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Education in ancient Rome

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Roman Education

Education as we know it today has deep roots in the late Roman Republic and Roman Empire. In the span of a few centuries, Rome went from an informal system of education that passed knowledge from parents to children to a specialized, tiered system of schools inspired by Greek educational practices. Although Roman educational practice may seem primitive by modern standards, it made great and lasting contributions to the field of Education as we know it. The rise of an agrarian city-state to a world power is recapitulated in the teaching and learning styles of its citizens.

Early Education in the Republic

From Rome’s founding in approximately 750 BC to the middle of the third century BC, there is little evidence of anything more than rudimentary education. A child’s primary educators were likely to be his or her parents. Parents taught their children the skills necessary for living in the early republic, namely agricultural, domestic, and military skills. Most importantly, however, for Rome as a whole was the inculcation of vir bonus[1], the moral and civil responsibilities that would be expected of citizens of the republic. In its infancy, Roman Education provided not only the basic skills necessary for survival, but also conveyed a sense of Roman values, lending cohesion to the populace.

The first schools in Rome arose by the middle of the fourth century BC.[2] These schools were called ‘’ludi’’ (singular: ‘’ludus’’), the name being derived from the Latin word for “play”, and like modern play schools were concerned with the basic socialization and rudimentary education of young Roman children. In the second half of the third century BC, an ex-slave called Spurius Carvilius is credited with opening the first fee-paying ludus[3] and thereby forging a teaching profession in ancient Rome. Nevertheless, organized education was relatively rare at this time, as we have very few primary sources or accounts of Roman educational process until the second century BC [4].

Later Roman Education

At the height of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, the Roman educational system gradually found its final form. Formal schools were established, which served paying students (very little in the way of free public education as we know it can be found) [5]. Normally both boys and girls were educated, though not necessarily together. [6]

Following various military conquests in the Greek East, Romans adapted a number of Greek educational precepts to their own fledgling system [7]. Roman students were taught (especially at the elementary level) in similar fashion to Greek students, sometimes by Greek slaves who had a penchant for education[8]. But differences between the Greek and Roman systems emerge at the highest tiers of education. Roman students that wished to pursue the highest levels of education went to Greece to study philosophy, as the Roman system developed to teach speech, law, and gravitas.

In a system much like the one that predominates in the modern world, the Roman education system that developed arranged schools in tiers. The educator Quintilius recognized the importance of starting education as early as possible, noting that “memory… not only exists even in small children, but is specially retentive at that age” [9]. A Roman student would progress through schools just as a student today might go from elementary school to middle school, then to high school, and finally college. Progression depended more on ability than age [10] with great emphasis being placed upon a student’s ingenium or inborn “gift” for learning [11], and a more tacit emphasis on a student’s ability to afford high-level education.

Tiers of Roman Schools

The Ludus

This was the equivalent of today’s preschool or kindergarten. It generally started with children aged about seven years. In addition to socializing children, the students could expect to learn the basics of written language. The majority of Roman students would probably achieve no more than elementary literacy before quitting their education, but vast numbers of Roman citizens were able to achieve this level of basic understanding of the written word. The ludus was commonplace in any moderately sized town. [12]

The Grammaticus

At around twelve years of age, affluent students could matriculate in the grammaticus, the next level of Roman schools. Skills in language and poetry were refined, and syntax and speech education began. Common activities included enarratio, a teacher’s lecture; lectio, the expressive reading of poetry; and partitio (analysis). [13]

The Rhetor

The Rhetor was the highest level of education that was, strictly speaking, Roman. The primary goal at this stage was to train effective orators [14] for careers in politics. Debate and public speech were the key subjects, but emphasis was also placed on a broad knowledge of the arts. Cicero remarked that an accomplished orator needed “…perfect Knowledge of all the Arts, and everything that is great…” [15] in order to speak eloquently from a broad base of knowledge. As such, a parallel can be drawn between the curriculum of the rhetor and a modern liberal arts education.

Practice speeches were the primary mode of instruction and examination, and they fell into two categories: suasoria and controversia. The suasoria was the mock-advising of an historical figure. Controversia can be likened to modern mock-trial competition; it was a legal debate, with students playing prosecution and defense. The goal was for students to be able to argue either side of the case with aplomb [16]. Upon graduation from the rhetor, students would have been ready to enter a career in Roman politics. [17]

Philosophy

A final level of education was philosophical study. The study of philosophy is distinctly Greek, but was undertaken by many Roman students. To study philosophy, a student would have to go to a center of philosophy where philosophers taught, usually abroad in Greece. An understanding of a philosophical school of thought could have done much to add to Cicero’s vaunted knowledge of ‘that which is great’, but could only be pursued by the very wealthiest of Rome’s elite. Romans regarded philosophical education as distinctly Greek, and instead focused their efforts on building schools of law and rhetoric. [18]

References

  1. ^ The Legacy of Roman Education (in the Forum), Nanette R. Pacal, The Classical Journal, Vol. 79, No. 4. (Apr. – May, 1984)
  2. ^ Historiography and Roman Education, Michael Chiappetta, History of Education Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4. (Summer, 1953)
  3. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  4. ^ Historiography and Roman Education, Michael Chiappetta, History of Education Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4. (Summer, 1953)
  5. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  6. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  7. ^ The Legacy of Roman Education (in the Forum), Nanette R. Pacal, The Classical Journal, Vol. 79, No. 4. (Apr. – May, 1984)
  8. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  9. ^ Institutio Oratoria, Quintilius, Lacus Curtius, Bill Thayler (translator), http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Quintilian/Institutio_Oratoria/home.html
  10. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  11. ^ Education in the Roman Republic: Creating Traditions, Anthony Corbill, Education in Greek and Roman Antiquity, Yun Lee Too (Editor), Brill, N.H.E.J., N.V. Koninklijke, Boekhandel, en Drukkerij, 2001
  12. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  13. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  14. ^ Historiography and Roman Education, Michael Chiappetta, History of Education Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4. (Summer, 1953)
  15. ^ De Oratore, M.T. Cicero, Or His Three Dialogues, William Guthrie (translator), London, 1792. Gale Group.
  16. ^ Controlling Reason: Declimation in Rhetorical Education at Rome, Robert A. Kaster, Education in Greek and Roman Antiquity, Yun Lee Too (Editor), Brill, N.H.E.J., N.V. Koninklijke, Boekhandel, en Drukkerij, 2001
  17. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
  18. ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, Third Edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
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