ATHENIAN

EDUCATION
PAMELA J. OLAES
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Master of Education in THE
Foundations of Education
June 23, 2019
Geographical location of
Athens in Greece
 The Athens
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece.
Athens dominates the Attica (administrative)
region and is one of the world’s oldest cities with
its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years
and its earliest human presence starting
somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennium
BC. It was the main educational, intellectual and
cultural center of Ancient Greece.
 Aims of Athenian Education
To make citizens trained in the arts;
To prepare them for both peace and war
 Aimed to cultivate the students' physical,
mental, and moral qualities
From Athens we get the motto: (mens sana in
corpore) “a sound mind in a sound body”. All
schools were very small private schools, and
education was very valued.
The balance between body and soul was
the main target of the Athenian education,
the noblest the worlds has known .
 Education in Athens
Boys' education

Three main courses:

Grammata (letters) included reading, writing,
and arithmetic.
After the students had learnt their letters, they
went onto learning the words of famous poets
such as Homer.
Grammata (letters)
Music, consisted of singing,
playing the lyre and the flute,
reciting, and musical performance
of poetry. Through this students
learnt history, geography, and
ethics
Physical education, was when
the children practiced wrestling, jumping,
running and throwing of discus
and javelin. They also played team games such
as early forms of field hockey and soccer. This
was to make their body 'strong and
courageous.'
Girl’s Education
It was mostly taught by
their mothers in the comfort
of their own homes. They
learnt things like motherhood
and housekeeping. Girls were
also allowed to take part in
sports such as wrestling. This
was because parents were
afraid girls would be spoiled if
they learnt how to read
Structure of Education
Primary school (until
age six) - younger
boys learned
calisthenics and were
taught at home by
their mother or a
male slave.
Secondary
Once the youths were
16, their 'basic
education' was
complete. The boys who
didn't have to work
could now study the
sciences and philosophy.
Post-Secondary
From the ages of 18 to
20, regardless of social
status, all able bodied
young men had to
take military training
for the army or the
navy for 2 years.
 Athenian Methods of Teaching
1)Traditional teaching methods
Teacher-centered methods, high hierarchy of
teacher who puts the rules and the students follow
them.

Direct instruction is the most common form of

instruction. This is the lecturing method of teaching.

Many teachers use this teaching method almost

exclusively, as it is considered the simplest, and you can
cover large amounts of material in a short period of time.
 Athenian Methods of Teaching
The teacher is the sender or the source and the
educational material is the information or message.
The student is the receiver of the information which is
delivered via the “chalk-and-talk” method. The teacher
delivers the lecture content and the students listen to
the lecture.
The learning mode tends to be passive and the learners
play little part in their learning process.
 Athenian Methods of Teaching
2) Modern-student oriented applications
> active learning involves students and helps
them to have an in-depth understanding of the
course through induction of practice and
inductive teaching repealing the hierarchy
between teacher and student, promoting the
dialogue and cooperation.
 Contributions of Athenian
Education
1. Democracy
Because of its democracy and
reputation for openness, Athens
became a magnet for new thinking
during the 5th century BC, for
remarkable collection of individuals
whose unique contributions to
learning have formed much of the
foundation of Western civilization.
2. Architecture
 Architectural tradition and design has the ability to
link disparate cultures together over time and
space—and this is certainly true of the legacy of
architectural forms created by the ancient Greeks
Temple
Theater
Stadium
Gymnasium
House
Altar
3. Alphabet

4.  Science and Mathematics

Archimedes – mathematician (calculus,
geometrical theorem)
Eratosthenes - mathematician
Aristarchus - astronomer
5. Arts, Drama and Philosophy
Socrates (c. 469-399 BCE)
“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak
minds discuss people.”
Socrates embarked a whole new perspective of achieving
practical results through application of philosophy in our daily
lives.

Plato (c. 428-348 BCE)

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real
tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
Plato, a student of Socrates, is regarded as the father of political
science and the founder of one of the world’s first known
institutions of higher learning, the Academy in Athens.
 ASSESSMENT:
What is your comprehension to the Athens’
motto “a sound mind in a sound body” relative to
education?
If given a chance to represent the great
philosophers, how would you explain Socrates
philosophy “Strong minds discuss ideas, average
minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.”
Highlight the impacts of Athens Education to the
modern education?
 REFERENCES
 www. Plaza.ufl.edu
 www.quora.com
 www. Scribd.com/presentation/83464299/Athenian-education
 https://cactusporpoise.weebly.com/ancient-athens.html
 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/gr
eek-art/beginners-guide-greece/a/introduction-to-greek-architecture
 https://owlcation.com/humanities/Greek-Influences-today
 https://athensinsiders.com/the-top-10-ancient-greek-philosophers/
 https://www.google.com/search?q=archimedes&source=lnms&tbm=i
sch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiMydeg4friAhVaFYgKHdA4A_8Q_AUIECgB
&biw=1024&bih=489#imgrc=_
 http://bepipedo.cti.gr/portal/index.php?option=com_docman&task=c
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 http://utopia.duth.gr/~sypapado/resources/index_htm_files/THEORET