Greek and

Roman
Education

A TIME OF POLITICAL EDUCATION

OR EDUCATIONAL POLITICS?

Presented by: Mark P. Villaplaza

Greek society
Male dominated.
Desired unity, logic, harmony,
balance, design, order, and
structure.
Religious humanistic not
based on supernatural afterlife.
Greek tragedies integrated past,
present, and future.
Believed human reason powerful
enough to find meaning of
existence and nature.
Sought universal truths to live
the good life.

Athens and Sparta united? Not exactly.

http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~atlas/europe/static/map07.html

Recognized the
relationship
between the
individual and
the community.
Polis furnished
educational
aims.
Peloponnesian
War (431-404)
-the turning
point and the
demise of the
polis.

Polis
City-state

promoted common welfare

and security.
Served to integrate every dimension of
the citizens life.
Reciprocal relationship between good
person and good society.
Cultivate virtues rather than specialized
or technical skills.
Athens affected by 4th century
commercial growth grew more
independent in private affairs.

Homeric Epics

The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Embodied wisdom, traditions, beliefs, and
values.
Educational purpose - conserve culture, instill
identity based on mythic and historical origins,
shape character, and teach morality.
Heroes spoke elegantly and poetically,
combined wisdom, action, and glory,
performed warrior arts, and observed religious
rituals.

Pursued Arete - excellence

Homer

pioneering figure in
moral education. Actions of
characters have consequences
that affect not only them but
those that depend on them. Ex:
Odysseus

Greek

education devoted to epic

poetry lifes heroic dimensions
and the ideal of glory.

Athenians

Humane,

dynamic, and
rational
(humanistic).
Earthly activities
rather than life
after death.

Athenian Education

Goal was to produce an ideal well-rounded,

liberally educated individual.

Both formal and informal aspects cultivated a

many-sided person who was an excellent man
and contributor to general welfare.

No attendance mandates.

Minimal regulation that children learn to read

and swim.

Greater variety of formal educations patterns

than in Sparta.

The Spartans

Code

of Lycurgus
Spartans to soldiering.
Who

was Lycurgus?
Nobleman who applied to the
oracle at Delphi and was told
gods would support him in
his endeavor. Banished gold
and silver, divided land, and
made the Spartans agree to
an oath to follow his laws
until he returned (Ripperton,
2000).

Spartan Societal Roles

10% of the population were the ruling
military elite called the Spartiales.
Perioikoi included the common class
who had economic not political rights
Helots slaves.
At birth, babies were taken to Ephors
for visual assessment, at 7 to military
school for 11 years, at 18, received two
additional years of military training.
From age 20-30 were on active duty.

Spartan Model
Rejected

humanistic education, wanted practical and

military training.

Courage

was portrayed by planned and executed

savagery.

Made

city-state focus of human life and endeavor.

Collected

hero obeyed commands and followed

orders without question.

Loyalty

and discipline was the key.

Intellectual

content minimized - only rudiments of

reading and writing were taught.

Hellenic worldview
Rational

inhabitant of a purposeful
and orderly universe.

Alternate

experience of reality
Philosophers.

Practical

formulation of
educational methodology
Sophists.

Greek Education Theory

Greeks
colonization (800550 B.C) ---social
changes --- riches
sought political
power--- Sophists
appeared to satisfy
the need.
Sophists(470370B.C)

In 4th century B.C.,

accelerated rate of
commercial growth--cultural crisis--Philosophers sought
to reconstruct,
integrate, and order
cultural life.

Socrates (469-399
B.C.)
Plato (427-347 B.C.)
Aristotle (384-322
B.C.)

Isocrates (436338B.C.)

Who were the Sophists?

Sought

education to lead to political

power and social status.

Concerned

with making policy

(special interests) rather than finding
truth.

Claimed

that they taught virtue and

charged a fee for their services.

Educational Agenda of the

Sophists
Acquire

intellectual and interpersonal

characteristics and skills needed for
success in a changing society --strategies of practical politics

Master

the discussion, persuasion, and

argumentation skills that contributed to
social, political, and legal success--grammar, logic, and rhetoric

What were the Sophists

contributions?
Extended

educational opportunities to
more students, contributed to class
mobility, and furthered
democratization.

Developed

the trivium (logic, grammar,

and rhetoric) of Later Roman and
Medieval education

Protagoras of Abdera
Highly

regarded Sophist teacher.

Believed

in changing reality and special

interests (relativism)

Known

primarily for three claims (1) that

man is the measure of all things (2) that
he could make the "worse (or weaker)
argument appear the better (or
stronger)" and (3) that one could not tell
if the gods existed or not (Poster, 2006).

So what is the difference in

values?
Traditional Values

Sophist Values

Courage

Individualism

Justice

Subjectivism

Self-restraint

Hedonism

when behavior
is motivated by
the desire for
pleasure and
the avoidance
of pain (Wikipedia,
2006).

Socrates Governed by
rationality

Philosophy: the persons only reason for

being is to experience moral excellence.
Sought to discover universal principles of
truth, beauty, and justice.
Epistemology: Believed genuine
knowledge exists and needs to be brought
to consciousness.
Education: The goal is to build moral
predispositions. The method is to ask
leading questions to stimulate students to
inquiry truth.

Discussion: Socrates method

is a way of teaching or
learning?

Plato A founder of Idealism

Philosophy: Encouraged searching for
the essence of goodness, truth, and
beauty. Platos theory of ideas. The
Republic (3 classes).
Epistemology: Knowledge is eternally
valid and that values are unchanging.
Learning is to rediscovery of truth.
Education: Functionalist model,
designed to produce competent adults
to meet the needs of the state. Platos
plan provided education for 3 groups:
worker, soldiers, and rulers.

