21st Century Athenian Education Essay

In the 5th century BCE education for Athenian citizens was very different to education in the 21st century CE. Education was important as students were taught a variety of things to help them prepare for peace and war. Although girls were taught differently to boys and rich differently to poor, education was highly valued in the Athenian society.

Education was highly valued throughout the Athenian society and was aimed at students’ physical, mental and moral qualities. The purpose of education for Athenian citizens was to train males in the arts which prepared them for both peace and war in the city, for females it was to teach them how to be a housewife and an interesting partner for men that were able to afford them. Although physical education was important for boys, it was literature that was the centre of schooling. It was

In Athens there were two types of education that students were separated into depending if they were rich or poor, girl or boy. Formal education was provided by paid tutors in public schools and tended to be mainly for the boys in rich families but sometimes the poor. However, informal education was mainly for poor families and girls and was provided by unpaid teachers in non-public environments. Girls received little formal education and were only taught about being a mother while boys had formal education being taught a variety of different things as they were needed for the leadership of the states. All boys however were taught various subjects and had formal education but when the poor reached the age of 13 or 14 their formal education ended whereas the wealthier continued. Although, some poor children were unable to receive any education as their families would not have enough money to afford to send them to school so they stayed home to help with duties. The type of education that a student received was highly influenced by their social