k.o. sandnes-the challenge of homer_ school, pagan poets and early christianity (2009)
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
1/336
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
2/336
EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN CONTEXT
Editor
John M. G. Barclay
Editorial Board
Loveday Alexander, Troels-Engberg-Pedersen, Bart Ehrman, Joel Marcus, John Riches
Published under
LIBRARY OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES
400
formerly the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement series
Editor
Mark Goodacre
Editorial Board
John M.G. Barclay, Craig Blomberg, R. Alan Culpepper,
James D.G. Dunn, Craig A. Evans, Stephen Fowl, Robert Fowler,
Simon J. Gathercole, Michael Labahn, John S. Kloppenborg, Robert Wall,
Steve Walton, Robert L. Webb, Catrin H. Williams
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
3/336
This page intentionally left blank
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
4/336
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
5/336
Copyright #
Karl Olav Sandnes, 2009
Published by T&T Clark International
A Continuum imprint
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Karl Olav Sandnes has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identied as the Author of this work.
Excerpts from ‘‘De Doctrina Christiana’’ by St Augustine edited by Green,
R.H.P. (1996) and from ‘‘Confessions’’
by St Augustine edited by Chadwick,H. (1991) used by permission of Oxford University Press.
Excerpts from ‘‘De idololatria’’ by Waszink, J.H. and J.C.M. van Windin
(1987) used by permission of Koninklijke Brill NV.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 10: HB: 0-567-42664-5
ISBN 13: HB: 978-0567-42664-2
Typeset by Data Standards Ltd, Frome, Somerset, UK
Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn,
Norfolk
http://www.continuumbooks.com/
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
6/336
CONTENTS
Abbreviations x
Note on Sources xv
Preface xvi
PART 1: SCHOOL AND ENCYCLICAL EDUCATION IN ANTIQUITY 1
1 INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 A Young Boy’s Textbook and a Big Challenge 3
1.2 Literacy and Education among the Christians 5
1.3 Is Greek Education Mentioned in the New Testament? 8
1.4 The Aim of this Study 9
1.5 Method 11
2 SCHOOL IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD 16
2.1 Introductory Comments 16
2.2 Sources 18
2.3 The Marrou Tradition: A Tripartite Educational Pattern 20
2.3.1 Criticism of Marrou 26
2.3.1.1 Quintilian 28
2.4 Teaching Methods and Discipline 31
2.5 Looking for a Teacher – Starting a Climb to the Top 332.6 Girls Participating as Well? 36
3 THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF HOMER 40
3.1 Homer: the Omniscient 44
3.2 Homer: the Inspired 45
3.3 Homer: Forming the Identity of a Culture 47
3.4 Homer: Interpreted and Criticized 49
4 KNOWLEDGE AND FORMATION: THE INSUFFICIENCY OFENCYCLICAL STUDIES 59
4.1 Teachers as Artisans: An Aristocratic Tradition 61
4.2 What Does Teaching Do to the Students? Some Illustrations 62
4.3 Propaideutic 64
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
7/336
4.4 Penelope and her Maidservants 65
4.5 Becoming a Good Man (vir bonus) 66
5 PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA: A HELLENISTIC JEW ON GREEK EDUCATION 68
5.1 Sarah and Hagar 69
5.2 ‘Pre-school’ 71
5.3 Why Encyclical Studies? 74
5.4 Real Paideia: The Law of Moses 77
6 SUMMARY OF PART 1 79
PART 2: THE CHRISTIAN AGO ˆ N OVER ENCYCLICAL STUDIES IN THE
FIRST FOUR CENTURIES CE 81
7 JUSTIN MARTYR, HIS STUDENT TATIAN AND TWO PS.JUSTINS 84
7.1 Justin Martyr 84
7.2 Tatian: A Student of Justin 87
7.3 Two Ps.Justins 92
8 T HE APOSTOLIC T RADITION : PROHIBITED OCCUPATIONS 96
9 T HE T EACHING OF THE APOSTLES (DIDASKALIA APOSTOLORUM ) AND
THE SYRIAC TRADITION: ‘AVOID ALL THE BOOKS OF THE GENTILES’ 102
10 TERTULLIAN: LEARNING BUT NOT TEACHING ENCYCLICAL
STUDIES 111
10.1 A Pattern of Insurmountable Contrasts 111
10.2 On Idolatry 114
