The Gymnasium of Virtue

The Gymnasium of Virtue
Author :
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages : 262
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0807822191
ISBN-13 : 9780807822197
Rating : 4/5 (197 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Gymnasium of Virtue by : Nigel M. Kennell

Download or read book The Gymnasium of Virtue written by Nigel M. Kennell and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From antiquity to the present, the ancient city of Sparta has been seen as a model either of discipline, obedience, and virtue or of totalitarianism, conformity, and tyranny. But virtually all observers, regardless of their image of the city, have agreed that the government-run educational system, or agoge, formed the cornerstone of the distinctive Spartan way of life. The Gymnasium of Virtue is the first book devoted exclusively to the study of education in ancient Sparta, covering the period from the sixth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. In placing the agoge in its proper historical and cultural context, Nigel Kennell refutes the popular notion that classical Spartan education was a conservative amalgam of "primitive" customs not found elsewhere in Greece. He argues instead that later political and cultural movements made the system appear to be more distinctive than it actually had been, as a means of asserting Sparta's claim to be a unique society. Using epigraphical, literary, and archaeological evidence, Kennell describes the development of all aspects of Spartan education, including the age-grade system and the physical contests that were integral to the system, among them the notorious endurance contest, at which naked boys were flogged in public. He shows that Spartan education reached its apogee in the early Roman Empire, when Spartans sought to distinguish themselves from other Greeks. Specifically, Kennell attributes many of the changes instituted in the later period to one person - the philosopher Sphaerus the Borysthenite, who was an adviser to the revolutionary king Cleomenes III in the third century B.C.


The Gymnasium of Virtue Related Books

The Gymnasium of Virtue
Language: en
Pages: 262
Authors: Nigel M. Kennell
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 1995 - Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From antiquity to the present, the ancient city of Sparta has been seen as a model either of discipline, obedience, and virtue or of totalitarianism, conformity
Spartans
Language: en
Pages: 233
Authors: Nigel M. Kennell
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011-09-19 - Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Spartans: A New History chronicles the complete history of ancient Sparta from its origins to the end of antiquity. Helps bridge the gap between the common conc
Spartan Education
Language: en
Pages: 375
Authors: Jean Ducat
Categories: Education
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006-12-01 - Publisher: Classical Press of Wales

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Jean Ducat is the leading French authority on classical Sparta. Here is what is likely to be seen as his magnum opus. Ducat systematically collects, translates
Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
Language: en
Pages: 433
Authors: David Sacks
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-05-14 - Publisher: Infobase Publishing

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Discusses the people, places and events found in over 2,000 years of Greek civilization.
Athletics and Philosophy in the Ancient World
Language: en
Pages: 174
Authors: Heather L. Reid
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-01-02 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book examines the relationship between athletics and philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome focused on the connection between athleticism and virtue. It beg