The gods themselves destroy Troy - 'the gods thought otherwise' - and even the hero is driven by furor, ready to kill Helen at a shrine. Source A itself is painful: Creusa's ghost must comfort her husband because the gods will not allow her to go with him. An ancient city 'which ruled for many years' falls, which could make Romans think about the fragility of their own power.

Overall, an Augustan audience would find the book inspiring in its outcome, because it is framed by Hector's commission and Creusa's prophecy and leads to Rome, but disturbing in its detail. Virgil shows that Rome's destiny was real, but bought at a terrible human price.

Explanation

This question is about audience response, so the answer must keep the Augustan reader in view: the Julian family's descent from Iulus, pietas, the memory of civil war. A strong answer weighs the inspiring frame (Hector, the omens, carrying Anchises, Creusa's prophecy) against the disturbing details (Priam, the gods' cruelty, the loss of Creusa) and reaches a nuanced judgement.

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 Aeneid 2 and of its Augustan context, using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of how an Augustan audience might respond and of possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on whether the book is more inspiring or disturbing for that audience, 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, with a limited range of evidence and 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 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: the gods' will; long exile and sea-voyage; Hesperia and the Lydian Tiber; happy times, a kingdom and a royal wife - the destiny that leads to Rome. Inspiring: Hector's ghost entrusts Troy's gods and Vesta's fire to Aeneas; Aeneas' courage and his band; the omens of the flame on Iulus' head (ancestor of the Julian family), thunder on the left and the star over Ida; Aeneas carrying Anchises with the household gods and leading Iulus - the model of pietas, celebrated in Augustan art (the Forum of Augustus); the crowd of refugees ready to follow him - the first Romans; survival and rebirth after destruction, like peace under Augustus after civil war. Disturbing: the slaughter of the night; bodies on the gods' thresholds; Cassandra; the friendly fire; Rhipeus - 'the gods thought otherwise'; Pyrrhus kills Polites and Priam at the altar; the headless body on the shore (recalling Pompey and the civil wars); Venus' vision of the gods destroying Troy; Aeneas' furor (ready to kill Helen); the loss of Creusa - the human cost of destiny; an ancient city 'which ruled for many years' falls - Rome could fall too. AO2: the book is framed by hope (Hector's commission, Creusa's prophecy) and Romans saw the Trojans as their ancestors, so the overall movement is inspiring; but Virgil does not hide the cost, and the civil-war echoes would be painful; possible judgement: inspiring in its outcome, disturbing in its detail - Virgil shows that Rome's destiny came at a terrible price.

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