For most of Greek history, education was private, except in Sparta. During the Hellenistic period, some city-states established public schools. Only wealthy families could afford a teacher. Boys learned how to read, write and quote literature. They also learned to sing and play one musical instrument and were trained as athletes for military service. They studied not for a job but to become an effective citizen. Girls also learned to read, write and do simple arithmetic so they could manage the household. They almost never received education after childhood.
Boys went to school at the age of seven, or went to the barracks, if they lived in Sparta. The three types of teachings were: grammatistes for arithmetic, kitharistes for music and dancing, and Paedotribae for sports.
Boys from wealthy families attending the private school lessons were taken care of by a paidagogos, a household slave selected for this task who accompanied the boy during the day. Classes were held in teachers' private houses and included reading, writing, mathematics, singing, and playing the lyre and flute. When the boy became 12 years old the schooling started to include sports such as wrestling, running, and throwing discus and javelin. In Athens some older youths attended academy for the finer disciplines such as culture, sciences, music, and the arts. The schooling ended at age 18, followed by military training in the army usually for one or two years (Angus Konstam, 2003).
A small number of boys continued their education after childhood, as in the Spartan agoge. A crucial part of a wealthy teenager's education was a mentorship with an elder, which in a few places and times may have included pederastic love.
The teenager learned by watching his mentor talking about politics in the agora, helping him perform his public duties, exercising with him in the gymnasium and attending symposia with him. The richest students continued their education by studying with famous teachers. Some of Athens' greatest such schools included the Lyceum (the so-called Peripatetic school founded by Aristotle of Stageira) and the
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Platonic Academy (founded by Plato of Athens). The education system of the wealthy ancient Greeks is also called Paideia.
Self Assessment Exercise 3.4: Examine the system of education in ancient Greece.
4.0 Conclusion
Ancient Greece consisted of several hundred more or less independent city-states (poleis). This was a situation unlike that in most other contemporary societies, which were either tribal, or kingdoms ruling over relatively large territories. The chapter throws light on the socio-political life of ancient Greece.
5.0 Summary
The chapter is dedicated to an assessment of socio-political structure of ancient Greece. The Greek education and social institution of slavery is brought into focus. The section looks at the conduct of warfare and the place of law and government in ancient Greece.
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
1. What was the role of law in ancient Greece?
2. Give a brief description of politics in ancient Greece 3. Account for the condition of education in ancient Greece
4. Slavery was an important aspect of social life in ancient Greece. Evaluate 5. Give an account of the art of warfare in ancient Greece
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7.0 References/Further Readings
Angus Konstam (2003). "Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece", United Kingdom:
Thalamus publishing
Banister Fletcher (1996). "Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture", New York: Architectural Press; 20th edition, pp 172
C. Warren Hollister (2005). Medieval Europe: A short History (10th ed) McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Carol G. Thomas and D.P. Wick (1994). Decoding Ancient History: A Toolkit for the Historian as Detective. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Carol G. Thomas, Paths from Ancient Greece (Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill,
1988).
Clifford Backman (2003). The World of Medieval Europe. New York: Oxford University Press
Colin Hynson, Ancient Greece (Milwaukee: World Almanac Library, 2006), 4.
E. Vinogradoff (1908). English Society in the Eleventh Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Edward Gibbon (1776). "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” (1776-1788). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Encyclopædia Britannica. "History of Europe: The Middle Ages – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Available at www.britannica.com (Retrieved 2011-03-1)
Grant, Michael (1995). Greek and Roman Historians: Information and Misinformation. Routledge, 1995. p. 74
Hall Jonathan M. (2007). A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200-479 BCE. Wiley-Blackwell.
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin , Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia, Bonnie G. Smith (2001). The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures, Volume A:
To 1500. Bedford / St. Martin s. p. 256.
Jose Orlandis (2001). Christianity in Feudal Europe. Faith Magazine, United Kingdom. Available at www.Churchhistory.org
Pomeroy, Sarah B. (1999). Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. Oxford University Press
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Ramsay MacMullen (1966). Enemies of the Roman Order: Treason, Unrest, and Alienation in the Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Richard J. Mayne. "History of Europe: The Middle Ages. Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Available at www.britannica.com (Retrieved 2011-03-18).
Richard Tarnas, The Passion of the Western Mind, New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.
Sealey Raphael (1976). A history of the Greek City States, ca. 700-338 B.C..
University of California Press. pp. 10–11.
Thomas A. Brady et.al eds (1994). Handbook of European History, 1400-1600:
Late Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation. Lesden, New York: E.T.
Brill
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Unit 3 The Rise And Decline Of The Roman Empire To The Migration