Past admissions interview questions for Classics:
Can you pick one word to describe life under democracy in 5th century BC Athens? (submitted by Oxford applicant)
Do you know how long it took Virgil to write the Aeneid? (submitted by Oxford applicant)
Would Ovid’s chat-up line work? (molivam42's weblog)
If there was an omnipotent god would he be able to create a stone that he couldn’t lift? (molivam42's weblog)
What would happen if the Classics department burnt down? (Oxbridge Applications)
Do you think Feminism is dead? (Oxbridge Applications)
"Emma has become a different person since she took up yoga. Therefore she is not responsible for anything she did before she took up yoga." Discuss. (Oxbridge Applications)
Why do you think Ancient History is important? (Oxbridge Applications)
How civilised was the Roman world? (Oxbridge Applications)
When would you start a book about the history of England? (Oxbridge Applications)
What is the difference between a debate and a philosophical conversation? (Oxbridge Applications)
The stage, a platform for opinions or just entertainment – what are your thoughts? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Is Aeneas a modern hero? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Are history and myth compatible? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Where do you draw the line between Plato and Socrates and why? (Oxford Interview Questions)
What is irony? (Oxford Interview Questions)
What is fate? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Does Ezra Pound ‘translate’ Propertius? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Is it fair that Ted Hughes won a literary prize for a translation of an Ovid poem? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Why would a book of today be called a classic? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Is the ending of The Iliad useful? (Oxford Interview Questions)
What do you think the differences are between modern and ancient democracy and why? (Oxford Interview Questions)
What is the future perfect of moneo? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Do you think we need to take a different approach when studying French culture as opposed to the Classical world? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Did the Romans or the Greeks leave a more notable impression on the culture of today? How? (Oxford Interview Questions)
What do you think Tacitus’ view was on the conflict between religion and science? (Oxford Interview Questions)
If you were reading Virgil’s Aeneid in translation, would you be reading the work of Virgil or of another author? (Oxford Interview Questions)
If I you could turn this room into the British museum, what items would you put in it to convey the importance of the Classical Worlds? (Oxford Interview Questions)
Do you think its right for a country to fight another one in self defence (Cambridge interview, The Student Room)
Is there a link between Greek and Japanese culture (Cambridge interview, The Student Room)
does language exist? (Oxbridge Applications)
should a doctor kill one person with little chance of living to save 3 others who needed this person's organs immediately to survive
was Augustus just an arrogant child? (Oxbridge Applications)
what is free will? (Oxbridge Applications)
Why do you think Dido kills herself in Aeneid 4? Couldn’t she just have gone back to her old life? (oxford university website)
Why do you want to study classics?
Given an extract from the Odyssey, the candidate was asked to think about it and then questioned about Odysseus' characterisation. (life more extraordinary)
The candidate had written that she found Ovid funny in her personal statement. In the interview she was asked to give examples of his wordplay. (life more extraordinary)
What do you find interesting about linguistics, and what can we learn from the words neighbouring societies share? (life more extraordinary)
How would you stage a tragedy differently to a comedy? (life more extraordinary)
If you found these sample interview questions for classics useful, please remember to submit your questions, post interview, to oxbridgeinterview@gmail.com