Ancient Greek society is perceived throughout the world as the cradle of civilization and the quintessence of cultural, aesthetic and moral norms, which is still perceived as the ideal system for building relationships in society. Ancient Greece belonged to a slave-owning society, where only one third of the population were free citizens and had rights. This nuance has left a serious imprint on the education system of the younger generation. Historically, it was divided into Spartan and Athenian. Moreover, in both great importance was attached to the physical development of young men and women. The ancient Greeks considered this side of the educational process to be extremely important, but it is worth considering the features of the Spartan and Athenian systems of education. In many ways, they have differences, which is primarily expressed in the ultimate goal of education.
From this article you will learn a lot of interesting things primarily about the Athenian system of physical education. We will also touch on education in ancient Greece and talk about the famous Spartan upbringing of young people in the fourth and fifth centuries, who are considered the heyday of Hellenic civilization.
Brief characteristics of Greek society
When we talk about ancient Greek society and culture, we primarily mean the city of Athens, which is the center of the cultural life of the Peloponnese. All trade routes flocked here, numerous competitions of athletes and disputes of the best minds of Ancient Greece were held here. Philosophers opened their schools in Athens, where they taught the younger generation various disciplines, thus gradually forming a special education system, which later became known as the "Athenian". It was taken as a basis in all Greek policies and has been successfully applied for several centuries.
The pedagogical system was a reflection of Greek society and prepared the young generation with an active lifestyle, which later became the backbone of society and led the state to prosperity.
Speaking about the Athenian pedagogical system, it is worth considering that society had bright features of democracy. Despite this, in society there was a clear division into classes. Conventionally, a society can be divided into three rather impressive groups:
- aristocrats (free citizens);
- artisans;
- slaves.
The first group had many rights, but was one of the smallest in the policies. Free citizens were distinguished by high affluence, many of them were aristocrats and could give their children a good education. Only representatives of this group got the opportunity to carry weapons and take the oath. Upon reaching adulthood, young men entered the public service and guarded the borders of the state. Subsequently, they became full-fledged citizens and took part in all matters important to the policy.
Craftsmen could also be free citizens, but they were not able to pay for the education of their children and usually taught them their skills. Thus, a certain continuity of generations was maintained , providing a constant number of artisans in policies.
Slaves had absolutely no rights, so there was no need to talk about their education. They were engaged in physical labor and provided the population of the policies with a comfortable existence. Children of slaves, too, could not claim freedom and remained the property of their masters.
Pedagogical system: features
In ancient Greece, increased attention was paid to physical education and sport, however, the moral component can still be considered the basis of upbringing. The Greeks sought to educate a man who was handsome in every sense of the word. First of all, he must be beautiful inside, and only then the Athenian system of physical education came into play. However, ancient Greek pedagogy had a number of its own characteristics that should be taken into account when considering the process of forming citizens from birth to adulthood.
In a slaveholding society, from early childhood, children were instilled with contempt for physical labor in all its manifestations. This was the lot of slaves, and therefore free citizens had to support the strength of the body in a completely different way. There were all kinds of schools for them, where they studied gymnastic exercises, developed dexterity, trained in running at speed and learned to own military weapons. We can say that the Hellenes were very harmoniously developed. After all, the education system in Athens very successfully combined the moral and physical components. Young people who have come of age were well prepared for almost any situation that they might have encountered in their life.
The Athenian system of physical education extended to girls too. However, in this case, she was extremely limited, because a woman should first of all be engaged in household chores and family responsibilities. Up to seven years, the girl was brought up in the family as a nanny and received the basics of education, which necessarily included the study of music. In the future, the educational process was limited to orchestra. We will tell a little more about this part of the Athenian system of physical education later.
I would also like to mention that almost the entire educational and educational process was permeated with a competitive spirit. Through him, the young men were imbued with the ideas of individualism and their own superiority, which had to be constantly confirmed.
Moral education: the initial stage
You can not talk only about physical education in the Athenian education system. After all, every free citizen should have been a harmonious person, and this can only be achieved through a comprehensive approach to education. This process began from infancy and continued until the oath was taken. The first years were almost completely occupied with the moral education of the child.
It is interesting that parents could kill a weak baby quite legitimately. This was the basis of the physical education system in Athens. If the boy was born with various diseases or abnormalities, then the decision about his future fate was made by his father, unlike Sparta, where the fate of the baby depended on the elders. With the girls in Athens did not act so strictly.
Until the age of seven, children were brought up in a family. Usually this was done by nurses or specially hired educators. They constantly occupied the child with games, reading fairy tales and stories, playing a musical instrument (primarily a flute) and composing poems. From a very young age, children were surrounded by everything beautiful and were often taken on public holidays. Also, the offspring of aristocratic families regularly attended sports and other celebrations. The Greeks believed that a child under seven years old should feel their belonging to the society in which he will live in the future.
