Cambridge Classics Interview Questions and Mock Interviews

Here is a description of a building, written for this page. A small stone temple in an ancient Mediterranean city stands on a low hill outside the walls. It has a porch with four columns at the front and one windowless room behind it, which holds a large statue. A stone altar stands in the open air in front of the steps, not inside the building. What does this layout suggest about how people used the temple and the space around it? What would you want to find out before you were sure?

In the Greek city-state of Athens, adult male citizens could speak and vote in the assembly, while women, enslaved people and foreigners living in the city could not. Should we call this system a democracy? Argue for a position, and say what the word has to mean for your argument to work.

The Latin word virtus is often translated into English as 'virtue'. It is linked to courage and manly excellence, and Romans used it of bravery in war. Is 'virtue' a good translation? Argue what would be gained or lost by using 'courage', 'excellence' or another English word instead.

A friend says: 'Studying the ancient Greeks and Romans is a poor use of time. Their societies relied on slavery and conquest, and they have nothing to say to us.' How would you respond? Argue for or against, and say what, if anything, we gain from studying people whose values we may reject.

A character in an invented dialogue says: 'No one does wrong on purpose. Anyone who really understood what was good would choose it, so people who do wrong are simply mistaken.' Another character replies: 'I have known people who understood perfectly well and did the wrong thing anyway.' Whose view is stronger? Consider what each speaker means by 'understand'.

Some historians argue that people in ancient Greek cities did not draw a clear line between religion and politics. A city paid for an annual festival for its protecting god, and its citizens took part together. Is it more helpful to call this a religious event, a political event or something else? Explain what each label would help you notice and what it would hide.

Suppose a modern novel retells an ancient story from the point of view of a character who is silent or barely mentioned in the ancient versions. Does a retelling like this help us understand the ancient story, or does it replace it with something else? Argue for a view, and say what you think it means to be faithful to an ancient story.

Imagine a stone found near a harbour, carrying this inscription, invented for this page: "The council and people have decided to honour Demetrios of Rhodes, a foreigner, who brought grain to the city in a hungry year: he shall have a front seat at the theatre and shall pay no harbour dues." What does this stone tell us, and what can it not tell us? What other evidence would you look for to understand what happened?

Excavators uncover a room in a house in an ancient town. Along one wall they find about thirty small clay weights in two neat rows on the floor, beside the burnt remains of a tall wooden frame. What might they conclude about the room, and what other explanations should they consider? What further finds or tests would help them choose between the explanations?

A city was damaged by a fire. A writer who lived there at the time says three streets burned. Another writer, working a century later from older books that are now lost, says half the city was destroyed. Which account should a historian trust more, and why? What other evidence could help settle the matter?

No surviving ancient text mentions a small shrine on a hillside that archaeologists have excavated. A student says: 'If no ancient writer noticed it, it cannot have mattered to anyone.' How would you respond? What can the silence of the texts show, and what can it not?

In the ruins of a Roman town, hundreds of lines of writing have been found scratched on walls in shops, bars and houses. A scholar argues that this proves most people in the town could read and write. What would you need to know before accepting the argument? Think about who might have written the lines, where they were written, and what they say.

Imagine that Rome had never expanded beyond the Italian peninsula. How might the Latin language and Latin literature look different from what we know? Which of your guesses are you most sure of, and which are you least sure of?

In Athens, many public officials were chosen by lot, much as jurors are today, but its generals were elected. Suppose Athens had chosen its generals by lot as well. What would you expect to happen in war and in politics? What would you need to know about the city before you felt confident?

Imagine a city in which a family's land passes only to sons. Now suppose the city changes its rules so that land is divided equally among all children, daughters included. What changes would you expect in marriage, in family wealth and in how the city is run? What sort of ancient evidence could test your guesses?

Many early epic poems were performed aloud to listeners, and they use repeated phrases, such as the same description each time a hero appears. Suppose instead that they had been composed for silent reading from the start. What features of the poems might have been different, and why?

Think of a book, article or podcast about the ancient world that you chose to read or listen to outside school. What was its main claim, and where, if anywhere, did you disagree?

Describe an ancient object, building or site that has stayed in your mind, whether you saw it in person or in a picture. What questions did it raise, and how could you start to answer them?

Tell me about a time when your view of a text, a person or a period from the ancient world changed. What changed it?

If you could spend a year studying one question about the ancient world, what would it be, and why? What would you look at first?