Roman City Life — GCSE Classical Civilisation

Section A Culture
1.0
Overview
What the Culture half covers, and how Romans lived in the city.
1.1
The Insula
The design of apartment blocks and who lived in them (site: Insula of Diana, Ostia).
1.2
The Atrium Domus
The layout of a typical Pompeian house (site: House of Menander, Pompeii).
1.3
Decoration
Frescoes and mosaics in the home (site: House of Octavius Quartio, Pompeii).
1.4
Living Conditions of Rich and Poor
The evidence and the contrast (site: House of the Wooden Partition, Herculaneum).
2.0
Overview
The Roman household and its hierarchy.
2.1
The Paterfamilias
His rights and duties over the household.
2.2
Patrons and Clients
The bonds of obligation in Roman life.
2.3
Educating Children
The litterator, grammaticus and rhetor, and what was taught at each stage.
2.4
School Equipment and Purpose
The stilus, wax tablet and papyrus, and preparing the young for society.
2.5
The Dinner Party
The organisation, guests, entertainment and purpose of the cena.
3.0
Overview
The layers of Roman city society.
3.1
Citizens and Citizenship
Who counted as a citizen and what it meant.
3.2
Senators and Equites
Property, privilege, duties and roles.
3.3
Slaves
Becoming a slave, the legal position, and the work they did.
3.4
Freedmen and Freedwomen
Gaining freedom and the limits placed on it (source: Tomb of Naevoleia Tyche and its inscription, Pompeii).
4.0
Overview
How Romans spent their leisure.
4.1
The Amphitheatre and the Games
Design, shows, sponsorship and the crowd (site: the Colosseum, Rome).
4.2
Gladiators
Their status, training and types.
4.3
The Chariot Races
The Circus Maximus, the teams and the charioteers (site: the Circus Maximus, Rome).
4.4
The Theatre
Buildings, comedy and its stock characters, mime, pantomime and the actors (site: the large theatre, Pompeii).
4.5
The Baths
Why Romans used them, the design and the activities, including the palaestra (site: Central (Forum) Baths, Herculaneum).
Section B Literature Horace, Juvenal, Petronius & Pliny
5.0
Overview
How to read this half and what it asks of you.
5.1
The Genres
Satire, fiction and the literary letter.
5.2
The Origins and Purposes of Satire
What satire was for.
5.3
Techniques Across the Authors
Narrative method, humour and exaggeration.
6.0
Overview
Who Horace was and the set Satires.
6.1
Horace as the Smiling Satirist
His gentler, self-aware voice.
6.2
Satire 2.2
The case for plain living and a simple table.
6.3
Satire 2.6
The town mouse and the country mouse, and city against country.
6.4
Satire 2.8
The disastrous dinner of Nasidienus.
6.5
Horace's Themes and Techniques
Self-mockery and the examples he chooses.
7.0
Overview
Who Juvenal was and the set passage.
7.1
Juvenal as the Angry Satirist
His savage indignation.
7.2
Satire 3: Umbricius
Why he is leaving Rome.
7.3
The Hazards of the City
Fire, collapse, crime and the dangers of the night.
7.4
Juvenal's Themes and Techniques
Exaggeration, vivid detail and the speaker's bias.
8.0
Overview
Petronius, the Satyricon and the Cena Trimalchionis.
8.1
The Nature and Purpose of the Satyricon
Fiction, satire and excess.
8.2
Arriving at the House
The entrance, the guard dog and the first courses (29 to 33).
8.3
Trimalchio the Host
Fortunata, his wealth and his household (37 to 38).
8.4
The Dishes and the Show
The roast pig and the cook (49 to 50).
8.5
Trimalchio as the Freedman Made Good
Wealth, vulgarity and self-display.
9.0
Overview
Pliny, his letters and the world they open.
9.1
The Letters as a Window on Roman Life
Personal commentary on the everyday.
9.2
The Set Letters and Their Subjects
City and country leisure, the mean host, a master killed by his slaves, his wife Calpurnia, his sick freedman Zosimus and the chariot races.
9.3
Pliny's Language and Purpose
How he writes and why.
9.4
The Image Pliny Projects
His position in society and the self he presents.
10.0
Overview
Drawing the authors together for the exam.
10.1
Experiencing the City
The dangers, and life for rich and poor.
10.2
Leisure, Food and Dinner Parties
How the authors depict Roman pleasures.
10.3
Slaves and Masters
The relationship across the texts.
10.4
Patrons and Clients
Obligation and dependence in the literature.
10.5
Women and Men
How relationships between them are portrayed.
10.6
The Authors Compared
Horace, Juvenal, Petronius and Pliny side by side.
10.7
Exam Technique
The Literature section, the prescribed extracts and the longer responses.