Raising Young Hellenes from Seven to Fourteen
This period, boys from noble families spent simultaneously in two private schools, but they were not separated from their families. Children lived in their home, and a specially assigned slave took them to classes.
Usually the boys were employed in two establishments:
- grammar school;
- cifarista school.
It is noteworthy that they could be visited in turn or at the same time. However, the latter method was more popular in ancient Greek society.
At the grammar school, young Greeks mastered the basics of literacy. They learned to count, write and read. In the process of training, special tablets, pebbles and even fingers were used. The boys wrote on waxed tablets in style (thin sticks). Usually it took several years to learn to read and write.
After the boys went to kifarista school. Here they were given a literary education. Two or three years were devoted to the aesthetic education of the younger generation. The boys learned to play musical instruments, compose and recite verses, sing and maintain interesting conversations.
By the age of fourteen, a stage began during which priority was given to physical education. In ancient Greece, there were special schools for this.
Palestra: characteristics and features
The Athenian system of education in antiquity was considered the most advanced, and therefore the young men received excellent physical training. From the age of fourteen they began to practice pentathlon. This strengthened not only the body, but also the spirit. Therefore, this stage was considered extremely important in training.
Young people ran a lot, swam and wrestled. It was during this period that the competitive spirit was formed, on which the educational process was based. Also, young men threw a disk and a spear, later these exercises turned into independent disciplines, in which athletes competed at the Olympic Games.
After graduation, only very wealthy people could continue their education. Parents gave them in a gymnasium, but it cost a lot of money.
Gymnasiums: types and essence of the educational process
The next educational stage was controlled by pedotribes. They were government officials and engaged in the physical preparation of young men for future military service. Also in the gymnasiums they did not forget about the mental development, for which philosophers, public figures and other famous people were responsible. The young men had conversations with them, learned to conduct disputes, and actively attended courts and theaters.
In ancient Greece, there were three types of gymnasiums:
In these institutions, young people studied until about twenty years. They attended riding lessons, rowing, drill training. They were taught the strategy of warfare and the technique of owning all known types of weapons.
In parallel, the young men should have an idea of governing the state and master the basics of philosophy.
Ephebes: military training
After graduating from gymnasium, a young man could go into the ranks of ephebs. Before that, he was officially recognized as a free citizen and solemnly took the oath. At the same moment, the young man received the uniform of a soldier and could forget about civilian life for two years.
All this time he was actively engaged in physical training, which could be useful to him during military conflicts. The first year the young Hellenes spent in specially formed camps near the policies. Under round-the-clock control, they were engaged in various exercises and learned to act during the battle.
For the second year, the young men performed real service at the borders of the state. Naturally, this period of his physical development continued. After all, every day was accompanied by a series of special exercises that strengthen the body and fighting spirit.
Physical education of Athenian girls
The Athenian system of upbringing and education is primarily intended for boys, but it did not leave girls unattended. As we already mentioned, up to seven years old children were brought up in exactly the same way. However, at an older age, girls were instructed to stay home and study there. In general, most of the women did not speak, which was considered quite normal.
But special attention was paid to physical education. At that moment, when the young men moved to Palestine and embarked on a three-stage education system, the girls had to study orchestra. It was a special discipline, which implies learning certain movements with different music.
Spartan education system: the initial stage
Sparta had a huge influence and, along with Athens, formed a special education system, the purpose of which was to grow an obedient, disciplined and brave warrior.
The newborn baby was always shown to the elders, who decided whether he would live. Weak children were simply thrown off the cliff. Up to seven years, the child was brought up in a family where he was tempered and not spoiled. Subsequently, he entered the state education system for seven years. Over the years, children have been taught to endure pain, hunger, cold, and other trials. In parallel, the young Spartans received excellent physical fitness.
The next year they spent in competitions to prepare for crypto. This custom implied the division of adolescents into several groups, for twelve months they had to attack various villages, following the orders of their superiors.
Subsequently, the Spartans turned into ephebs, where they continued their physical development for up to thirty years.
Spartan Women's Education
Interestingly, in Sparta, girls were brought up in the same way as boys. Up to twenty years, there was no difference in their education, this was done so that in the absence of men in the city there was order.
In addition, the Spartans believed that only from strong and strong women could worthy offspring be obtained.
Instead of a conclusion
Sparta and Athens had the strongest influence in the Peloponnese, therefore, their educational systems were taken as a basis by many cities and states. If we conduct a brief analysis of the comparison, we can say that the Spartans primarily paid attention to the physical development of the younger generation. But the Athenian system raised harmonious members of society, equally developed mentally, morally and physically.