NCEA Level 3 Classical Studies study guide
NCEA Level 3 Classical Studies · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
NCEA Level 3 Classical Studies is the third-year senior secondary course in the study of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, offered within the Social Sciences learning area of the New Zealand Curriculum and administered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). It is designed for learners in their final years of secondary schooling who want to engage with the literature, art, history, and ideas of the classical world, and for teachers delivering and assessing that subject. Assessment is both internal and external: internally assessed standards are marked in school, while external assessment takes the form of exams sat at the end of the year. NZQA publishes dedicated Level 3 achievement standards, past exams, exemplars, assessment schedules and reports, assessment specifications, internal exemplars, a national moderator's report, clarifications, and an internal conditions-of-assessment statement for the subject. Topics on this exam: Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The NCEA Level 3 Classical Studies study guide has 2 sections and about 660 words.
01Ancient Greece: Ideas, Values, and Significance
This section covers the Ancient Greece domain of NCEA Level 3 Classical Studies. The exam tests your ability to analyse how Greek texts, art, architecture and historical figures express ideas and values, and to explain their significance in context - not merely to describe what happened. Polis and citizenship: identity tied to city-state; Athenian democracy (ekklesia, boule, dikasteria) vs Spartan mixed constitution. Values: arete (excellence), kleos (fame/glory), timē (honour), xenia (guest-friendship), sophrosyne (self-control), hubris and nemesis.
323 words, about 2 min02Ancient Rome: Power, Values, and Propaganda
This section covers the Ancient Rome domain of NCEA Level 3 Classical Studies. The exam tests analysis of Roman ideas and values, the significance of individuals and works, and the lasting impact of Roman institutions - with evidence from texts, inscriptions, coins, art and architecture. Res publica and imperium: power shared among magistrates, Senate and assemblies; dictatorship and the principate changed the balance. Values: virtus (courage/moral excellence), pietas (duty to gods, family, state), fides (trust), gravitas (seriousness), dignitas, gloria; patronage and clientela.
337 words, about 2 min