Women and religion in Rome: Vestals, the Flaminica, the Sibyl and women's cults - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Women in the Ancient World) Exam Questions

Practise 32 exam-style questions on Women and religion in Rome: Vestals, the Flaminica, the Sibyl and women's cults 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.

32 questions
1–8 marks each
Instant marking
No sign-up needed

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: Virgil, Aeneid 6.98-101

'With such words the Sibyl of Cumae sings her dreadful riddles from the shrine and booms out in the cave, wrapping truth in darkness: so X shakes the reins as she raves and twists the goads beneath her breast.'

Name the god X.

Model answer

Apollo.

Explanation

The Sibyl of Cumae was Apollo's priestess, and her prophecies came when the god possessed her. Virgil's image of Apollo shaking the reins and twisting the goads treats her like a horse being broken in, which suggests that her prophetic power comes from a male god who controls her.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Apollo
Accept Phoebus / Phoebus Apollo. Do not accept Jupiter, Diana or Trivia (Hecate).

Question 2

2 marks

When a girl became a Vestal Virgin she was freed from her father's potestas.

Explain what this meant and why it was unusual for a Roman woman.

Model answer

It meant that she was no longer under the legal power of her father as paterfamilias, so she could own property and make a will in her own name. This was unusual because nearly every Roman woman was under a man's control all her life - first her father, then a husband if she married with manus, or otherwise a guardian.

Explanation

Gellius says that as soon as a Vestal was taken into the Atrium of Vesta she left her father's power, without the usual legal ceremony of emancipation, and gained the right to make a will. Such independence was normally a man's (later, under Augustus, also available to free-born mothers of three children), which made it one of the clearest signs of the Vestals' special status.

Mark scheme

1 mark
What it meant: she was no longer under the legal power of her father as head of the family (paterfamilias), so she could own and manage property and make a will in her own right.
Accept 'she was legally independent of her father' or 'she could make a will / own property herself'.
1 mark
Why unusual: almost every Roman woman was under the legal control of a man all her life - her father (potestas), a husband (manus) or a guardian (tutor) - so very few women could act independently.
Accept a valid explanation, e.g. 'women normally needed a guardian's approval for business' or 'women passed from a father's power to a husband's'. Do not accept 'because Vestals were holy' with no reference to the normal position of women.

Question 3

3 marks

Source A: Livy, The History of Rome 28.11 (206 BC, during the war with Hannibal)

'But what frightened people far more than all the prodigies reported from abroad or seen at home was that the fire in the temple of Vesta had gone out. The Vestal who had been on watch that night was flogged on the orders of Publius Licinius, the pontifex. Although this had happened not because the gods were giving a sign but through human carelessness, it was still decided to sacrifice full-grown victims and to hold a day of prayer at the temple of Vesta.'

Explain why the Romans reacted so strongly when the fire of Vesta went out. Make three points.

Model answer

The fire of Vesta was the sacred hearth of the whole state, and Romans believed Rome's safety depended on it never going out, so its loss terrified them more than other prodigies. It suggested that the gods' goodwill had been lost, which was especially frightening in 206 BC in the middle of the war with Hannibal. It also meant that a Vestal had failed in her most important duty, so she was flogged and the gods had to be appeased with sacrifices and a day of prayer.

Explanation

Livy himself says the fire went out through human carelessness, yet the Romans still performed expiation, which shows how closely the Vestals' work was tied to the state's survival. Publius Licinius was Pontifex Maximus, who disciplined the Vestals: letting the fire go out was punished by a beating, breaking the vow of chastity by burial alive.

