Stage 2 · Grades 9–12
Classical Civilization & Art History
Iconography, portraiture, and the visual language of power
Coins are the only mass medium of the ancient world in which a portrait can be dated to the year. Students track how a ruler's image changes across a reign and compare the same deity or personification across mints and centuries.
4 assignments · pairs with a sculpture or architecture unit
What students learn to do
- Describe an image with the vocabulary of ancient iconography.
- Compare portrait styles across a reign and across dynasties.
- Recognize standard reverse types: Victory, Pax, Roma, Tyche, temples.
- Distinguish an idealized portrait from a veristic one, and say why it matters.
Assignments in this track
| Task type | What the student produces |
|---|---|
| Essay | Formal analysis of an obverse portrait, 250 words. |
| Curation project | Curate a gallery wall: one deity across four centuries. |
The material behind the track
39642 records available today. Types illustrated with museum specimen photographs.
Standards alignment
- National Core Arts Standards: VA:Re7, VA:Re8, VA:Cn11 (analyze, interpret, connect).
- Common Core RH.11-12.7 (integrate visual and textual evidence).
Alignments are our reading of the published frameworks, offered so you can start from something rather than nothing. Districts should map them against their own scope and sequence.