11 CLEMENT AND ORIGEN: CHRISTIAN TEACHERS IN ALEXANDRIA 124
11.1 Clement of Alexandria: Propaideia Protects Faith 12411.1.1 Adversaries 125
11.1.2 Encyclical Studies are Conducive to Faith 126
11.1.3 Useful or Faith Alone? 129
11.1.4 Supportive Evidence 132
11.1.5 Acting Like Odysseus’ Crew or Like Odysseus Himself 134
11.2 Origen: The Silver and Gold of the Egyptians 140
11.2.1 Origen According to Eusebius 140
11.2.2. A Student Praising his Teacher: Being Trained in
Distinctio 14211.2.3 Origen to His Student Gregory: Plundering the
Egyptians 144
11.2.4 The Threefold Wisdom of the Greeks Borrowed from
Solomon 147
Contentsvi
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
8/336
11.3 Origen and Celsus: Christian Faith for the Unlearned? 149
11.3.1 Celsus’ Critique Drawn from Christian New Testament
Interpretation 152
11.3.2 Private and Unskilled 157
11.4 The Alexandrian ‘Summary’ 158
12 FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS – EMPEROR AND APOSTATE:
CHRISTIAN TEACHERS ARE IMMORAL 160
12.1 A Law Concerning Christian Teachers 161
12.2 Imperial Rhetoric Inspired by Aristotle and the Bible 169
13 THE CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS 173
13.1 Basil of Caesarea/Basil the Great: Ad adolescentes 17313.1.1 Diakrisis: The Best Way 174
13.1.2 Preparation 174
13.1.3 Learning from Pagan Poets: The Sirens and the Bees 177
13.1.4 Separating Virtue from Vice 180
13.1.5 Mastering the Desires 182
13.1.6 Basil Summarizes 183
13.1.7 An Additional Question 185
13.2 Gregory of Nazianzus’ Encomium for Basil 185
13.3 Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses 188
14 JEROME: AN ASCETIC ADDICTED TO GREEK LEARNING 196
14.1 Renunciation 196
14.2 Greek Education and the Wisdom of Christ (1 Cor. 1–2) 200
14.3 Jerome Ambivalent 201
14.4 Jerome Defends Paul or Rather Vice Versa: Commentary
on Paul’s Letter to Titus 205
14.5 Encyclical Studies Taught in a Christian Setting – Towards
Monastery Schools? 208
15 AUGUSTINE: LIBERAL STUDIES – A WINDOW ON THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GREEK CULTURE AND CHRISTIAN FAITH 214
15.1 Liberal Studies and Conversion 214
15.2 De doctrina Christiana 218
15.2.1 Uti and Frui 220
15.2.2 Truth, Wherever Found, Belongs to God: The Gold of
the Egyptians 222
15.2.3 Knowledge Produced or Found 227
16 SUMMARY OF PART 2 231
16.1 Common Ground – Talking at Cross-Purposes 231
16.2 Opposition to Encyclical Studies 234
Contents vii
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
9/336
16.3 Encyclical Studies Cannot Be Avoided 234
16.4 Advocates of Encyclical Studies 235
16.5 Arguments Employed in the Debate 236
16.5.1 The Critics 237
16.5.2 The Advocates 238
16.5.3 Acting Like Bees 241
16.5.4 All or Nothing? 242
PART 3: LOOKING BACK TO THE NEW TESTAMENT 245
17 THE NEW TESTAMENT AND ENCYCLICAL STUDIES 247
17.1 General Observations 247
17.2 Paul on Encyclical Studies? 25017.2.1 Paul’s Greek Education 251
17.2.2 ’Gymnastics of the Soul’ – a Reversal of Values 255
17.2.3 Robert S. Dutch 257
17.2.4. A Propaideutic Logic in Galatians? 259
17.2.5 PROKOPH and Usus in Philippians? 263
17.2.5.1 Phil. 4.8-9 264
17.3 Summarizing Paul on Encyclical Studies 269
18 CONCLUSION 272
BIBLIOGRAPHY 279
INDEX OF REFERENCES 306
INDEX OF AUTHORS 317
Contentsviii
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
10/336
Dedicated tomy teachers,
my late mother and my father in particular
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
11/336
ABBREVIATIONS
Modern Sources
A Anchor BibleABD Anchor Bible Dictionary
ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library
ACW Ancient Christian Writers
AKG Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte
ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers
ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der ro ¨ mischen Welt: Geschichte
und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung
ASP American Studies in Papyrology
BAGD Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and OtherEarly Christian Literature (Bauer, etc.)
