Concetti Chiave
- Education in ancient Athens aimed to develop citizens proficient in arts and combat skills.
- Girls learned to read and write at home, while boys attended school from age seven to fourteen.
- Books were scarce and costly, emphasizing the importance of memorization in learning.
- Music and physical education were vital for achieving harmony between soul and body.
- The Athenian military expedition against Melo in 415 BC highlighted the brutal enforcement of power dynamics.
Education in ancient Athens
In the ancient Athens, the purpose of the education of youth was that of bring up citizens skilled and well formed in arts and trained to fight.
The girls were allowed to frequent school environment or take lectures, but learned to read and write at home. Until the age of seven, boys learned from their mother or by a male slave.
Subsequently, up to fourteen, they attended a school: the books were very expensive and rare, and the few available were read aloud and students should learn about them making use of their memory.
Role of music and physical education
Musical education and physical education had an important role, because it led to the harmony of soul and body.
On a wooden slat covered in wax, the teacher usually writes with a stylus; the schoolboy then copied and learned by memorizing.
Together they learned flute playing the zither: these instruments were also used to accompany the dances.
A pedagogue or a philosopher, or a senior teacher seems to make sure that the lessons are conducted properly.
The sheepman (the law of the stronger)
Athenian military expedition against Melo
In 415 BC the Athenian military expedition was sent against Melo, a small island that is kept neutral. Athens claimed that Melo came in the Delian League, despite the constraints of ethnic kinship with Sparta. The meli invoked the law, justice, the gods; the Athenians considered the sheepman as the standard law that addresses the human history.
Melo was besieged and captured; all the male inhabitants were killed with various weapons, while women and children were taken to Athens and sold into slavery.
Domande da interrogazione
- What was the primary goal of education for youth in ancient Athens?
- How did boys and girls receive their education in ancient Athens?
- What role did music and physical education play in ancient Athenian education?
The primary goal of education in ancient Athens was to develop citizens who were skilled in the arts and trained for combat.
Boys learned from their mothers or a male slave until age seven, then attended school until fourteen, while girls learned to read and write at home and could attend school or lectures.
Music and physical education were crucial as they contributed to the harmony of the soul and body, with students learning instruments like the flute and zither, often accompanied by dance.
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