#classics a level

There was a race where they’d jump off of a chariot and throw a spear at a target and then jump back on the chariot again, which mirrors what combat would have been like as described in The Iliad.

The relay race was to show how quick they could pass a message from the docks to the centre of the city

During the greater Panathanaia (every four years) they invited other Greek city states and basically used it as a way to show off politically and kind of be like ‘look how strong we are, don’t start a war with us’

Also, in September next year i will (hopefully) be starting university! For an undergrad degree in classics. So I might post about that too.

Omg hiii! I really enjoyed it!

We do Iliad and Aeneid, I felt like the 10 mark comparison question on admirable women was more suited to the Odyssey than the Iliad? More to say on Penelope being admirable than Andromache I think, but either way that question sucked for the Aeneid. I had to argue that Lavinia isn’t admirable to modern audiences because she has no personal qualities, but her not speaking might have made her admirable to men in Ancient Rome…

But overall, I can’t complain! Basically a whole paper on women with a 30 mark question about Achilles? I was truly blessed by the gods and the examiners!

For the Iliad 20 marker on importance of wives in Iliadic society I talked about how wives have important roles in Troy as they handle domestic stuff, but that they have no importance in the Greek camp because they’re entirely absent, and slaves take their roles there. I also argued that sometimes they don’t need women at all because the men get on perfectly fine with things like lamentation. I think I said Achilles mourns Patroclus as if he were a wife. Lmao!

The Aeneid 20 marker was also really fun! Gotta love getting to slander Aeneas. I talked about his awful track record with women, how he succumbs to furor whereas Turnus can be more reasonable, and that Lavinia actually knows and has a relationship with Turnus whereas Aeneas is just a stranger who invaded her home.

As mentioned I picked the Iliad 30 marker. Managed to get my scholars in which was good, I talked about instances throughout where he doesn’t seem to care about anyone, a specific paragraph on him asking Patrcolus to win glory for him instead of Patroclus getting glory for himself, and how he doesn’t seem to care much for Briseis’s feelings and is only concerned for her as his prize.

But then I talked about the care he shows Phoenix during the embassy and the fact he called the assembly in Book 1 as instances that he does show concern for things. I also did a paragraph on his obvious concern for Patroclus after his death through avenging him, the mourning and the funeral games, and said that Aeneas stops having any concern for himself at that point.

So basically, I liked it! I also actually did like the extracts for the 10 markers, I found both of them pretty easy though I think I was losing the plot trying to word my thoughts for the Aeneid one.