Women and religion in Greece - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Women in the Ancient World) Exam Questions

Practise 33 exam-style questions on Women and religion in Greece 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.

33 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: Euripides, Bacchae 737-747. A messenger tells King Pentheus what the maenads did when herdsmen tried to capture them on Mount Kithairon.

'You would have seen one of them holding a fat young heifer, bellowing, torn apart in her hands, while others ripped the cows to pieces. You could have seen ribs and cloven hooves flung this way and that, and bloody pieces hanging, dripping, from the fir trees. Bulls that had been proud and quick to anger, lowering their horns, fell stumbling to the ground, dragged down by the countless hands of young women.'

What was the name for this tearing apart of a living creature by the followers of Dionysus?

Model answer

Sparagmos.

Explanation

Sparagmos, the tearing apart of an animal (or, in the Bacchae, of Pentheus himself) with bare hands, is the most extreme act of maenads in myth, often followed by omophagia, eating the raw flesh. It shows the god's power to give women superhuman strength. Real women's worship of Dionysus was probably far more controlled; the violence of the Bacchae belongs to myth and drama.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Sparagmos
Do not accept omophagia (eating raw flesh), oreibasia or 'frenzy'.

Question 2

2 marks

For the Panathenaia, Athenian women and girls made a new peplos (robe) for the ancient statue of Athena.

Name one group of women or girls who worked on the peplos, and state what scene was traditionally woven into it.

Model answer

The ergastinai, women from noble families, wove the peplos, with the young arrephoroi helping to begin the work. It traditionally showed the battle of the gods and giants (the Gigantomachy), with Athena fighting the giants.

Explanation

Weaving was the most important skill of an Athenian woman, and Athena was the goddess of weaving, so the peplos offered by the city was literally women's work honouring a female goddess. The Gigantomachy celebrated Athena's role in the gods' victory over the forces of chaos. The handing over of the peplos was probably the scene carved at the centre of the east frieze of the Parthenon.

Mark scheme

1 mark
The ergastinai / the arrephoroi
Accept 'women weavers chosen from noble families (ergastinai)'; 'the arrephoroi, who began the weaving'. Do not accept kanephoroi, priestesses alone, or maenads.
1 mark
The battle of the gods and giants (Gigantomachy)
Accept 'Athena fighting the giants'; 'Athena's victory over the giants'. Do not accept the birth of Athena, the contest with Poseidon or the Amazons.

Question 3

3 marks

Source A: Thucydides 6.56. Hipparchus, brother of the tyrant Hippias of Athens, has been rejected by the young Athenian Harmodius, and takes his revenge.

'They invited his sister, a young girl, to come and carry a basket in a procession, and then drove her away, saying that they had never invited her at all, because she was unworthy.'

Explain why this was such an insult to Harmodius and his family.

Model answer

Being chosen as a kanephoros, to carry the sacred basket at the head of a procession, was a great honour, given only to unmarried girls of good family and spotless reputation. To invite the girl and then drive her away as 'unworthy' publicly suggested that she was not a virgin or that her family was not respectable. This would damage her chances of a good marriage and shame Harmodius and his family in front of the whole city, which is why Harmodius and Aristogeiton went on to murder Hipparchus at the Panathenaia.

Explanation

The story shows how a girl's religious role was bound up with her family's honour: being chosen displayed her purity and status to the city, and rejection was a public slur. Thucydides makes the insult the immediate cause of the assassination of Hipparchus in 514 BC. Answers need to explain why the role mattered, not just say she was embarrassed.

Mark scheme

3 marks
Explanation of why the rejection was an insult: 1 mark for each valid point or development, max 3.
E.g.: carrying the basket (being a kanephoros) was a great honour for a girl and her family (1); kanephoroi had to be unmarried girls of good (noble) family and spotless reputation / virgins (1); calling her 'unworthy' implied she was not a virgin / not respectable, or that her family was not good enough (1); this damaged her reputation and so her chances of a good marriage (1); it was done publicly, in front of the whole city, humiliating the family (1); a girl's honour was her family's honour, so the men of the family were shamed (1); it led Harmodius and Aristogeiton to kill Hipparchus at the Panathenaia in 514 BC (own knowledge, credit as development) (1).

