JC Classics study guide

JC Classics · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

JC Classics is a multiple-choice examination in classical studies, aimed at candidates who have studied Greek and Roman civilisation at a pre-university or early undergraduate level and want an external, structured way to demonstrate that knowledge. It suits students preparing for university classics courses, teachers refreshing subject breadth, and independent readers of Homer, Sophocles, Thucydides and Plato who want their understanding tested against a syllabus rather than their own reading list. The JC Classics study guide has 7 sections and about 1,714 words.

Classical Mythology and Legend

Classical Mythology and Legend examines how Greek and Roman myths were told, varied, and used. The exam tests your ability to identify sources, compare variants, and explain myth's social, religious, and political functions rather than to retell a single canonical story.

263 words, about 1 min 02

Greek and Roman Epic

Greek and Roman Epic tests close reading of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid, with Apollonius and Hesiod as context. Expect questions on oral composition, narrative technique, heroism, divine intervention, and intertextuality.

254 words, about 1 min 03

Greek Tragedy and Comedy

Greek Tragedy and Comedy examines Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes as performance texts. The exam tests dramatic structure, conventions, character, chorus, and the critical vocabulary of Aristotle's Poetics.

229 words, about 1 min 04

Classical History and Historiography

Classical History and Historiography tests how ancient writers constructed accounts of the past. Core authors include Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Livy, and Tacitus.

233 words, about 1 min 05

Classical Philosophy and Rhetoric

Classical Philosophy and Rhetoric tests argument, doctrine, and method in Presocratic, Platonic, Aristotelian, and rhetorical texts. Expect close reading of dialogues and rhetorical handbooks.

238 words, about 1 min 06

Classical Art, Archaeology, and Material Culture

Classical Art, Archaeology, and Material Culture tests visual analysis and contextual interpretation: Greek vases, sculpture, architecture, Roman art, coins, inscriptions, and excavated sites. You must connect form, function, dating, and social meaning.

238 words, about 1 min 07

Classical Languages and Transmission of Texts

Classical Languages and Transmission of Texts tests Greek and Latin language skills alongside how texts reached us: papyri, manuscripts, textual criticism, and translation. Expect questions on dialect, grammar, and the editorial process.

259 words, about 1 min