BZNW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fu ¨ r die neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CRINT Compendia rerum iudaicarum ad Novum TestamentumDACL Dictionnaire d’archaéologie chrétienne et de liturgie
DTT Dansk teologisk tidsskrift
FC Fathers of the Church
GCS Die griechische christliche Schriftsteller der ersten [drei]Jahrhunderte
HNT Handbuch zum neuen TestamentHTR Harvard Theological Review
HUCM Monographs of the Hebrew Union College
HUT Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie
JAC Jahrbuch fu ¨ r Artike und Christentum
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JECS Journal of Early Christian Studies
JR Journal of ReligionJSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
LCL Loeb Classical Library
LSJ A Greek-English Lexicon (Liddell, Scott, Jones)
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
12/336
NICNT New Testament Commentary on the New Testament
NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary
NovT Novum Testamentum
NovTSup Supplements to Novum Testamentum
NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
NTS New Testament Studies
OTP Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Charlesworth)
PG Patrologia Graeca (J.-P. Migne)
PL Patrologia Latina (J.-P. Migne)
PTS Patristische Texte und Studien
RQ Ro ¨ mische Quartalschrift fu ¨ r christliche Altertumskunde und
KirchengeschichteRST Regensburger Studien zur Theologie
SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series
SBLSymS Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series
SBLWGRW Society of Biblical Literature Writings from the Greco-
Roman World
SC Sources chre ´ tiennes
SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series
ST Studia Theologica
TAPA Transactions of the American Philological AssociationTDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (G. Kittel
and G. Friedrich)
TSAJ Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum
TU Texte und Untersuchungen
VC Vigiliae Christianae
WBC Word Biblical Commentary
WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Alten und NeuenTestament
ZKG Zeitschrift fu ¨ r Kirchengeschichte
Ancient Sources
Aristotle
Pol. Politics
Rhet. Rhetoric
Augustine
Civ. De civitate Dei
Conf. Confessiones
Ep. Epistula
Doctr. Chr. De doctrina Christiana
Unic. bapt. De unico baptismo
Abbreviations xi
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
13/336
Basil of Caesarea
Adol. Ad adolescentes (Address to Young Men on Reading Greek
Literature)
Cicero
De or. De oratore
Off. De officiis
Clement of Alexandria
Paed. Paedagogus
Protr. Protrepticus
Strom. Stromata
Clement of Rome1 Clem.
Dio Chrysostom
Or. Oratio
Epictetus
Diatr. Diatribai (Dissertationes)
Eusebius of Caesarea
Chron. Chronikon
Hist. eccl. Historia ecclesiasticaGregory of Nazianzus
Disc. Discourse
Or. Bas. Oratio in laudem Basilii
Gregory of Nyssa
Mos. De vita Mosis
Hesiod
Op. Opera et dies
Hippolytus
Trad. Ap. Traditio apostolica
Homer
Il. Iliad
Od. Odyssey
Irenaeus
Haer. Adversus haereses
IsocratesDemon. Ad demonicum
Jerome
Ad Tit. Ad Titum (Commentary on the Letter to Titus)
Epist. Epistula
Abbreviationsxii
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
14/336
Ruf. Adversus Rufinum
John Chrysostom
Hom. Homolia(e)Josephus
C. Ap. Contra Apionem
Julian
Ep. Epistula
Justin
1 Apol. First Apology
2 Apol. Second Apology
Dial. Dialogue with Trypho
Juvenal
Sat. Satires
Lactantius
Inst. The Divine Institutes
Let. Aris. Letter of Aristeas
(Ps.)Lucian of Samosata
Anach. Anacharsis
Am. AmoresHermot. Hermotimus
Men. Menippus
Macrobius
Sat. Saturnalia
Minicius Felix
Oct. Octavius
Origen:
Cels. Contra Celsum
Hom. Num. Homiliae in Numeros
Petronius
Sat. Satyricon
Philo
Abr. De Abrahamo
Agr. De agricultura
Cherub. De cherubim
Congr. De congressu eruditionis gratiaDeus Quod Deus sit immutabilis
Ebr. De ebrietate
Flacc. In Flaccum
Abbreviations xiii
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
15/336
Fug. De fuga et inventione
Gig. De gigantibus
Legat. Legatio ad Gaium
Mos. De vita Mosis
Migr. De migratione Abrahami
