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Tutorial Course

GCSE Latin — Themes: Come Dine with Me!

Led by Quintus Horatius Flaccus Simulacrum

5 modules 5 modules · ~8 hours Classics Updated 2 days ago

Five tutorials on the 2027-2029 WJEC Eduqas GCSE Latin Component 2 theme "Come Dine with Me!" — a selection of Latin texts and sources on food and dining in the Roman world — hosted by Horace with guest appearances from Catullus (dinner-invitation poetry) and Pliny the Elder (the natural history of food), with closing modules on source materials and the extended evaluative response.

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The Roman Dinner: *C…1Horace on the Preten…2Catullus and the Poe…3Pliny the Elder on F…4Source Materials and…5
  1. Module 1 ○ Open

    The Roman Dinner: *Cena*, *Triclinium*, *Convivium*

    Led by Quintus Horatius Flaccus Simulacrum

    The question

    What was the social and architectural shape of a Roman dinner, and why did it carry such cultural weight?

    Outcome

    The student has a clear picture of the social and architectural shape of a Roman dinner, can describe the *triclinium* and the roles within it, and understands the cultural weight the *convivium* carried in Roman life. (WJEC Component 2 · theme context)

  2. Module 2 ○ Open

    Horace on the Pretentious Dinner (Satires 2.8)

    Led by Quintus Horatius Flaccus Simulacrum

    The question

    The most famous Latin poem on dining is Horace's parody of the dinner given by Nasidienus. What is Horace satirising, and what does it tell us about Roman dining culture?

    Outcome

    The student can describe the narrative of *Satires* 2.8, identify Horace's satirical targets in dining culture, and recognise his conversational hexameter register in Latin passages. (WJEC Component 2 · Horace passages)

  3. Module 3 ○ Open

    Catullus and the Poetry of Invitation

    Led by Gaius Valerius Catullus Simulacrum

    The question

    Catullus 13 is the canonical Latin dinner-invitation poem. What does it do, and what does it tell us about the conventions and expectations of the *convivium*?

    Outcome

    The student can describe the argument and form of Catullus 13, recognise the invitation-poem genre as a Roman literary convention, and read Catullan Latin with attention to its urbane register. (WJEC Component 2 · Catullus passages)

  4. Module 4 ○ Open

    Pliny the Elder on Food and Natural History

    Led by Pliny the Elder Simulacrum

    The question

    The Roman world fed itself from an empire-wide food system. How does Pliny the Elder's *Natural History* document that system, and what can it tell us about Roman eating?

    Outcome

    The student can describe Pliny's *Natural History* and its evidentiary value for Roman dining, recognise his technical prose style, and use him alongside more literary sources for a rounded view of Roman food culture. (WJEC Component 2 · Pliny the Elder passages)

  5. Module 5 ○ Open

    Source Materials and the Extended Response

    Led by Quintus Horatius Flaccus Simulacrum

    The question

    The exam uses images and material evidence alongside the Latin texts — mosaics, frescoes, carbonised remains from Pompeii and Herculaneum, tableware. How do you read this material evidence, and how do you construct the extended evaluative response?

    Outcome

    The student can analyse Roman dining source materials rhetorically, synthesise textual and material evidence on a theme question, and construct an extended evaluative response that meets the mark scheme's requirements.