EuraStudy
IESubject guide
Leaving Certificate Classical Studies (NCCA specification), taught and examined in English, Higher and Ordinary Level, with the SEC examination.
Overview
Leaving Certificate Classical Studies (NCCA specification), taught and examined in English, Higher and Ordinary Level, with the SEC examination.
Complete topic map
Every topic recorded for this subject in the curriculum is reproduced below in its full hierarchy. The descriptions reflect the mapped scope without implying additional exam rules.
Strand 1 (The World of Heroes): Homer's Odyssey studied in translation — Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War, the concept of the epic hero, hospitality (xenia), divine intervention, the portrayal of women, and the underworld journey of Book 11. Higher Level considers whether the poem can be read as an anti-war text.
Strand 1 (The World of Heroes): Virgil's Aeneid (with emphasis on Books 1-6) in translation — the voyage and destiny of Aeneas, the founding myth of Rome, pietas and Roman values, the tragedy of Dido, and the underworld of Book 6. Higher Level critically examines the poem as Augustan propaganda.
Strand 2 (Drama and Spectacle): a prescribed Greek tragedy studied in its theatrical and civic context — the conventions of Greek drama (chorus, masks, the Theatre of Dionysus), the role of drama in Athenian democracy, and the play's themes and characters. The set play rotates by examination year.
Strand 2 (Drama and Spectacle): the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus as centres of Roman public life — gladiatorial games and chariot racing, the architecture and capacity of both venues, and what mass spectacle reveals about Roman imperial identity and power.
Strand 3 (Power and Identity): the reign of Alexander (336-323 BC) through ancient sources — Arrian's Anabasis and Plutarch's Life of Alexander. Students assess source bias, the construction of Alexander's identity through propaganda, his treatment of enemies, and his empire-building.
Strand 3 (Power and Identity): the career of Julius Caesar through Caesar's own Gallic Wars (selected passages) and Plutarch's Life of Caesar. Students analyse Caesar's self-presentation, the reliability of a participant's account and the nature of Roman imperialism.
Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): the major gods of Greece and Rome — their personalities, attributes and representation in art and literature — and key myths. Students learn to identify the Olympians by their attributes and stories.
Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): Greek and Roman religious practice — ritual, sacrifice and worship — and a close study of temple architecture such as the Parthenon. Examines how sacred space and ritual expressed the relationship between gods and humans.
Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): Greek and Roman funerary customs — the laying-out (prosthesis), the funeral procession, and cremation versus burial — and what these reveal about beliefs in the afterlife, connecting material and ritual practice to ideas about death.
Strand 4 (Gods and Humans): philosophical perspectives on how to live and how to face death, through Plato's Crito (Socrates on justice, law and death) and selected odes of Horace (Epicurean and Stoic attitudes to mortality and pleasure).
Where this subject applies
These pathways and regions are explicitly connected to the subject in the curriculum.
Higher Level
Higher Level — the more demanding level, with broader and deeper content and the H1–H8 grade scale.
Ordinary Level
Ordinary Level — the foundational level covering the core of the syllabus, graded O1–O8.
Official sources
The public sources below are referenced directly by this subject or by one of its topics.
This editorial selection points to the relevant official bodies. Always confirm current requirements, dates and exceptional arrangements with your school and the responsible authority.
2
Public references
IE · EuraStudy Guides
Open the curriculum guide to see every subject and topic, or continue to EuraStudy to begin working with the material.