Plant. De plantatione
Prob. Quos omnis probus liber sit
QG Quaestiones et solutiones in Genesis
QE Quaestiones et solutiones in Exodum
Sacr. De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini
Somn. De somniis
Spec. De specialibus legibus
Plato
Leg. Leges
Prot. Protagoras
Resp. Respublica
Pliny
Ep. Epistula(e)
Plutarch
Mor. Moralia
Quintilian
Inst. Institutio oratoria
Seneca
Ep. Epistulae morales
Sextus Empiricus
Math. Adversus mathematicos
Suetonius
Gramm. De grammaticis
Tatian
Or. Oratio ad Graecos
Tertullian
Apol. Apologeticus
Cor. De corona militis
Idol. De idololatria
Nat. Ad nationes
Praescr. De praescriptione haereticorum
Xenophon
Mem. Memorabilia
Symp. Symposium
Abbreviationsxiv
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
16/336
NOTE ON SOURCES
Greek and Latin terms are given in the nominative or infinitive, not in the
grammatical form in which they appear in a given quotation. This makes
it easier for a reader to look up these words. This applies primarily towords or phrases, not to citations.
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
17/336
PREFACE
This project would not have been possible without the support and help
from many. It is my pleasure to express gratitude to those who gave me a
helping hand along the way. I owe thanks to the library staff of my school,MF Norwegian School of Theology, for kindly and patiently providing
me with the literature I needed. My school granted me money to have my
English proofread. This task has been undertaken with patience and
diligence by Dr David Pugh.
Professor Oskar Skarsaune and Dr Reidar Aasgaard were kind enough
to comment upon parts of the study. Assistant Professor Glenn Wehus
looked into the Greek of my manuscript. I am especially grateful to
Professor John M.G. Barclay, the editor of the series, for recommending
my study to T&T Clark/Continuum for publication. His careful readingand comments have contributed considerably to the improvement of the
manuscript. This applies to Professor Loveday Alexander as well; she
offered constructive criticism of a first draft of the manuscript. I owe
thanks to Senior Editor Haaris Naqvi for his help and cooperation in
preparing the manuscript for publication. Although I have benefited from
the help of many people, any shortcomings or mistakes remain fully my
responsibility.
I dedicate this book to all my teachers, from my childhood on to
present-day colleagues, but especially to my parents who introduced me tothe pleasure of learning, and who introduced me to Christ.
Oslo, Summer 2008
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
18/336
PART 1
SCHOOL, HOMER AND ENCYCLICAL EDUCATIONIN ANTIQUITY
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
19/336
This page intentionally left blank
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
20/336
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 A Young Boy’s Textbook and a Big Challenge
Among the so-called Papyri Boriant of Egypt there are some pages fromthe handwritten textbook of a student, apparently a young boy, in the
fourth century CE.1 The book gives a glimpse of life in ancient primary
schools, no different from other similar findings from antiquity. Here are
listed the Homeric gods and their mythology – all taken down in order to
facilitate memorization. The names which this schoolboy had to learn by
heart appear in similar fragments from students’ exercise books.2
Compared to other textbooks from ancient primary schools, this papyrus
is not extraordinary – except for the cross it bears!
On the first sheet of the papyrus the boy has drawn this Christiansymbol followed by the Greek word qeov", meaning God. This word isfollowed by the Greek letters egwl-; but unfortunately, the papyrus isdamaged, and the complete word therefore remains to be reconstructed.
The interpretation of egwl- is far from certain, but egwl- apparentlyforms the first part of an unfinished word. The appearance of the cross as
well as qeov" has led scholars to assume that this textbook once belongedto a Christian schoolboy.
