Warrior women in Rome: Camilla in Virgil's Aeneid - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Women in the Ancient World) Exam Questions

Practise 26 exam-style questions on Warrior women in Rome: Camilla in Virgil's Aeneid 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.

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1–8 marks each
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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: Virgil, Aeneid 1.490-493 (Aeneas sees this scene among pictures of the Trojan War on the walls of Juno's temple at Carthage)

'X, raging, leads the columns of Amazons with their crescent-shaped shields, and blazes in the middle of thousands, fastening a golden belt beneath her bared breast; a warrior woman, a maiden who dares to clash with men.'

Who is X?

Model answer

Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons.

Explanation

Penthesilea led the Amazons to help Troy and was killed by Achilles. Virgil names her again in the simile for Camilla in Aeneid 11, and the details here - bared breast, 'warrior woman', 'maiden' - prepare the reader for Camilla, who is called 'an Amazon' with one side bared for battle.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Penthesilea
Accept 'the queen of the Amazons'. Do not accept Hippolyte (she did not fight at Troy) or Camilla.

Question 2

2 marks

Source A: Virgil, Aeneid 11.570-580

'There, among thickets and the rough lairs of wild beasts, Metabus fed his daughter on the milk of a mare from the herd, squeezing the wild udders into her tender lips. As soon as the baby had planted her first footsteps, he put a sharp javelin in her hands and hung a bow and quiver from her small shoulder. Instead of a golden clasp for her hair and a long trailing robe, a tiger's skin hung from her head down her back. Even then she was hurling a child's spears with her tender hand, whirling a smooth sling round her head, and bringing down cranes from the Strymon or white swans.'

From Source A, give two ways in which Camilla's upbringing was unusual for a girl.

Model answer

She was given a javelin, a bow and a quiver as soon as she could walk, and instead of a gold hair clasp and a long robe she wore a tiger's skin.

Explanation

Virgil sets Camilla's upbringing against what was normal for a girl: gold ornaments and the long palla are the signs of a respectable woman, but Camilla has weapons and an animal skin. Raised in exile in the wild by her father alone, she grows up a huntress devoted to Diana rather than a future wife.

Mark scheme

2 marks
Two ways from Source A, 1 mark each: she was brought up in the wild, among thickets and wild beasts' lairs (not in a house); she was fed on a mare's milk (not by a mother or nurse); she was given a javelin as soon as she could walk; she was given a bow and quiver; she wore a tiger's skin instead of a gold hair clasp and a long robe; she threw spears / hunted with a sling as a small child; she hunted cranes and swans.
Two different ways; max 2. 'Javelin' and 'bow and quiver' may be credited separately. Answers must come from Source A.

Question 3

3 marks

Source A: Virgil, Aeneid 11.768-777

'It happened that Chloreus, sacred to Cybele and once her priest, was gleaming far off, conspicuous in Phrygian armour. He was spurring on a foaming horse, covered with a hide of bronze scales overlapping like feathers and fastened with gold. He himself, splendid in deep foreign purple, was shooting Cretan arrows from a Lycian bow; golden was the bow on the seer's shoulder and golden his helmet; his saffron cloak, with its rustling linen folds, was gathered into a knot by a brooch of yellow gold, and his tunic and the trousers on his barbarian legs were embroidered with a needle.'

Why might Chloreus have attracted Camilla's attention? Make three points.

Model answer

Chloreus stood out from the whole battle, 'gleaming far off, conspicuous' in his armour. He was covered in gold - his horse's armour, his bow, his helmet and his brooch - and dressed in purple and saffron, so he offered the richest spoils on the field. Virgil goes on to say that Camilla wanted either Trojan armour to hang in a temple or captured gold to wear as a huntress, burning with 'a woman's love of plunder and spoils'.

Explanation

Virgil piles up the gold and bright colours of Chloreus' outfit to make him an irresistible target, and then blames Camilla's pursuit on a specifically 'female' love of finery. Her blind chase leaves her open to Arruns' spear, so the description is the turning point that leads to her death.

