Original scientific paper
The Educational System in Athens
Marko Pranjić
; Hrvatski studiji Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
After reading the oldest sources and using them as arguments, the research resulted in the conclusion that Solon was the person who systematized education in Athens by defining in his regulations that each person should develop according to his or her natural proclivities and his or her mental and physical strength. At first, the family was responsible for education, as demonstrated by using fairytales and toys while the child is still in its cradle, while further education was pursued by hiring a supervisor who accompanied the child to school where children received, in addition to reading, writing and computing, the first information about music, drawing and gymnastics. Initially, teaching children how to read, write and compute was somewhat mechanical; however, they later adopted the best of poetry, a responsibility of the grammatician, which largely determined the mental and ethical development of students. In teaching, they used literary products of general social interest, so children only repeated what they heard at home, which also uplifted their parents’ spirit. They learned songs by heart and sang them accompanied by cithara and lyre, while the ideas absorbed from them fueled the children’s youthful enthusiasm in gymnastics. Teaching was thus in accordance with the spirit and opinion prevailing in the family home, i.e. with the entire folk tradition. The children of Athens were educated harmoniously and consistently by their parents, school and public life, so no dichotomy was possible in education. This was guaranteed by a well-designed educational system which extended from home education to primary school education, and later to secondary school education where an emphasis was put on grammar, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and a significantly higher degree of athletic and martial skills. Education ended in spheres of speculative philosophy and highly effective legal rhetoric.
Keywords
Solon; guardian; grammaticist; grammatician; education; Athens; ancient Greece
Hrčak ID:
177073
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2016.
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