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Subjects · Leaving Cert Classical Studies

Leaving Cert Classical Studies: Parthenon & Panathenaea

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

HL Asked on 3 of the last 3 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

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

Parthenon & Panathenaea, Higher Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Parthenon & Panathenaea.

(a)Who oversaw the Parthenon's sculpture and made the Athena Parthenos?
  1. Praxiteles
  2. Phidias
  3. Polyclitus
(b)What prize did winners at the Panathenaic games receive?
  1. Laurel wreaths from Delphi
  2. Crowns of wild celery
  3. Amphorae of sacred olive oil
(c)What does the west pediment of the Parthenon show?
  1. Athena and Poseidon's contest for Athens
  2. Lapiths fighting centaurs at a wedding
  3. The birth of Athena from Zeus' head
Show the answers

(a) Phidias

(b) Amphorae of sacred olive oil

(c) Athena and Poseidon's contest for Athens

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Parthenon & Panathenaea.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 3 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q13
2024Q4
2023Q1

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

More Parthenon & Panathenaea questions

Parthenon & Panathenaea, 3 marks

What are the mythical battles on the Parthenon metopes often said to symbolise?

  1. The gods fighting among themselves on Olympus
  2. Athens' defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War
  3. Civilisation defeating chaos, as Greece beat Persia
Show the answer

Civilisation defeating chaos, as Greece beat Persia

Each set shows order against disorder. Built after the Persians burned the Acropolis, the temple celebrates Athens as the defender of Greek civilisation.

Parthenon & Panathenaea, 2 marks

What was the hecatomb at the Great Panathenaea?

  1. A chariot race of a hundred laps in the stadium
  2. A great sacrifice of about a hundred cattle
  3. A hymn of a hundred verses sung to Athena
Show the answer

A great sacrifice of about a hundred cattle

Hekaton means a hundred. The meat was shared among the citizens, so the festival fed the whole city.

Ordinary Level

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

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Q2
2023Q11

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

More Parthenon & Panathenaea questions

Parthenon & Panathenaea, 2 marks

Which Athenian leader was behind the building of the Parthenon?

  1. Solon
  2. Alexander
  3. Pericles
Show the answer

Pericles

The Parthenon was built 447–432 BC, paid for partly with money from Athens' allies. Ictinus and Callicrates were the architects, and Phidias oversaw the sculpture.

Parthenon & Panathenaea, 2 marks

What was the prize for many events at the Panathenaic games?

  1. A war chariot
  2. Amphorae of olive oil
  3. A gold statue of Athena
Show the answer

Amphorae of olive oil

Winners got decorated jars full of oil from Athena's sacred olive trees. The jars show Athena on one side and the event on the other.

Parthenon & Panathenaea, 2 marks

Which column order is used for the Parthenon's outer columns?

  1. Doric
  2. Corinthian
  3. Tuscan
Show the answer

Doric

It is a Doric temple with 8 columns across each end and 17 along each side. Unusually, it also has an Ionic frieze around the top of the inner building.

Other Classical Studies topics

All of Leaving Cert Classical Studies