Aristotle A founder of Realism

Philosophy:

Human defining
quality (soul, mind, or intellect)
provides the potential for
rationality. Asserted the
existence of an objective order of
reality.
Founder of Epistemology: Knowledge begins
the Western
with external objective - the
philosophic
quest of happiness.
al realism. Education: Gave education a
major role in developing virtue
and excellence. Asserted liberal
arts.

Isocrates Intellect is a
priority.
Philosophy:. Critical of the sophists who taught
rhetoric as practical gimmicks. Orator has a
civic responsibility to be trustworthy.

Epistemology: Didnt believe people could

discover absolute truths. Knowledge is useful
because it improves character and prepares
one for life.

Education: Effective and well-organized

educator. Like many modern thinkers, tends to
view education as the savior of the world (Willis,
2006). Believed in importance of educating
virtuous leaders to be models for citizens.

Commonalities
The

Greek philosophers speculated

about human nature and hoped to find
the universal patterns (truth) that
governed reality.
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all believe
reasoning.
Plato, Aristotle, and Isocrates conceived
of human nature as a duality of the
mental and the physical.
All recognized that education is directly
related to both the healthy individual
and harmoniously integrated society.

Differences
Ways

in discovering universal truth by the Greek

philosophers
Philosophy: While Plato shut his eyes to the sensory
word and used his reason, Aristotle used his senses
as well and thought nature is real world.
Epistemology: For Socrates /Plato, knowing is a
matter of recognizing ideas already lodged in
consciousness. For Aristotle, knowledge begins with
external objects.
Education on women: (Athens, Sparta, Plato,
Aristotle, and Rome)

Stoics and Epicureans

Stoics (Zeno, 340-265BC): What happens
to body is unimportant. Each person is to
fulfill practical social duties and also
preserve independence ---have great
significance for Roman culture.
Epicureans (Epicurus, 342-270BC): Only
object in life is to secure pleasure and to
avoid pain.
Both had roots in the teaching of Socrates.

(Gaarder, 1991)

In contrast to Stoics, the Epicureans

showed little or no interest in politics and
the community (Gaarder, 1991)

The Roman Empire

http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/%7Evandersp/index.html

Roman Education - In Early Republic

Function of education is to transmit traditions to

the young.

Values (e.g., duty, self-control, temperance)

were to be exemplified by the parents especially by the father.

Purpose was to produce a highly practical man,

who knew how to manage his land and
superintend his slaves.

Roman Education After cultural

change

Necessity of governing as an empire --- rely on Greek

as an international language --- Greek culture mastered
the Romans.

Political transition--- traditional value is not enough--sophisticated political and managerial competencies
are required.

Institutional Patterns of Roman

Education
Roman Capriccio, Oil on Canvas
painted by Giovanni Paolo Pannini,
1734
http://www.eliki.com/coliseum/

Influenced

by Greek culture and the

formal educational system.
Elementary school, Ludus
Secondary education, Grammar school
Higher studies (16-18), Rhetorical school
Church school eventually acquired
educational significance.

Roman Conception of Education

Orator is the model

of an educated
person.

Isocrates had an
impact on Roman
educational theory.

Well-educated men
who demonstrated
interest in affairs of
the republic were
Cicero and
Quintilian.

Cicero The compromiser

Combined the best of both older Roman

practicality and newer Greek utility or
humanism.

Practical ethics and logic.

Should possess grace and wit, be quick to reply,

and competent of speaking styles.

Most important subjects were history, law, and

philosophy.

Quintilian The Chair of Latin

Had more of a
Rhetoric
systematic
educational theory.
Thought grammar
and rhetoric should
be taught
separately.
Speaking and
personal excellence
are reciprocal.
Learning should be
appropriate to
learners abilities
and readiness.

Identified significant
stages of human
development.

0-7 impulsive immediate

satisfaction of needs and
desires.

7-14 learns from sensory

experience forms clear ideas
and develops memory.

14-17 reasoning liberal arts in

grammaticus.

Students questions after

reading Transcontextual Concerns:
Western and eastern
Practice in other country
What do we want to
know more?
Developmental
trajectories:
Influence on current
Education

Special issues:
Woman education
Why, who, and how

One of our concerns

Confucianism
Greeks saw a
sought political
reciprocal
harmony by
relationship
trying to
between the
achieve the
good person
moral harmony
and the good
in man himself,
society, placed
aiming at the
a priority on
restoration
of a
cultivatingWhat is your
opinion?
rationalized
virtues common
of
other
questions
feudal
order.
to all Discussions
citizens.

References
Gaarder,

J. (1991). Sophies world. New

York: Berkley Books.
Gutek, G.L. (2005).. A history of the
western educational experience (2nd ed).
Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
Lin, Y.T. (1938). The wisdom of Confucius.
New York: The Modern Library.
Noddings, N. (2006). Philosophy of
education. Westview.
Poster, C. (2006). Protagoras. The
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/p/prota
gor.htm

References

Ripperton, L. (2000). Lycurgus and the

Spartan Laws.
http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?
author=morris&book=greek&story=lycu
rgus
Vanderspoel, J. (1997). The Roman
empire at its greatest extent.
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/
%7Evandersp/index.html
Wikipedia. (2006). Hedonism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonism
Willis, W. (2006). Isocrates (436 - 338
B.C.). http://people.moreheadst.edu/fs/w.willis/isocrates.html