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Herodotus 6.66. In about 491 BC the Spartans were unsure whether King Demaratus was really the son of the previous king, Ariston, and agreed to ask the oracle at Delphi. Demaratus' rival, King Cleomenes, wanted him removed.

'Cleomenes won over Kobon son of Aristophantos, the most powerful man at Delphi, and Kobon persuaded the prophetess Perialla to say what Cleomenes wanted said. So when the envoys put their question, the Pythia ruled that Demaratus was not Ariston's son. Later, however, all this became known: Kobon fled from Delphi, and Perialla the prophetess was removed from her office.'

To what extent did priestesses such as the Pythia have real power and influence? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A shows how much the Pythia's words could matter: her ruling that Demaratus was not Ariston's son led to the removal of a Spartan king. Because Greeks believed the Pythia spoke for Apollo, cities and individuals consulted her on war, colonies and laws; the Athenians received the famous 'wooden walls' oracle before Salamis, and the Pythia chose the names of Cleisthenes' ten tribal heroes. Other priestesses also held real authority. The priestess of Athena Polias, from the Eteoboutadai, held office for life, and Herodotus tells how she ordered the Spartan king Cleomenes out of Athena's sanctuary as if he were any stranger; before Salamis she announced that the sacred snake had not eaten its honey-cake, which helped persuade Athenians to leave the city.

However, this influence had clear limits. It was religious, not political: no priestess could vote, speak in the Assembly or hold a magistracy. At Delphi, male priests interpreted the Pythia's words and put them into verse, and Plutarch says she was chosen precisely because she had no learning or skill, so she was valued as a passive vessel for the god rather than for her own judgement. Source A shows how vulnerable she was: a powerful man, Kobon, persuaded Perialla to give the answer Cleomenes wanted, and when this was discovered she was removed from office, while the real power lay with the men behind the bribe.

Overall, priestesses had real influence, because their words and actions were believed to come from the gods and could change the decisions of cities and kings. But it was influence rather than power: it depended on religious belief, worked within a system run by men, and could be manipulated, as the case of Perialla shows.

Explanation

High-level answers use Source A both ways: as evidence that the Pythia's words could topple a king, and as evidence that men could manipulate and remove her. They widen the discussion to other priestesses and distinguish religious authority from political power. Description of how the oracle worked, without judgement, stays 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 Pythia and other priestesses (such as the priestess of Athena Polias), 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 priestesses had real power and influence, 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 priestesses' power and a judgement.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): sound, mostly accurate knowledge; engages with the general topic of priestesses; 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 - the Pythia's ruling removed a Spartan king; Perialla was persuaded through Kobon, then deposed when it was discovered; the Pythia: an older local woman of blameless life, purified in the Castalian spring, on the tripod in the adyton, inspired by Apollo; consulted by cities and individuals on war, colonies and laws (e.g. Croesus; the 'wooden walls' oracle to Athens before Salamis; she chose the names of Cleisthenes' ten tribal heroes); her words interpreted and put into verse by male priests (prophetai); chosen for innocence and lack of learning (Plutarch); the priestess of Athena Polias from the Eteoboutadai, holding office for life (Lysimache for 64 years), who ordered Cleomenes out of the sanctuary (Herodotus 5.72) and whose announcements could shape public decisions (Herodotus says she reported that the sacred snake had not eaten its honey-cake before Salamis, which encouraged the evacuation of Athens); the priestess of Athena Nike paid a salary and perquisites. AO2: real influence - people believed the Pythia spoke for Apollo, so her words could change states' decisions and even a king's fate; priestesses held public office, honours and authority over sacred space. Limits - their authority was religious, not political (no vote or office in the Assembly); men controlled the oracle's administration and wording; Source A shows the Pythia could be manipulated by powerful men and removed; chosen as passive vessels, not for their own judgement. Judgement: e.g. priestesses had real influence because of religious belief, but it was channelled and controlled by men; Source A shows both the power of the Pythia's words and her vulnerability.

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