CLASSICS
Why study the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome in the 21st century? What can we possibly learn from them?
The great Catholic historian Christopher Dawson once said that the man who has no real knowledge of any culture other than the one he finds himself living in 'almost inevitably tends to accept the standards and values of his own society as absolute.' Studying the great cultures of the past (including, of course, the Christian Culture of the last 2,000 years) is one way of broadening our understanding of the world in which we live now and, specifically, deepening our understanding of how we got to this point. It gives us a critical edge - a 'cultural hinterland', as it were - allowing us to absorb the wisdom and learn from the mistakes of the past, expanding our horizons beyond that which we see before us on a daily basis. It also fleshes out our historical studies and allows us to look in more depth at the people, ideas, achievements and mistakes of those whose cultures played such an important part in providing the structures from which our own civilisation grew.
With this in mind, the curriculum here follows a typical path of the study of Greek and Roman culture and civilisation, starting off with a very basic introduction to the great myths of these cultures, moving on to their history and finally studying their great works of literature. This complements the study of Latin and Greek, but could be studied simply for interest without the language study. It is actually possible to take Classics at A level without studying the Latin and Greek languages.
GCSE Since the educational reforms, GCSEs in Classical Civilisation and Ancient History are once again available to home educators. These are both very simple, straightforward exams offered by OCR. The Ancient History exam is a valid alternative to the more popular modern history GCSE, while the Classical Civilisation exam would suit a child who loves classical culture but does not have a facility with the Classical languages required for the Latin and Greek exams. See the OCR exam board site for details.
Overview by age
PRIMARY LEVEL
7-8 Aesop's fables; Greek myths (see selections)
8-9 Greek and Roman myths (see selections)
9-10 Hawthorne's Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales
10-11 Sutcliffe's Iliad and Odyssey
MIDDLE LEVEL
11-12 Secondary texts for general Roman and Greek history:
'Greeks and Romans' (Common Entrance Classical Civilisation textbook) or
'Famous Men of Rome' and 'Famous men of Greece' (Haaren) or
'The Story of the Romans' and 'The Story of the Greeks' (Guerber)
12-13 Secondary texts for specific Roman and Greek history:
Coolidge's Caesar's Gallic Wars; Household's Xenephon; Creasy's Marathon; Church's 'Story of the Persian War.'
(see also simplified versions of texts recommended in Teaching Literature section of Latin and Greek GCSE page)
SECONDARY LEVEL
13-14 ' In search of the Romans' and 'In search of the Greeks' by James Renshaw
Latin History from original sources : selections from Livy and Caesar in translation (could link to Latin GCSE)
Latin literature from original sources: selections from the Aeneid and various poets (could link to Latin GCSE)
OR Check specifications for Classical Civilisation resources (e.g, Myth and Religion or Class Civ Reader) and/or Ancient History GCSE resources (e.g. Rome or Greece) and teach accordingly
14-15
Greek History: selections from Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenephon, Plutarch (or link to Greek GCSE if taking)
Greek literature: selections from Iliad; Odyssey; Sophocles; Aeschylus (or link to Greek GCSE if taking)
Or see GCSE links for 13-14
15-16 Classical Civilisation or Ancient History if not taken
Why study the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome in the 21st century? What can we possibly learn from them?
The great Catholic historian Christopher Dawson once said that the man who has no real knowledge of any culture other than the one he finds himself living in 'almost inevitably tends to accept the standards and values of his own society as absolute.' Studying the great cultures of the past (including, of course, the Christian Culture of the last 2,000 years) is one way of broadening our understanding of the world in which we live now and, specifically, deepening our understanding of how we got to this point. It gives us a critical edge - a 'cultural hinterland', as it were - allowing us to absorb the wisdom and learn from the mistakes of the past, expanding our horizons beyond that which we see before us on a daily basis. It also fleshes out our historical studies and allows us to look in more depth at the people, ideas, achievements and mistakes of those whose cultures played such an important part in providing the structures from which our own civilisation grew.
With this in mind, the curriculum here follows a typical path of the study of Greek and Roman culture and civilisation, starting off with a very basic introduction to the great myths of these cultures, moving on to their history and finally studying their great works of literature. This complements the study of Latin and Greek, but could be studied simply for interest without the language study. It is actually possible to take Classics at A level without studying the Latin and Greek languages.
GCSE Since the educational reforms, GCSEs in Classical Civilisation and Ancient History are once again available to home educators. These are both very simple, straightforward exams offered by OCR. The Ancient History exam is a valid alternative to the more popular modern history GCSE, while the Classical Civilisation exam would suit a child who loves classical culture but does not have a facility with the Classical languages required for the Latin and Greek exams. See the OCR exam board site for details.
Overview by age
PRIMARY LEVEL
7-8 Aesop's fables; Greek myths (see selections)
8-9 Greek and Roman myths (see selections)
9-10 Hawthorne's Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales
10-11 Sutcliffe's Iliad and Odyssey
MIDDLE LEVEL
11-12 Secondary texts for general Roman and Greek history:
'Greeks and Romans' (Common Entrance Classical Civilisation textbook) or
'Famous Men of Rome' and 'Famous men of Greece' (Haaren) or
'The Story of the Romans' and 'The Story of the Greeks' (Guerber)
12-13 Secondary texts for specific Roman and Greek history:
Coolidge's Caesar's Gallic Wars; Household's Xenephon; Creasy's Marathon; Church's 'Story of the Persian War.'
(see also simplified versions of texts recommended in Teaching Literature section of Latin and Greek GCSE page)
SECONDARY LEVEL
13-14 ' In search of the Romans' and 'In search of the Greeks' by James Renshaw
Latin History from original sources : selections from Livy and Caesar in translation (could link to Latin GCSE)
Latin literature from original sources: selections from the Aeneid and various poets (could link to Latin GCSE)
OR Check specifications for Classical Civilisation resources (e.g, Myth and Religion or Class Civ Reader) and/or Ancient History GCSE resources (e.g. Rome or Greece) and teach accordingly
14-15
Greek History: selections from Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenephon, Plutarch (or link to Greek GCSE if taking)
Greek literature: selections from Iliad; Odyssey; Sophocles; Aeschylus (or link to Greek GCSE if taking)
Or see GCSE links for 13-14
15-16 Classical Civilisation or Ancient History if not taken