Mark scheme

3 marks
Three valid explanations, 1 mark each: the eternal flame was the sacred hearth of the whole city and stood for the life / safety / permanence of Rome, so its going out seemed to threaten Rome itself; it was taken as a sign that the pax deorum (peace with the gods) had broken down / the gods were angry; it happened during the war with Hannibal, when Romans already feared for the state's survival; tending the fire was the Vestals' most sacred duty, so its loss meant a priestess had failed the gods; the gods had to be appeased with expiation (full-grown victims, a day of prayer) to restore their favour; the fire was linked with Rome's origins (kept burning since the time of the kings), so its loss broke continuity with the past.
Three different points; max 3. The reactions in the source (flogging, sacrifices, day of prayer) gain credit only when used to explain the strength of feeling, not when simply listed.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 1.12

'As soon as a girl has been taken, led into the Atrium of Vesta and handed over to the pontiffs, she passes at once out of her father's power, without the ceremony of emancipation and without loss of her civil rights, and she gains the right to make a will. ... The word "take" is used because she is grasped by the hand of the Pontifex Maximus and led away from the parent in whose power she is, as if she had been captured in war.'

To what extent were the lives of the Vestal Virgins controlled by men? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A suggests strongly that men controlled the Vestals. The girl is 'taken' by the hand of the Pontifex Maximus and led away from her parent 'as if she had been captured in war', and she is handed over to the pontiffs, an all-male college. From my own knowledge she had no say in this: she was chosen at six to ten and had to remain a virgin for thirty years. The Pontifex Maximus disciplined her; Livy records a Vestal flogged on the orders of Publius Licinius when the fire went out in 206 BC. If she was suspected of unchastity the pontiffs tried her, and she was buried alive in the Campus Sceleratus, as Minucia was in 337 BC after being suspected merely because of her elegant dress.

On the other hand, Source A also shows that the Vestal left her father's power and gained the right to make a will, which most Roman women never had. She could own property and manage her affairs without a guardian, she had lictors, and she could pardon a condemned man she met by chance. The Vestals guarded sacred objects in the inner shrine of Vesta which men were not allowed to see, and their senior member, the Vestalis Maxima, led the college. They could even influence politics, as when they persuaded Sulla to spare the young Julius Caesar.

Overall, I think men controlled the framework of the Vestals' lives - how they were chosen, how long they served, their chastity and their punishments - because the state believed its safety depended on them. Within that framework, however, they had far more independence than other women. Their freedom from a father was really a transfer of control to the Pontifex Maximus and the state.

Explanation

The key to a high level is seeing that Source A cuts both ways: the Vestal is 'captured' by the chief priest, yet also freed from her father and allowed to make a will. Strong answers use specific cases (Minucia, the flogging of 206 BC, Opimia and Floronia) and weigh male control against the Vestals' legal and religious independence before reaching a 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 how Vestals were chosen, governed and punished and of their independence, using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of the cultural context and of possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how far men controlled the Vestals' lives, 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 male control and of the Vestals' independence, 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 - the girl is 'taken' by the hand of the Pontifex Maximus 'as if captured in war' and handed over to the pontiffs; but she leaves her father's power and gains the right to make a will; own knowledge - chosen aged 6-10 by the Pontifex Maximus from families meeting strict conditions; thirty years of compulsory chastity; flogged by the Pontifex Maximus for minor offences or for letting the fire go out (Livy 28.11); unchastity tried by the pontiffs and punished by burial alive in the Campus Sceleratus (Minucia, suspected because of her elegant dress; Opimia and Floronia after Cannae); their lovers were beaten to death; but the senior Vestal (Vestalis Maxima) led the college; they kept sacred objects such as the Palladium in the inner shrine that men could not see; they owned property and managed their own affairs without a guardian; lictors, the power to pardon a condemned man met by chance; political influence (pleading with Sulla for Caesar; Claudia in her father's triumph); free to leave after thirty years. AO2: men chose, disciplined, judged and punished them, and their bodies were policed because the state's safety was thought to depend on their virginity; Source A shows a transfer of power - from the father to the Pontifex Maximus and the state - rather than real freedom; yet within their sphere they had independence unusual for women and religious authority over sacred things men could not touch; their control was by the state and the gods rather than by an individual husband or father; a possible judgement: men controlled the framework of their lives, but within it the Vestals had more independence than other women.

Ready to try the rest? Every answer you write is marked against the mark scheme, so you can see exactly where the marks are.

AI Tutor Hints first, answers after you try

Hi! Stuck? Ask me for a hint and I’ll help you work it out. Once you’ve checked your answer I can explain exactly where the marks are.