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TheEducationSysteminAncientGreece 1681549213030

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The Education
System in Ancient Greece
The Education System in
Ancient Greece
FROM THE LECTURE SERIES: THE OTHER SIDE OF HISTORY: DAILY LIFE
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
 August 6, 2020
 Ancient History, Greek History, History
By Robert Garland, Ph.D., Colgate University
Greece has given us brilliant thinkers and
philosophers like Pluto, Socrates, and
Sophocles. But how did they study? Who taught
them? Ordinary people could not rise to such
brilliance with the system of education prevalent
at that time.
Sparta was one society in ancient Greece that believed in educating its girls.
(Image: John Steeple Davis/Public domain)
There is no clear evidence of any schools in the
ancient Greek world before the fifth century B.C. It is
believed that prior to this, education in Greece was

provided mainly through private tutors. And only a
handful of Greeks could afford to educate their sons
even during the fifth century. The natives of Athens
started their education around the age of seven. There
is not much information about what type of people
were teachers at that time. However, it looks like they
didn’t enjoy much status and in all probability most of
them were slaves.
The syllabus included learning to read and write,
physical training, and learning some musical
instruments. For learning to write, students used a pen
called a stylus with which they wrote on a wax tablet.
Learning to memorize was a very important part of
education in Greece. The Greek historian and
philosopher Xenophon’s work called Symposium, has a
character who says that his father made him learn the
complete the Iliad and the Odyssey by heart. Both of
them contained a total of 27,000 lines.
The lyre or kithara was one of
the most liked musical
instruments. It looked similar
to a guitar. It is highly
improbable that students
were taught mathematics or
drawing. Education in Greece
was very limited. That is if we
go by our standards. But still,
they managed to learn
enough to get by. In fact, the
Athenian education system
gave us such brilliant
Learning how to play musical
instruments was an important
part of boys’ education in
ancient Greece. (Image:
Unknown author/Public domain)
individuals as Pluto,
Socrates, Euripides, Aeschylus, and Sophocles who
were really exceptional considering all the

circumstances. Although it may be contended that
their success might have been more because of the
city in which they lived and less with the then
education system.
This is a transcript from the video series
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in
the Ancient World. Watch it now, on The
Great Courses Plus.
Education of Boys in Ancient Greece
Boys of rich families in ancient Greece used to attend informal drinking
parties.
It was an important part of growing up. (Image: Anselm Feuerbach / Public
domain)
When boys of rich families attained the age of 16, they
were sent for what can be called tertiary education.
They were mainly taught rhetoric and philosophy.
Whosoever wanted to make a name for himself in the
society, learning these subjects was necessary for him.
It was essential to learn the nuances of rhetoric if they
wanted to speak in political assemblies or courts or if
they wanted to be noticed at informal drinking parties
which were called symposia.
One distasteful thing about growing up in Greece was
that some Greeks accepted pederasty. The elite

societies accepted the friendship between an older
man and a young boy as perfectly fine, and some even
appreciated it and more so if there was some teaching
involved in it. Zeus himself was a pederast and this
might have given more legitimacy to it. In fact, Zeus
had abducted a young man named Ganymede as he
wanted him to be his cupbearer on Mount Olympus.
However, with time, the hostile attitude towards
pederasty kept increasing. For example, in Athens,
during the fifth century, pederasty was an offense for
which the punishment was death.
Learn more about the complexity of Roman women’s
roles in society.
Education of Girls in Ancient Greece
Girls were given the bare minimum education in
Greece. Most of the girls were usually trained by their
mothers on running the house and nothing beyond
that. The thinking about educating girls at that time is
aptly reflected in a line of a play by Menander which
says, “He who teaches his wife to read and write does
not do any good. Rather he is supplying poison to a
snake.” What it meant was that it was better not to
educate girls. Without education, they would cause
less trouble.
Even people of Athens, who were supposed to be more
knowledgeable than other Greek communities had the
same thought process. Although some elite girls of
Athens were kept in isolation at the sanctuary of —
Artemis at Brauron—on the coast of Attica, where they
performed religious rites, it can’t be said that they
received education in the real sense of the word. Not
much information is available regarding the education

of girls in Greece, but it seems that some of them
learned reading by default.
Perhaps the poetess Sappho was the only proof of
girls’ education in Greece. She lived from the seventh
century B.C. to sixth century B.C. She is considered to
be connected with a school for young women on the
island of Lesbos. Sappho was said to be attracted to
some of her students but it can’t be said that she ever
expressed it to them.
Learn more about growing up in ancient Greece.
Education System in Ancient Sparta
Sparta was one society that educated its girls. Much of
the information about Sparta has come mainly through
Plutarch. A Spartan boy would leave his parents at the
age of six and go under a state education system
whose prime objective was to instill discipline and
obedience. This system of education in Greece had all
the bad qualities of a Victorian boarding school. So it
resulted in turning the boys into bullies. Then at the
age of 12, they were sent to barrack-like places where
they were trained to steal without being caught.
When the boys were 16 years of age, they entered a
military police kind of force which was called krupteia
and were made to live in a jungle in Messenia. They
were expected to fend for themselves and at the same
time frighten what was called the helot population.
Sparta is believed to have been a very conservative and
rigid society.
So, we can see how heavily education in Greece was
biased toward boys. While the elite class could afford
higher and better education, others had to make do
with basic knowledge only.

Common Questions about Education in Greece
Q: Did the children in ancient Greece go to school?
In ancient Greece, only boys were allowed to be
educated in schools. Girls were trained in
housekeeping skills by their mothers. Very few people
could afford to send their boys to schools.
Q: Why was rhetoric an important subject to learn in
ancient Greece?
Rhetoric was an important part of Greek education
system because boys needed the training to speak in
political assemblies, courts, or informal drinking
parties.
Q: What were children taught in ancient Greek
schools?
School education in Greece during ancient times
consisted mainly of learning to read and write poetry,
sports, and learning to play musical instruments.
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PROFESSOR ROBERT GARLAND
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