OCR A-level Classical Civilisation · H408/11

The World of the Hero

50 revision questions with answers for H408/11 The World of the Hero in OCR A-level Classical Civilisation (spec H408). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
Iliad 1: why does Apollo send plague?
Answer:
Agamemnon dishonours his priest Chryses by refusing ransom for his daughter.
Question 2 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
What starts Achilles' quarrel with Agamemnon?
Answer:
Agamemnon takes Briseis as compensation for returning Chryseis. Achilles sees his publicly awarded honour being stripped away.
Question 3 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
How does Athena shape Achilles' choice in Book 1?
Answer:
She checks his impulse to draw his sword. He still chooses withdrawal, so divine intervention leaves room for human responsibility.
Question 4 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
How does Helen complicate blame in Iliad 3?
Answer:
She reproaches herself, but Priam attributes the war to the gods. Their disagreement invites sympathy without settling responsibility.
Question 5 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
Why does the duel in Book 3 fail to end the war?
Answer:
Aphrodite rescues Paris. In Book 4 Athena induces Pandarus to break the truce by shooting Menelaus.
Question 6 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
How does Hector's encounter with Astyanax affect the helmet's meaning?
Answer:
The helmet terrifies the child. Hector removes it to hold him, briefly setting aside the warrior's identity which also protects the family.
Question 7 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
What do Achilles' two fates reveal in Book 9?
Answer:
Remaining at Troy offers lasting glory and an early death. Returning home offers longer life at the cost of that glory.
Question 8 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
How does Book 10 vary heroic action?
Answer:
Odysseus and Diomedes use stealth and interrogation in a night raid. Success involves calculation and cooperation alongside violence.
Question 9 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
Why does Patroclus wear Achilles' armour in Book 16?
Answer:
It makes the Trojans think Achilles has returned. The deception helps drive them back but cannot give Patroclus Achilles' protection or power.
Question 10 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
Why is responsibility for Patroclus' death divided?
Answer:
Apollo disarms him, Euphorbus wounds him and Hector strikes the fatal blow. Divine intervention complicates Hector's claim to glory.
Question 11 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
What is at stake in the struggle over Patroclus in Book 17?
Answer:
Possession of the body determines whether his comrades can honour him in burial. Collective loyalty extends beyond a warrior's death.
Question 12 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
How does the shield in Book 18 enlarge the poem's perspective?
Answer:
Hephaestus depicts cities, law, conflict and agriculture. The shield carries a vision of social life into a battle that destroys it.
Question 13 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
Why does reconciliation in Book 19 leave the central loss unresolved?
Answer:
Agamemnon restores gifts and Achilles returns to battle, but compensation cannot bring Patroclus back.
Question 14 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
How does Athena deceive Hector in Book 22?
Answer:
She takes Deiphobus' appearance and offers support. Hector discovers his isolation when he calls for a second spear.
Question 15 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
Why do the funeral games in Book 23 matter?
Answer:
Competition returns among allies. Achilles negotiates prizes and disputes, exercising the social authority his withdrawal disrupted.
Question 16 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Iliad
How does Priam persuade Achilles in Book 24?
Answer:
He asks Achilles to remember his own father. Shared grief briefly outweighs enmity and makes the return of Hector's body possible.
Question 17 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
Odyssey 1: how do the suitors violate xenia?
Answer:
They consume an absent man's property and pressure his wife. The household's obligation to guests becomes an opportunity for exploitation.
Question 18 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
Why does Odysseus leave Calypso in Book 5?
Answer:
He longs for home and Penelope even though Calypso offers immortality. Mortality belongs to the identity he wants to recover.
Question 19 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
How does Odysseus approach Nausicaa in Book 6?
Answer:
He speaks from a distance rather than grasping her knees. His tact balances urgent need with the risk of frightening her.
Question 20 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
How does Phaeacian hospitality prepare the adventures?
Answer:
Reception, feasting and song precede Odysseus' extended account. His listeners influence how the hero presents himself.
Question 21 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
What makes Demodocus' performance in Book 8 significant?
Answer:
The audience enjoys stories of Troy while Odysseus weeps. Public heroic fame and the survivor's private experience diverge.
Question 22 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
Why is Nobody a successful trick in Book 9?
Answer:
The other Cyclopes hear that nobody is attacking Polyphemus and offer no help. Language compensates for Odysseus' lack of physical strength.
Question 23 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
Why does revealing his name undo part of Odysseus' success?
Answer:
Polyphemus can now name his enemy in a prayer to Poseidon. The claim to personal glory endangers the homecoming.
Question 24 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
How do the wind bag and Circe episodes test leadership?
Answer:
The crew's distrust ruins the first near-return. Against Circe, divine help and Odysseus' negotiation secure his companions' release.
Question 25 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
What does Achilles tell Odysseus in the underworld?
Answer:
