The civilisations of classical Greece and Rome are, in many respects, far removed from our own but are nevertheless highly relevant to contemporary culture.
You'll begin with the overall geography and history of the classical world to gain a framework in which you can situate the individual cultures and periods that you'll study in this module. It will also provide background knowledge for further modules in classical studies that you may wish to take in the future.
After this introduction, the module is organised historically, allowing you to study a range of different topics in chronological order, moving from Greece to Rome. However, it isn't simply a run through history, as you'll engage in depth with a selection of particularly interesting aspects of the classical world. The common theme running throughout the module is an exploration of what made different places and times culturally distinctive and how we can try to understand them so many years later. The module is divided into the following six sections:
Introduction
This will help you think about the methods that we can use to study the classical world and introduce you to the sources at our disposal. It will also let you familiarise yourself with key features of Greek and Roman geography and history.
Block 1: Homer and the Early Greek World
This block focuses on early Greek culture and society by looking at literary texts and material evidence from the period from around 800 to 500 BCE. You'll explore the epics that relate to the stories of the Trojan War, which are attributed to the poet Homer – the Iliad and the Odyssey – and other poetic texts from this period, as well as material culture exploring themes of heroes, gods, women and people who were not Greeks.
Block 2: Classical Athens
This block explores society and culture within Athens in the fifth century BCE. You will explore four major cultural products of the fifth century BCE: Aeschylus' tragedy, the Persians; the buildings on the Acropolis; Pericles’ Funeral Speech; and Aristophanes' comedy Lysistrata. These sources have a shared focus: the Athenians' understanding of their own identity as Athenians.
Block 3: The Roman Republic
This block examines Roman cultural identity, starting from Greek settlement in Italy to the expansion of the Roman Republic in Italy, the organisation of the Roman Republic, the reputations of members of the Roman elite and the city of Rome. Your work then explores four important figures from Roman history: Spartacus – the leader of a slave revolt; the poet Catullus; the orator Cicero; and the general Julius Caesar.
Block 4: Rome – City and People
This block turns to social history. You'll learn about the population of Rome, how it was organised socially, slavery, family life, and mass entertainment shows in the city of Rome. You'll work closely with ancient sources, including the letters of the Younger Pliny and of Cicero and inscriptions on tombstones.
Block 5: Revision and Retrospection
This block will help you to look back and pull together the threads that run through the module in preparation for the end-of-module assessment, which will be an extended essay.
As you go through the module, you will:
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
Module books, other printed material and a module website which includes:
Set books:
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
A229 is a compulsory module in our:
A229 is an option module in our:
Exploring the classical world starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2029.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
This is an OU level 2 module and builds on the OU level 1 modules Discovering the arts and humanities (A111) and either Cultures (A112) or Revolutions (A113). These OU level 1 modules develop skills such as logical thinking, clear expression, essay writing and the ability to select and interpret relevant materials. They also offer an introduction to a range of subjects in the arts and humanities. If you have not studied at university level before, you are strongly advised to study at OU level 1 before progressing to OU level 2 study.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
If you have not taken an OU level 1 module in the arts, you will find it useful to have The Arts Good Study Guide (E. Chambers and A. Northedge, The Open University), which will help you to develop your study skills.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying A229 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
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