Ancient Greece & Rome

Locate Greece and Italy on a map and know they are countries around the Mediterranean Sea where two great ancient civilisations — Ancient Greece and Ancient…

Know that Roman soldiers marched across a huge empire building straight roads and strong walls, and that some Roman roads, walls, and buildings can still be…

Know the Roman founding myth of Romulus and Remus — twin brothers abandoned as babies, raised by a she-wolf, who grew up to found the city of Rome — and…

Know that the ancient Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus — including Zeus (king of the gods, thunder), Athena (wisdom)…

Compare how children in ancient Greece or Rome lived with how children live today — including differences in school (writing on wax tablets, learning to fight…

Retell at least one Greek myth involving a hero and a monster — such as Theseus and the Minotaur in the labyrinth, Heracles (Hercules) and the lion, or Perseus…

Know that the Olympic Games began in ancient Greece at a place called Olympia as athletic competitions held in honour of Zeus, and that the modern Olympic Games…

Describe how the Roman army was organised into legions of highly trained soldiers, how Julius Caesar first raided Britain in 55 BC and Emperor Claudius later…

Describe daily life in a Roman town — the forum (marketplace and meeting place), public baths, amphitheatre, and villas — and explain that the Romans were…

Compare Athens and Sparta as two very different Greek city-states: Athens focused on learning, arts, debate, and democracy, while Sparta focused on military…

Name the major Greek gods and their roles — Zeus (king, thunder), Hera (queen, marriage), Athena (wisdom, warfare), Poseidon (sea), Apollo (sun, music), Artemis…

Understand that Athens invented democracy — a system where free male citizens gathered in an Assembly to debate and vote on important decisions for the city…

Understand that the Romans adopted the Greek gods but gave them new names — Zeus became Jupiter, Hera became Juno, Ares became Mars, Athena became Minerva…

Know that the ancient Greeks invented theatre, performing tragedies and comedies in large open-air amphitheatres with actors wearing masks — and that plays were…

Know that Romans watched gladiators fight in huge arenas like the Colosseum in Rome, that gladiators were usually enslaved people or prisoners trained to fight…

Describe the battles of Marathon and Thermopylae as moments when Greek city-states united against the invading Persian Empire — the runner Pheidippides bringing…

Tell the story of Boudicca, queen of the Iceni tribe, who led a fierce revolt against Roman rule in Britain — burning Colchester, London, and St Albans — before…

Evaluate the lasting contributions of Greek and Roman civilisations to modern life — democracy, law, language (Latin roots), architecture (columns, arches…

Understand that historians and archaeologists piece together ancient Greek and Roman life from evidence — pottery paintings, coins, inscriptions, ruins like…

Understand that Roman law became the basis for legal systems across Europe and beyond, that Latin is the root of French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and…

Explain how Rome was first governed as a republic — with elected consuls, a powerful Senate, and a distinction between patricians and plebeians — before…

Identify Greek column styles — Doric (plain and sturdy), Ionic (scroll-shaped capitals), and Corinthian (ornate leafy capitals) — and Roman architectural…

Describe how Alexander the Great of Macedon conquered a vast empire stretching from Greece to Egypt to India, spreading Greek language, culture, and ideas…

Describe how the Western Roman Empire gradually declined due to a combination of factors — military pressure from invading peoples, political instability…

Know that Greek thinkers called philosophers developed ways of understanding the world that still influence us today — Socrates asked challenging questions to…

Examine the lives of people usually left out of the Greek and Roman story — enslaved people who made up roughly 30% of Athens and powered Rome's economy, women…

Explore how Heinrich Schliemann's excavation at Hisarlik in modern Turkey raised questions about whether the Trojan War described in Homer's Iliad was…

Analyse who was included and excluded from Athenian democracy — only free adult male citizens (roughly 30% of adults) could participate, while women, enslaved…

Trace how Roman political violence — the murder of the Gracchi brothers, civil wars between Marius and Sulla, Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon and assassination…