EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE GREEK WORLD

Thinking about the educational phenomenon, the ancient Greeks raised questions that still stand. How should young people be educated? What contents should be transmitted to new generations? What are the forms of education suitable for different ages, and especially for children? Is an educational system organized by the state to be preferred to private tutors? Does the real object of teaching consist of notions or moral values? How important is physical education in the formation of the individual? What are the effects of musical education on children’s soul?

The answers to these and other questions can be found in the pages of the major Greek thinkers, such as Plato and Aristotle, but the single work in which the legacy of the meditation of the Greeks is expressed in a more complete form is probably constituted by Saint Augustine’s De magistro. Studying the ideas of Plato and Aristotle—to be compared not only with each other but also with the educational practices in force in the various city-states—and reading St. Augustine’s dialogue allows one to piece together the history of the education of children and young people in ancient Greece. In order for students to adequately contextualize these educational theories and practices, the main features of Greek civilization will also be presented.

The course aims to ensure that students acquire comprehensive and multifaceted knowledge of the educational phenomena in the Greek world, also seen in relation to our contemporary society, compared with which ancient Greece presents both irreducible differences and unexpected similarities. Students who will study successfully will not only become aware of the various types of educational relationships in Greek history and how these relationships are interpreted in ancient literature and philosophy, but will also have the hermeneutic tools to “read” these data.

Frontal lectures

Educational practices in the Greek civilization. The concept of child in ancient Greece. The educational ideal in Plato. Aristotle’s educational program. Study and physical activity in the training of young Greeks: practices in the city-states and philosophical theories. The teacher-student relationship in St. Augustine’s De magistro.

Course materials / Bibliography

1. Moses I. Finley, Gli antichi greci, Torino (Einaudi) 2000, 197 pages, 17 euro.

2. Paolo Impara, Platone filosofo dell’educazione, Roma (Armando) 2001, 160 pages, 15 euro.

3. Paolo Impara, L’educazione come etica politica in Aristotele, Milano (Bruno Mondadori) 2007, 168 pages, 15.30 euro.

4. Sant’Agostino, Il maestro, introduzione, traduzione e note di Domenico Gentili, Roma (Città Nuova) 2009, 129 pages, 5 euro.