LC Classical Studies case studies
LC Classical Studies · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Classical Studies for the Leaving Certificate is a subject that asks you to read, look at and argue about the Greek and Roman world directly - not to memorise a narrative textbook. It suits students who enjoy primary evidence: a passage of Homer or Virgil, a vase painting, a temple plan, a law-court speech, a coin. The LC Classical Studies case studies are 5 cases and about 3,547 words.
1The Coinage Decree and the Language of Empire
A transition-year class is preparing a 150-word panel for a local history festival on how Athens treated allied states in the fifth century BCE. The teacher gives them a translation of the Athenian Coinage Decree (IG I³ 1453).
755 words, about 4 min2The Well of Offerings
A museum education officer is redisplaying material from a well near a rural sanctuary. The assemblage, dated between the fourth and second centuries BCE, contains 27 terracotta figurines, 14 lamps, six lead curse tablets, and a small dedication to 'the nymphs.' The well was excavated in 1935; the only record is a label reading 'well, sanctuary area,' with no stratigraphy.
674 words, about 3 min3The Head in the Storeroom
A regional museum holds an unpublished marble head, 31 cm high, bought from a dealer in 1958. It has no recorded findspot.
742 words, about 4 min4Cutting the Chorus
A school is entering a 55-minute adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone in a drama festival. There are eight actors, no masks, modern dress, and a single set.
673 words, about 3 min5Two Socrates
A student is writing a 1,200-word essay on the question: 'Was Socrates a threat to Athenian democracy?' She has three sources: Plato's Apology, Aristophanes' Clouds, and Xenophon's Memorabilia. Her teacher warns her not to treat the Apology as a transcript.
703 words, about 4 min