Supervisors info:
Eurydice Kefalidou, Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology, Faculty of History and Archaeology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Summary:
The focus of the present dissertation is on the depiction of ancient Greek education of boys and girls through their representation in Attic vase-painting during the Classical period. I intend to include a component approach, iconographical and literary sources, as a tool for our further understanding of educational practices in Classical Athens.
In the first chapter I will explore the historical background of moral virtues of an educational character that were transmitted to the young throughout the centuries in ancient Greece, starting from the late seventh century BC up until the civic revolution of the fifth century. Chapter 2 attempts to investigate in detail the new educational practices of the fifth century through literary sources of the Classical period. The intellectual, moral and social virtues subsumed in the three disciplines lead to Chapter 3, which discusses the purpose of ancient Greek education. Next, in order to examine the pottery evidence related to school scenes, Chapter 4 presents the iconographical criteria of educational scenes recognized in Attic vase-painting. In Chapter 5, I will submit results from the catalogue, as well as make conclusions about the representation of school scenes. Specific attention will additionally be given to the education of girls and women as manifested in household settings, either reading or playing music. Chapter 6 discusses the general conclusions drawn both from the catalogue and from literary sources, which will shed light on the overall topic. The final chapter includes the catalogue of the preserved pots which display educational motifs and school scene imagery, some images of which are, however, potentially open to different interpretations. Nevertheless, all the depictions are related to the subject of the dissertation and can make valuable contributions to the research.
Keywords:
education, Classical Athens, letters, music. catalogue
