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Subjects · Leaving Cert Classical Studies

Leaving Cert Classical Studies: Afterlife & the Underworld

How often Afterlife & the Underworld comes up on the Classical Studies papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 2 of the last 3 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

OL Asked on 1 of the last 3 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025.

Afterlife & the Underworld, Higher Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Afterlife & the Underworld.

(a)How does the Sibyl get Aeneas past Cerberus?
  1. She plays music to him
  2. She throws him a drugged honey-cake
  3. Aeneas strikes him with the golden bough
(b)In Odyssey 11, what must the ghosts do before they can speak?
  1. Cross the river Styx with Charon
  2. Touch the blade of Odysseus' sword
  3. Drink the blood of the sacrifice
(c)From which river do souls drink before rebirth in Aeneid 6?
  1. Lethe
  2. Acheron
  3. Styx
Show the answers

(a) She throws him a drugged honey-cake

(b) Drink the blood of the sacrifice

(c) Lethe

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Afterlife & the Underworld.

Higher Level

Asked on 2 of the last 3 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Q9
2023Q14

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 1 of the last 3 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q3
2024Not asked
2023Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Afterlife & the Underworld questions

Afterlife & the Underworld, 3 marks

In Odyssey 11, how does Odysseus let the dead speak to him?

  1. He plays music on the lyre at the river's edge
  2. He wears a magic helmet that Hermes gave him
  3. He lets them drink the blood of sacrificed sheep
Show the answer

He lets them drink the blood of sacrificed sheep

Odysseus digs a pit and fills it with blood. The shades crowd round, and those he lets drink can talk. He holds them back until Tiresias has spoken.

Afterlife & the Underworld, 2 marks

In Aeneid 6, what happens to souls who drink from the river Lethe?

  1. They are punished forever
  2. They forget their past lives
  3. They become gods
Show the answer

They forget their past lives

Anchises explains that souls drink from Lethe so they forget, and can be born again in new bodies. This leads into the parade of future Romans.

Afterlife & the Underworld, 2 marks

Which three-headed dog guards the Underworld?

  1. Cerberus
  2. Argos
  3. Scylla
Show the answer

Cerberus

Cerberus stops the dead escaping. In Aeneid 6 the Sibyl throws him a drugged honey cake so that Aeneas can pass safely.

Other Classical Studies topics

All of Leaving Cert Classical Studies