The textbook is probably evidence of a schoolboy between 7 and 12
years of age, coming from a Christian home, and seeking some kind of protection against the curriculum he was expected to memorize. This may
shed light on the interpretation of egwl-. From Jewish tradition theChristians adopted the practice of saying a beraka, a blessing or a praise
when they embarked on various kinds of activities (see e.g. Eph.1.3; 1 Pet.
1.3). Greek texts normally render the Hebrew beraka with qeo;" eujloghtov", meaning ‘Blessed/Praised be God.’ Could the letters egwl-be what is left of a schoolboy’s unsuccessful attempt to write eujloghtov"?
1 This ‘notebook’ is presented by Leclerq 1938: 2901–02; see also Marrou 1956: 325 andLaistner 1950: 51. My presentation is dependent upon their interpretation.
2 Examples from similar notebooks are collected by Ziebarth 1913. Cribiore 1996 is an
extensive study of school in Graeco-Roman Egypt based on the evidence found in such
material; see e.g. pp. 27–33, 53–55. Photographs of this material are collected at the end of
her investigation. The significance of such school texts is emphasized also by Morgan 1998.
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
21/336
Raffaella Cribiore’s study of similar school exercises gives examples of
errors found in this material, which she says are abundant. In fact, the
presence of errors in the copying is an indication of the school origin of
the text.3
The theory gleaned from this papyrus can hardly be proved, but it looks
probable. The textbook can, therefore, be seen as a helpful illustration of
the topic of this book: What opinions and attitudes did the Christians of
the first four centuries CE hold with regard to primary education? Papyrus
Boriant may possibly witness to how a boy solved this challenge. He
attended school and memorized what he was told to do, but he sought
protection against the Homeric gods in the primary symbol of his faith.
Thus this textbook witnesses to a conflict with which many believers were
concerned. John Chrysostom voices a question which echoes throughoutthe history of the Early Church: ‘What is the use [o[ felo"] of sending ourchildren to the grammarian [ eij" didaskavlou"], where, before learningtheir texts [oiJ lov goi], they will acquire wickedness [kakiva], and, in theirdesire to receive a trifle [ to; e[latton], they will lose the most importantthing [ to; mei'zon], all the vigour and health of their soul [ yuchv] (Adversusoppugnatores vitae monasticae 3.11/PG 47.367).4 The text echoes Jesus’
dictum about his follower taking up the cross and forfeiting life (Mk 8.34-
38 and parallels). This question is raised in a situation where Christian
parents in Antioch were involved in a debate with John Chrysostom aboutmonastic training of their sons. It thus comes from a developed stage in
the conflict which this book is investigating. But the question echoes the
question which many Christian parents, mostly from the elite, must have
asked themselves throughout the first centuries CE.
The papyrus mentioned above attests to a problem frequently addressed
in early Christian writings: Was there a place for a Christian in pagan
schools? To what extent was it possible for a Christian ‘to take pleasure in
the reading of pagan books and in making of them his favourite mental
diet’.5 This question paves the way for much greater questions, allinvolved with the relationship between the Christian faith and Greek
classical tradition and culture. To approach this complex theme from the
perspective of education and what children were taught in school will
illuminate the cultural conflict, with the challenges and exchange involved
as well.
3 Cribiore 1996: 91–96.
4 According to the translation found in Athanassiadi 1992: 1.
5 Ellspermann 1949: 7. According to Herodotus 2.53-54, it was Homer and Hesiod who
taught the Greeks about the gods, about their names, forms, descent and doings. Herodotus
thus claims a close connection between these poets and Greek piety.
