|
In a system much like the one that predominates in the modern world, the Roman education system developed arranged schools in tiers. The educator [[Quintilian]] 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".<ref>Quintilian, ''Quintilian on Education'', translated by William M. Smail (New York: Teachers College Press, 1966).{{pn|date=April 2021}}</ref> A Roman student would progress through schools just as a student today might go from primary school to secondary school and then to college. They were generally exempted from studies during the [[nundinae|market days]] which formed a kind of weekend every eight days.<ref name=homestruck>{{harvp|Struck|2009|loc=[http://www.classics.upenn.edu/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php?method=did®exp=578 "Nundinae"]}}.</ref> Progression depended more on ability than age,<ref name="Ox"/> with great emphasis being placed upon a student's ''ingenium'' or inborn "gift" for learning,<ref>Yun Lee Too, ''Education in Greek and Roman antiquity'' (Boston: Brill, 2001).{{pn|date=April 2021}}</ref> and a more tacit emphasis on a student's ability to afford high-level education.
==Influences==
{{Cleanup|reason=Citations are missing and the text overall may be biased or lacking neutrality|date=October 2021|small=right}}
[[File:Fanciulla intenta alla lettura (IV stile), I sec, da pompei, MANN 8946.JPG|thumb|Roman fresco of a woman reading a text, [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Fourth Style]] (60–79 AD), [[Pompeii]], Italy]]
\ wqhjisa cahauweduehuae dhuawd s usuadgf sdgs dduwagswdugw sdi ashs dgsusuugw uah dzhsae uwhweh augaw dduhd haw
Prior to the 3rd century BC, the Roman system of education was closely bound to the Roman social institution of ''patria potestas'', in which the father acted as head of the household (''[[pater familias]]''), and had, according to law, the absolute right of control over his children. It was the father's duty to educate his children and should he be unable to fulfil this duty, the task was assumed by other family members.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Education in Ancient Rome: From the Elder Cato to the Younger Pliny, Volume 5|last=Bonner|first=Stanley|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-0415689793|location=Abingdon, Oxon|pages=14, 15}}</ref> It was not until 272 BC with the capture of [[Taranto|Tarentum]], the annexation of [[Sicily]] in 241 BC, and the period following the [[First Punic War]] that Romans were exposed to a strong influence of Greek thought and lifestyle and found leisure to study the arts.
In the 3rd century BC, a Greek captive from Tarentum named [[Livius Andronicus]] was sold as a slave and employed as a tutor for his master's children.<ref>J.F. Dobson, ''Ancient Education and Its Meaning to Us'' (Cooper Square: New York, 1963).{{pn|date=April 2021}}</ref> After obtaining his freedom, he continued to live in Rome and became the first schoolmaster (private tutor) to follow Greek methods of education and would translate [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' into Latin verse in [[Saturnian (poetry)|Saturnian meter]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Abaeus, A'ndreas, Androni'cus, Li'vius |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:alphabetic+letter=A:entry+group=23:entry=andronicus-livius-bio-1 |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>
As Rome grew in size and in power, following the [[Punic Wars]], the importance of the family as the central unit within Roman society began to deteriorate,<ref>Robin Barrow, ''Greek and Roman Education'' (Macmillan Education: London, 1976).{{pn|date=April 2021}}</ref> and with this decline, the old Roman system of education carried out by the ''pater familias'' deteriorated as well. The new educational system began to center more on the one encountered by the Romans with the prominent Greek and Hellenistic centers of learning such as [[Alexandria]] later on. It was becoming a literary educational system.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}
The situation of the Greeks was ideal for the foundation of literary education as they were the possessors of the great works of [[Homer]], [[Hesiod]], and the [[Nine Lyric Poets|Lyric poets]] of Archaic Greece. The absence of a literary method of education from Roman life was due to the fact that Rome was bereft of any national literature. The military arts were all that Rome could afford to spend time studying. When not waging war, the Romans devoted what time remained to [[Agriculture in ancient Rome|agriculture]]. The concern of Rome was that of survival, whether through defense or dominion. It was not until the appearance of [[Ennius]] (239–169 BC), the father of Roman poetry, that any sort of national literature surfaced.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}
While the Romans adopted many aspects of [[Education in ancient Greece|Greek education]], two areas, in particular, were viewed as trifles: music and athletics. Music to the Greeks was fundamental to their educational system and tied directly to the Greek ''[[paideia]]''. ''Mousike'' — literally 'the art of the [[Muses]]'— was a combination of modern-day music, dance, lyrics, and poetry, comparable to today's liberal arts. The area that many Romans considered unimportant equates to our modern definition of music. To the Greeks, the ability to play an instrument was the mark of a civilized, educated man, and through education in all areas of ''mouse,'' it was thought that the soul could become more moderate and cultivated. The Romans did not share this view and considered the study of music as a path to moral corruption.<ref name=":0" /> However, they did adopt one area of ''mouse'': Greek literature.
Athletics, to the Greeks, was the means to obtaining a healthy and beautiful body, which was an end in and of itself and further promoted their love of competition. The Romans, though, did not share this stance either, believing that athletics was only the means to maintaining good soldiers.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}
This illustrates one of the central differences between the two cultures and their view on education: that to the Greeks beauty or activity could be an end in itself, and the practice of that activity was beneficial accordingly. The Romans, on the other hand, tended to be more practically minded when it came to what they taught their children. To them, it would appear, an area of study was good only as far as it served a better purpose or end determined outside of itself. Also, prior to the war, they had focused more on government and politics rather than the army and military.<ref name="Ox"/>
==Tiers of schooling==
|
