Optional (O) Papers

O Papers are papers that are taught and examined outside the Faculty of Classics and that may nevertheless be taken by candidates for Part II of the Classical Tripos. If you do decide to take one, it is important that your Director of Studies should, at the earliest opportunity, put you in touch with an appropriate adviser from the faculty in which the paper is taught. The lecture times for the courses are available from the University’s on-line lecture listings site.

Details of the syllabus, recommended reading etc. can be obtained from the faculty concerned. If, after following the above routes, you still have problems in obtaining adequate advice, you should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

The O papers, of which you may take at most one, are listed below. Each gives you an opportunity to learn how another discipline studies a subject adjacent to one that you will have studied within Classics. Their variety therefore reflects the variety of Classics itself. They are as follows:

Paper O1: The history and structure of modern Greek (Paper Gr.7 of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos) - NOT AVAILABLE IN 2026-27

Paper O2: Introduction to modern Greek language and culture (Paper Gr.3C (Culture Component) and Paper Gr.3L (Language Component) of Part II of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos).

Paper O3: Tragedy (Paper 2 of Part II of the English Tripos).

Paper O4: History and theory of literary criticism (Paper 16 of Part II of the English Tripos).

Paper O5: Philosophy of mind (Paper 2 of Part II of the Philosophy Tripos).

Paper O6: The history of political thought to c. 1700 (Paper 19 of Part I of the Historical Tripos).

Paper O7: Babylonian language I (Paper M1 of Part I of the Archaeology Tripos) - NOT AVAILABLE IN 2026-27

Paper O8: Judaism in the Graeco-Roman world (Paper C23 of Part IIB of the Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion Tripos)

Paper O9: English literature and its contexts (Paper 3 of Part IB of the English Tripos).

Paper O10: The Romance languages (Paper CS.1 of Part II of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos).

Paper O11: Early History of Science and Medicine (Paper 1 of the History and Philosophy of Science subject in Part II of the Natural Sciences Tripos).

Paper O12: Archaeology in action (Paper A2 of Part I of the Archaeology Tripos).

Paper O13: Myth matters: receptions of mythology in Modern Greek literature and culture (Paper Gr.6AL (Ab Initio Language Component), Paper Gr.6AC (Ab Initio Culture Component), Paper Gr.6IL (Intermediate Language Component), Paper Gr.6IC (Intermediate Culture Component) of Part II of the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos).

Paper O14: Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art (Paper 9 of Part IB of the Philosophy Tripos)

Paper O15: Historical Linguistics (Paper Li 11 of Part II of the Linguistics Tripos) 

Paper O16: History of the English Language (Paper Li 13 of Part II of the Linguistics Tripos) - NOT AVAILABLE IN 2026-27

Paper 017: Elementary Sanskrit (Paper A1c of Part I of the Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion Tripos)