Download Ancient Athenian Education

Ancient Athenian Education
“A Sound Mind in a sound Body”
PURPOSE
The Athenians wanted their sons to have a
"rounded" education so that they would
know something about a wide
range of subjects and be able to
"appreciate" many things.
SCHOOLS
•most boys went to school roughly from age 7 to age 14 (girls stayed at home
and learned the skills of housekeeping and motherhood, but some families
hired private tutors to educate their daughters - there were some very well
educated Athenian women)
• - all schools were private schools - parents had to pay to send their children
to school but the fees were so low that even poor citizens could usually
afford to have their sons educated and most did so because they valued
education
• - schools were mostly only one room areas - often open to the streets on
one side (perhaps with a draw- curtain to keep down distraction)
• - equipment was minimal: students sat on benches and held their work in
their laps - there were no chalkboards or other teacher aids - the teacher
might have some books, but students mostly did not
• - the academic part of the school day began at
dawn and lasted until about noon
• - teachers were often retired military men discipline was strict, beatings were given not
only for misbehaviour but also for careless
mistakes
• - boys were mostly accompanied to and from
school by an educated and trusted slave called a
PEDAGOGUE, whose job it was to protect the
young man from undesirables, help him to
choose good friends and oversee his behavior
and his progress in class (the slaves sat at the
back of the class and observed)
syllabus
The three main subjects that they studied were: Grammar, music and Gymnastics .
a. Grammar:
- purpose was to produce "literate" citizens
• - content of this course was not just a study of the rules of correct expression in a language as we
understand the word today. It included most of the "basics" of elementary education in our society the three R's, reading, writing and arithmetic
• - boys learned to write and calculate by scratching their letters with a sharp stylus onto the surface
of a board with wax. When they finished with a tablet they took it for grading and then dipped it into
a tub of hot wax so that it was ready for new work.
• - in the higher levels they studied "good" literature so that they might improve their writing styles
and appreciate fine literature
• - much memorization was done - some boys could recite by heart all of the Iliad or the Odyssey
• - the teacher would add to his course whatever else he might happen to know such as some
science
• Most Athenian youths were finished school by about age 14
MUSIC
 - boys were taught to sing, if possible, and accompany
themselves on an instrument (the seven-stringed lyre)
 - this was meant to help the boys so that they would be
able to entertain friends at social gatherings
 - boys were exposed to concerts of "good" music both to
gain an appreciation for it and because the Greeks
believed that fine music had a purifying effect on their
souls and might help them to grow up to be fine men.
gymnastics
•the Greek word for "gymnastics" meant "exercise done naked" (thus it was any form
of exercise)
• - in the afternoons, Athenian boys went to the PALESTRA, a large recreational
complex on the outskirts of the city. It included changing and cleaning areas, playing
fields, a swimming area, special exercise buildings, etc.
• - when the boys arrived they removed their clothes and rubbed their bodies with
olive oil, and under the guidance of trained specialists, participated in many games
and exercises
• - they ran, learned to swim, threw javelin and discus, wrestled, played team games
like early forms of field hockey and football
• - the aim here was not to produce professional athlete but to turn out young men
who were fit, graceful, attractive, with developed strength and coordination. It also
gave the young men the habits of fitness which they hoped would carry through their
lives
• - from Athens we get the well known motto: "A sound mind in a sound body"
HIGHER EDUCATION
•After the young man finished his basic education, he
might go for higher education to one of the schools of
philosophers or the sophists.
From age 18 to 20, all able-bodied Athenian youths
were to take military training for the army or navy.
Athens was justifiably known as the "School of
Hellas" (Greece) because of their high standard of
knowledge and respect for education.
Ancient Athenian Education for
Women
•From birth a girl was not expected to learn how to read or write, nor was she
expected to earn an education
•Menander wrote, "Teaching a woman to read and write? What a terrible thing to
do! Like feeding a vile snake on more poison." Other authors and philosophers
had similar quips about women.
•Women were educated at home except for music and dance lessons. Often they
were educated by their husbands, brothers, or fathers and some greek women
were very well educated.
• Hetaera had special schools where they learned entertaining, conversation, and
rhetoric.
•Slaves were not educated. If they were educated before they became slaves, they
could work for their freedom.
• Some of the women of every age participated in the activities of the temples.
There they were taught by the older women dances, prayers, and others rituals.
Ancient Athenian Philosophy and
Rhetoric
Many famous philosophers founded their own
private schools that placed emphasis on
tutoring small groups in the skills of debate and
rhetoric.
The most famous were Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle.
Socrates left his name to a type of teaching
which emphasized teaching knowledge by
arguing the opposite. It is known as the
Socratic method and is used in most Law
Faculties throughout the world
A Final Word
Pericles Funeral Oration
“And in the matter of education, whereas they from early youth are always undergoing
laborious exercises which are to make them brave, we live at ease, and yet are equally ready to
face the perils which they face. And here is the proof: The Lacedaemonians come into Athenian
territory not by themselves, but with their whole confederacy following; we go alone into a
neighbor's country; and although our opponents are fighting for their homes and we on a
foreign soil, we have seldom any difficulty in overcoming them. Our enemies have never yet felt
our united strength, the care of a navy divides our attention, and on land we are obliged to send
our own citizens everywhere. But they, if they meet and defeat a part of our army, are as proud
as if they had routed us all, and when defeated they pretend to have been vanquished by us all.
If then we prefer to meet danger with a light heart but without laborious training, and with a
courage which is gained by habit and not enforced by law, are we not greatly the better for it?
Since we do not anticipate the pain, although, when the hour comes, we can be as brave as
those who never allow themselves to rest; thus our city is equally admirable in peace and in war.
For we are lovers of the beautiful in our tastes and our strength lies, in our opinion, not in
deliberation and discussion, but that knowledge which is gained by discussion preparatory to
action. For we have a peculiar power of thinking before we act, and of acting, too, whereas
other men are courageous from ignorance but hesitate upon reflection.”