NCEA Level 3 Classical Studies cheat sheet

Athenian democracy (5th century BCE): key institutions were the Ekklesia (assembly of all male citizens), the Boule (Council of 500, chosen by lot), and the Heliaia (law courts with large juries).

Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE): caused by Spartan fear of Athenian growth; ended with Athens' surrender after the defeat at Aegospotami (405 BCE) and siege.

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: epic poems in dactylic hexameter, likely composed in the 8th century BCE; central themes include kleos (glory), timē (honour), and xenia (guest-host friendship).

Greek tragedy structure: prologos, parodos, episodes, stasima, and exodos. The three great tragedians are Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Delian League: formed in 478 BCE as a naval alliance against Persia; Athens transformed it into an empire by forcing members to pay tribute and using the funds for its own projects.

Spartan society: governed by two kings, a council of elders (gerousia), and an assembly (apella); male citizens underwent the agoge, a state education focused on military discipline.

Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE): tutored by Aristotle; conquered the Persian Empire; his campaigns spread Greek culture (Hellenization) across the Near East.

Greek religion: the Twelve Olympians were anthropomorphic gods; Delphic oracle at Delphi was consulted for divine guidance; festivals like the Panathenaia included sacrifices and athletic contests.

Roman Republic (509–27 BCE): governed by two consuls (elected annually), a Senate (advisory council of ex-magistrates), and popular assemblies (Centuriate and Tribal).

Struggle of the Orders (5th–3rd centuries BCE): conflict between patricians and plebeians led to the creation of the tribunes of the plebs and the Twelve Tables (c. 450 BCE).

Punic Wars (264–146 BCE): three wars against Carthage; key figures include Hannibal (Carthaginian general) and Scipio Africanus; ended with Carthage's destruction in 146 BCE.

Julius Caesar: member of the First Triumvirate (with Pompey and Crassus); crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE, became dictator perpetuo, and was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BCE.

Augustus (Octavian): defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium (31 BCE); became princeps in 27 BCE; established the Principate, maintaining republican forms while holding real power.

Roman engineering: aqueducts (e.g., Pont du Gard), roads (Via Appia), concrete (opus caementicium), and the arch enabled large-scale infrastructure and urbanisation.

Roman literature: Virgil's Aeneid (epic linking Rome's founding to Trojan Aeneas), Ovid's Metamorphoses, and Cicero's speeches and letters are central texts for study.

Roman religion: state cult with pontifex maximus; adoption of Greek gods (e.g., Jupiter=Zeus, Juno=Hera); imperial cult became a unifying force in the provinces.