He values life even in a humble position above rule among the dead. His judgement complicates heroic promises about glory.
Question 26 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
How do the Sirens and cattle episodes differ?
Answer:
Planning allows Odysseus to hear the Sirens safely. On Thrinacia the crew kill forbidden cattle, and the warning is fulfilled.
Question 27 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
Why does Athena disguise Odysseus after his landing?
Answer:
As a beggar he can gather intelligence, test loyalty and control when his identity becomes known.
Question 28 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
What changes when Telemachus recognises Odysseus in Book 16?
Answer:
Father and son can plan together. Recognition restores a family bond and establishes an alliance against the suitors.
Question 29 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
How does Eurycleia recognise Odysseus?
Answer:
The scar on his leg identifies him while she washes him. His body betrays what his stories can conceal.
Question 30 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
What does Penelope's bow contest test?
Answer:
Stringing Odysseus' bow and shooting through the axes tests strength and skill. His success converts the contest into the opening of vengeance.
Question 31 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Odyssey
Why does the bed test work in Book 23?
Answer:
Odysseus objects to moving a bed built around a living olive tree. Shared knowledge establishes his identity and the marriage's continuity.
Question 32 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
Aeneid 1: how does Jupiter's prophecy frame the action?
Answer:
It promises Roman power extending into the future. Readers can compare the promised outcome with the hardships experienced by individual characters.
Question 33 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How does the storm introduce Aeneas as leader?
Answer:
He privately fears death but encourages the survivors. Leadership demands a public confidence different from his private feelings.
Question 34 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
Why does Aeneas narrate Troy's fall in Book 2?
Answer:
Dido asks for his story. His first-person account turns an account of victory into the testimony of a defeated survivor.
Question 35 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How does Sinon manipulate the Trojans?
Answer:
His story exploits pity, fear of the gods and hostility to the Greeks. Persuasive speech helps bring the horse inside Troy.
Question 36 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
What does Aeneas carry out of Troy?
Answer:
He carries Anchises, leads Ascanius and entrusts sacred objects to his father. The escape binds family continuity to religious duty.
Question 37 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
Why is Dido's understanding of the cave episode contested?
Answer:
She treats the union as marriage. Aeneas later denies making a marriage agreement. The narrator's ominous framing deepens the conflict.
Question 38 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How does Mercury redirect Aeneas in Book 4?
Answer:
He recalls Jupiter's command and Ascanius' future. Departure serves obligations that conflict with Dido's immediate claims.
Question 39 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
What does Dido's curse add to the poem?
Answer:
A queen's personal suffering becomes an origin story for hostility between Rome and Carthage.
Question 40 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
Why is the meeting with Dido in Book 6 painful?
Answer:
Aeneas offers an explanation but she turns away. His eventual success cannot secure reconciliation with everyone harmed by it.
Question 41 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
What purpose does Anchises' parade of souls serve?
Answer:
Future Romans give Aeneas' journey a historical purpose. The lament for the young Marcellus sets loss alongside national achievement.
Question 42 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How does Juno reopen conflict in Book 7?
Answer:
She enlists Allecto to inflame opposition to the Trojan settlement. Fate fixes an outcome but leaves the route to it violent.
Question 43 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How does Evander change the reader's view of Rome's site?
Answer:
Aeneas encounters modest settlements and sacred places where readers know monumental Rome will stand.
Question 44 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
What distinguishes Aeneas' shield from Achilles' shield?
Answer:
Its scenes centre on Rome's future, especially Actium. Aeneas carries a history whose significance the Roman audience understands more fully than he does.
Question 45 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How does the Nisus and Euryalus episode test heroism?
Answer:
Devotion and courage drive the raid, but pursuit of spoils contributes to discovery. Admiration coexists with criticism of rashness.
Question 46 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
Why is the belt taken from Pallas important?
Answer:
Turnus wears his victim's belt. Recognising it later reignites Aeneas' anger just as he considers sparing Turnus.
Question 47 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How does Mezentius' grief complicate his portrayal?
Answer:
His love for Lausus gives the brutal warrior a recognisable vulnerability. Sympathy does not erase his previous cruelty.
Question 48 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
Why does Camilla's death matter in Book 11?
Answer:
Her martial excellence challenges gender expectations, while her distraction and ambush expose the vulnerability of even an exceptional warrior.
Question 49 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
What does Juno obtain in her settlement with Jupiter?
Answer:
The future people will retain the Latin name and customs. Victory involves cultural accommodation as well as conquest.
Question 50 · Spec pp. 8–14 · Aeneid
How can the ending support opposed readings of Aeneas?
Answer:
Killing Turnus fulfils vengeance for Pallas and obligations to Evander. The surge of anger and denial of mercy also recall the destructive fury the poem explores.

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