ATHENS
In Athens the popular viewpoint of the time was that the state and its government were set up to benefit the individual citizen. The training of boys, both physical and mental, should be for citizenship and for living, not just for warfare. Such education involved the cultivation of the mind even more than the body, and had as its goals the attainment of character, taste, and, above all, sophrosyne, or patience, moderation, and good behavior in word, thought, and daily actions.
In Athens, education was largely a private matter. There were, of course, exceptions. For example, certain large gymnasiums were built and maintained for public use.
Not much is known about Greek education other than the subjects taught. We do know that only boys were generally educated, not girls, and that the sons of wealthy Athenians began school earlier and stayed longer than the sons of not-quite-so-wealthy parents. These latter boys usually left school around the age of fourteen.
Little......
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