Mark scheme

3 marks
Three valid points, 1 mark each, supported by Source A or own knowledge: he was conspicuous / gleaming from far away; he was covered in gold (horse armour fastened with gold, golden bow and helmet, gold brooch), so he offered rich spoils; his purple, saffron and embroidered clothes were luxurious and valuable; his Trojan (Phrygian) armour could be hung up in a temple as a trophy (Virgil's first suggested reason); she might want to show herself off in captured gold as a huntress (Virgil's second reason); Virgil says she burned with 'a woman's love of plunder and spoils', so finery appealed to her; his foreign, showy, unmanly dress may have made him look an easy target.
Three different points; max 3. Credit Virgil's reasons from the lines that follow (11.778-782) as own knowledge.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Virgil, Aeneid 11.502-510 (Camilla speaks to Turnus before the battle)

'"Turnus, if the brave may rightly have confidence in themselves, I dare, and I promise, to meet the squadron of Aeneas' men and to ride out alone against the Etruscan cavalry. Let me try the first dangers of war with my own hand; you stay on foot by the walls and guard the city." ... Turnus replied: "Maiden, glory of Italy, what thanks can I find to speak or to repay you? But now, since your spirit rises above everything, share the labour with me."'

To what extent does Virgil present Camilla as a hero equal to the male warriors of the Aeneid? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A suggests that Camilla is the equal of any male warrior. She volunteers to face Aeneas' squadron and the Etruscan cavalry alone, and tells Turnus, the Italian leader, to stay by the walls. Turnus himself calls her 'glory of Italy' and asks her to share his command. In battle Virgil gives her a full aristeia, like a male hero: she exults in the slaughter, hurling javelins and wielding a double axe, and kills a long list of men. Over Ornytus she makes a boast just like a male epic hero, and the simile of the hawk tearing apart a dove shows her complete dominance over the son of Aunus. Her success is so great that the Etruscans flee and Tarchon has to shame them, and Arruns dares to attack her only by stalking her. Even dying she thinks of the battle, and the last line of her death is repeated for Turnus at the end of the poem, putting her on a level with him.

However, Virgil never lets us forget that she is a woman. Tarchon treats being routed by a woman as a disgrace, Arruns calls her a 'plague' and wants none of her spoils, and she is constantly called 'the maiden'. Above all, Virgil explains her death by 'a woman's love of plunder and spoils', which makes her flaw a female one - although male heroes such as Euryalus and Turnus are also ruined by spoils. She also fights on the losing side, against the ancestors of the Romans.

In conclusion, Camilla is presented as the equal of male heroes in courage, skill and glory, but not in status: her heroism is always seen as extraordinary for a woman, and her death is explained in terms of her sex.

Explanation

Strong answers balance the evidence of Camilla's heroic status (Turnus' praise, her aristeia, the echo with Turnus' death) against the ways her gender is stressed (Tarchon, Arruns, 'a woman's love of plunder'). Comparing her desire for spoils with Euryalus or Turnus shows the kind of critical analysis needed for Level 4.

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 Camilla in Aeneid 11.532-835, using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of the cultural context (Roman ideas of virtus and of women) and of possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how far she is presented as the equal of male heroes, 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 Camilla's heroism and its limits, 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 with little or no judgement.
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 - she volunteers to face Aeneas' men and the Etruscan cavalry alone and sends Turnus to guard the walls; Turnus calls her 'glory of Italy' and shares the command; in the battle she exults 'like an Amazon', with javelins, double axe and Diana's bow, and shoots even in retreat; Virgil addresses her - 'whom first, whom last, fierce maiden, do you bring down?'; she kills many, including Ornytus (with an epic boast over him), Orsilochus and Butes, and the son of Aunus (the hawk-and-dove simile); the Etruscans flee and Tarchon has to shame them; Arruns dares not face her openly but stalks her; her dying thoughts are of the battle (message to Turnus); the last line of her death is repeated for Turnus' death; Diana avenges her through Opis; but she is distracted by 'a woman's love of plunder and spoils' and killed from ambush; Tarchon treats defeat by a woman as a disgrace; Arruns calls her a 'plague' and refuses her spoils; she is constantly called 'maiden'; she fights against the Trojans and is fated to lose. AO2: in courage, skill and leadership (virtus) she matches or outshines the men, and Virgil gives her an aristeia and a hero's death, like Turnus or Pallas; male heroes also die through spoils (Euryalus, Turnus with Pallas' belt), so her flaw is heroic; but Virgil and his characters keep stressing her sex, and he labels her flaw as female, so she is equal in deeds but not in status; she is an exception, not a model for Roman women; a possible judgement: equal to the men in action, but always presented as a woman out of place.

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