DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5625#0213
i88
Survey of the Ancient World
350. School
and educa-
351. Attain-
ment of citi-
zenship and
military
service
352. Ath-
letics
slave called a pedagogue (a Greek word meaning " leader of a
child "). There were no schools maintained by the State a1^
no schoolhouses. School was conducted in his own house by
some poor citizen, who was much looked down upon. He re-
ceived his pay from the parents. Besides music and learning
to read and write as of old (§ 298), the pupil learned by
heart many passages from the old poets, and here and there
a boy with a good memory could repeat the entire Iliad and
Odyssey. On the other hand, the boys still escaped all instruc-
tion in mathematics, geography, or natural science.
When the Athenian lad reached the age of eighteen yearS
and left school, he was received as a citizen, providing that both
his parents possessed Athenian citizenship. At nineteen, after
a year spent in garrison duty, the young recruits received spear
and shield, given to each by the State. Thereupon they m
arched
to the theater and entered the orchestra circle, where they were
presented to the citizens of Athens before the play. Another
year of garrison service on the frontier of Attica usually com-
pleted the young man's military service.
If the wealth and station of his family permitted, the
Athenian youth was then more than ever devoted to the ne*
athletic fields. On the north of Athens, outside the Dipyl°n
Gate, was the field known as the Academy. There was anothe1
similar athletic ground called the Lyceum on the east of the
city. The later custom of holding courses of instructive lectures
in these places (§ 479) finally resulted in giving the words
" academy " and " lyceum " the associations they now possess
for us. The earliest contest established at Olympia seems t°
have been a two-hundred-yard dash, which the Greeks called
a stadion (six hundred Greek feet). The chief events were
boxing, wrestling, running, jumping, casting the javelin, and
throwing the disk. To these, other contests were afterward
added, especially chariot and horseback races. Some of the
philosophers later severely criticized the Greeks for giving far
too much of their time and attention to athletic pursuits.
Survey of the Ancient World
350. School
and educa-
351. Attain-
ment of citi-
zenship and
military
service
352. Ath-
letics
slave called a pedagogue (a Greek word meaning " leader of a
child "). There were no schools maintained by the State a1^
no schoolhouses. School was conducted in his own house by
some poor citizen, who was much looked down upon. He re-
ceived his pay from the parents. Besides music and learning
to read and write as of old (§ 298), the pupil learned by
heart many passages from the old poets, and here and there
a boy with a good memory could repeat the entire Iliad and
Odyssey. On the other hand, the boys still escaped all instruc-
tion in mathematics, geography, or natural science.
When the Athenian lad reached the age of eighteen yearS
and left school, he was received as a citizen, providing that both
his parents possessed Athenian citizenship. At nineteen, after
a year spent in garrison duty, the young recruits received spear
and shield, given to each by the State. Thereupon they m
arched
to the theater and entered the orchestra circle, where they were
presented to the citizens of Athens before the play. Another
year of garrison service on the frontier of Attica usually com-
pleted the young man's military service.
If the wealth and station of his family permitted, the
Athenian youth was then more than ever devoted to the ne*
athletic fields. On the north of Athens, outside the Dipyl°n
Gate, was the field known as the Academy. There was anothe1
similar athletic ground called the Lyceum on the east of the
city. The later custom of holding courses of instructive lectures
in these places (§ 479) finally resulted in giving the words
" academy " and " lyceum " the associations they now possess
for us. The earliest contest established at Olympia seems t°
have been a two-hundred-yard dash, which the Greeks called
a stadion (six hundred Greek feet). The chief events were
boxing, wrestling, running, jumping, casting the javelin, and
throwing the disk. To these, other contests were afterward
added, especially chariot and horseback races. Some of the
philosophers later severely criticized the Greeks for giving far
too much of their time and attention to athletic pursuits.