Myth and Religion Study Guide for GCSE OCR Classical Civilisation

J199/11
3 activity types:
  1. Consolidation questions
  2. Source questions
  3. Independent research

Component Group 1: Thematic Study

In this wide-ranging and engaging study guide, students will encounter gods and heroes, witness the founding of great cities, recognise the power of myth, and explore the role of religion in the everyday lives of Greeks and Romans.

In-depth comparisons of Greek and Roman ideas are explored throughout.

Explains content and concepts clearly

J King, Head of Classics & Peer Reviewer

This easy-to-use pack covers all prescribed sources, and unseen sources such as an altar to Mars, an Athenian coin, Sophocles’ Antigone, and many more!

Prescribed Sources
Literary Sources Visual/Material Sources
  • The Homeric Hymns: Hymn to Demeter: lines 1–104, 301–474
  • The Homeric Hymns: Hymn to Heracles the Lion Hearted
  • Plutarch, The Parallel Lives: Comparison of Theseus and Romulus
  • Livy, The Early History of Rome, 1.0–1.1, 1.3.7–1.4, 1.6.3–1.7.3
  • Ovid, Metamorphoses 9: 1–272: Achelous and Hercules; Hercules and Nessus; The death of Hercules
  • Ovid, Metamorphoses 10: 1–64: Orpheus and Eurydice
  • Virgil, Aeneid, 8.154–279
  • The Temple of Zeus at Olympia
  • The Parthenon
  • The Bassae frieze
  • Theseus Kylix
  • The Pantheon, Rome
  • Temple of Fortuna Virilis (Portunus)
  • Augustus of Prima Porta statue
  • The Ara Pacis
Key exam requirements covered:
  • Understand literary and visual/material sources
  • Use source materials to understand social, historical and cultural contexts
  • Convey significance of these contexts through informed judgement
  • Understand possible interpretations from different audiences

Sources for success


GCSE-friendly notes and varied activities enable core skills development in the use of sources for the GCSE OCR Classical Civilisation ‘Thematic Study’ and ‘Literature and Culture’ components.

Students learn how to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the prescribed material and draw informed conclusions through examples and guidance.

After building confidence, students challenge themselves with independent research tasks, practice questions and unseen sources.

Comprehensive coverage of source types:
  • Literary
  • Visual/material
  • Prescribed
  • Unseen

What do teachers say about this resource? (11075)

An invaluable addition to a teacher’s library at a time when resources for this specification are scarce. It compliments perfectly the official textbook by Bloomsbury. I particularly like the clear explanations which do not assume the student has prior knowledge about the Ancient World. For example when introducing the gods, it is explained how different they are from the Christian God. It enhances learning by providing students with the knowledge that they need and the skills that they need in order to answer the source based questions. It matches very well the specification. As teachers will be aware, the current curriculum is far less based on knowledge of the Ancient World than it used to be. Students are required to know relatively little. Instead the assessment is about a student’s “skills” when it comes to evaluating sources. This technique of evaluating sources when a student has little or no knowledge may seem strange at first. But this is precisely where this resource comes to the fore. It gives the student the knowledge they require, then gives them ample practice and helpful advice on source evaluation questions.

S Tanner, Teacher of Classics & Peer Reviewer

A useful companion to the OCR textbook for the course... Written in plain English and explains content and concepts clearly.... It provides practice questions on some supplementary material not included in the textbook; this is useful... The Source questions are of the correct style for the OCR examination, and the answers will serve as useful models... Presentation and layout are clear and rational. This resource is easy to navigate. The text/image balance is good... This resource is aligned exactly with the OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation specification. The author understands the underpinning concepts exactly.

J King, Head of Classics & Peer Reviewer

It’s thorough, and generally explains well the subject matter of the module.

D OLaoire, Teacher & Peer Reviewer