On Tuesday, the L6 Classical Civilisation pupils visited Oxford as a complement to their AS studies. The morning started with a tour of the Cast Gallery of the
Ashmolean Museum, led by Dr Julia Leneghan. They had the opportunity to appreciate the sculptures they had been studying all year in the round: what a difference this makes from studying them from photos! They discussed the size, use of colour, and stylistic choices made by the sculptors over 200 years and did very well with guessing the chronology of sculptures that were outside the syllabus.
This was followed by a visit to Dr William Allan at University College, where they discussed the Iliad. The
conversation ranged from questioning the role of fate, to whether we should read the Iliad from a feminist point of view and beyond this to the role of women in Homeric Greece and who comes closest to being the perfect hero.
The day enlivened the course they have been studying and inspired much debate and personal evaluation.
Miss Athina Mitropoulos
Head of Classical Civilisation
