Greek Education
During the early years of the fifth century literacy, was widespread, and women were not excluded. Women and girls are frequently depicted in the iconography of Greek vases in the act of reading scrolls. For the Greeks, dancing was an essential element in the cultural complex formed by poetry, music, and dance, and Plato (Laws, 619) censured those who sought to destroy this unity by practicing any of these arts in isolation. A close connection was drawn between dancing and gymnastics, or physical training, mediated by the study of rhythmic movement and musical accompaniment.
In the Republic Plato delinates the proper curriculum for the education of children, both boys, and girls. Of utmost importance was the stress placed on the cultivation of the mind and body in harmony with each other. The practice of music and dance establishes a continuum of oral history and instruction in the myths and legends of Greek culture. Though not as supportive of the education of girls as Plato, Aristotle discusses the education of the young in his work Politics, and in Poetics he establishes a precedent in literary criticism articulating the role of poetry and history in society.
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| Figure 1: "Show Pupil," Sappho | Figure 2: Songs of Sappho | Figure 3: "To Her
Pupils," LXXXVII, Sappho |
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| Figure 4: "To Her
Pupils," LXXXVIII, Sappho |
Figure 5: "Hero of Gyara," Sappho | Figure 6: Argonautica |
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Last Modified: 02/12/04