The Challenge of Homer4
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
22/336
1.2 Literacy and Education among the Christians
Estimates of literacy in antiquity vary a lot. Literacy in antiquity has, with
reference to the entire population of the Roman society, been estimated ataround 10 per cent; in other words, only one in ten people were able to
read. This variety is partly due to the scarcity of material from which
general conclusions can be deduced, and partly also to how literacy is
defined. William S. Harris estimates that fewer than 15 per cent of the
population in the Western provinces possessed the skills of reading and
writing to a useful extent; i.e. beyond the level of writing their own name
and signing documents (semi-literacy).6 The percentage was probably
somewhat higher in the Eastern provinces. Generally speaking, literacy
was restricted to a privileged minority, the intellectual elite, a fact which ismirrored also in the Christian texts to be studied in the present study. The
Christians did not differ substantially from the rest of the population with
regard to literacy rates.7 Nonetheless, it is worth pondering the fact that
early Christianity was a textual community, and remained so for the five
centuries of interest in this study. The New Testament itself demonstrates
that teaching, and reading and writing in particular, were matters of much
concern to the Christians. A piety based on written documents necessarily
promotes literacy in one way or another.8 Here the Christian movement
differs from ancient religions, be they public or domestic. Due to thebookish nature of early Christianity, this movement has more in common
with contemporary philosophical schools. More significant, however, is
the fact that the Christian faith was born in a Jewish setting where reading
and writing were crucial to both domestic piety and synagogue worship.9
Due to the role assigned to the Law, its interpretation, scriptural reading
and traditions, the Jews valued literacy and education. The nascent
Church followed this practice to a large degree; it became a religion
heavily dependent upon books and reading.
The emphasis on studying the Law of Moses in the synagogues madethem appear as a school. The New Testament provides glimpses of this
situation. When Jesus debated with the scribes in the Temple (Lk. 2.46-
50), he is depicted as a teacher among teachers. The Gospels present Jesus
as a Jewish teacher surrounded by his students (maqhtaiv).10 Paul was astudent in the school of Gamaliel, the Rabbi, in Jerusalem (Acts 22.3).
6 Harris 1989. Hock 2001: 58 gives an estimate of ‘no more than 15 per cent’.7 Gamble 2004: 29–32.
8 This is pointed out by Harris 1989: 218–21; Millard 2000: 157–58.
9 See Crenshaw 1998; Riesner 1981: 97–245.
10 This fact is a point of departure for some recent works on how the Gospel tradition
originated; see Riesner 1981 and Byrskog 1994.
Introduction 5
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
23/336
Paul took an elementary education, probably also including rhetoric,
either in Tarsus or Jerusalem.11
In the light of these facts, it seems justified to assume that literacy
among Jews and Christians was somewhat higher than the average 10 per
cent of Roman society. This is, however, a hasty conclusion. The textual
nature of Jewish worship and Christian faith does not necessarily imply a
higher literacy rate among ordinary adherents. The bookish nature may
well be accounted for by the elite only. Furthermore, by means of public
reading and repeated hearing (orality), the illiterate majority was given
access to the texts of liturgy and Scripture without themselves being able
to read.12 From the very outset of this study we have one fact and one
indication guiding the rest of the investigation. The fact is that Christian
worship and piety were dependent upon some who were literate. Theindication is that this ability was primarily found among elite members; in
other words, the Christian discourse on Greek education owed much to
social differences among the Christians.
Nonetheless, teaching and education among the early Christians took
three forms. In the first place, in accordance with Jewish practice, children
were given religious training at home.13 Early Christian writers took Eph.
6.4 as a point of departure for emphasizing the importance of teaching
children at home:14 ‘And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.’ Theauthor of this text makes use of words at home in texts addressing
upbringing and teaching of children in the ancient society. Of prominence
is, of course, the appearance of paideiva and nouqesiva which are bothassociated with ancient practices of how to instruct children.15
In the second place, Jesus’ words according to Mt. 28.18-20 initiated a
practice of preparing recent converts and candidates for baptism by
teaching them. Some New Testament texts assume teaching of this kind
(Rom. 6.17; Heb. 5.11-14), and from about 200 CE this became more
organized. Heb. 5 addresses the need for progress in teaching orupbringing. The addressees are blamed for still being like children in
need of milk instead of solid food. By now they should have become
didavskaloi (teachers), but they are still taught the elementary knowledge( ta; stoicei'a th'" ajrch'") of God’s words. This text abounds with logic as
11 Hellholm 1989. Vegge 2006 has substantiated this; more on this in Ch. 17.2.1. He
argues that this happened in Tarsus. Greek education was, however, also available in
Jerusalem; see Hezser 2001: 60–109 cf. Scha ¨ fer 1998: 32–39, 53–57.
12 This is emphasized by Harris 1989: 221; Gamble 2004: 29–32 and Hezser 2001: 496– 504. Hezser argues that the Jewish literacy rate must have been lower than among Romans in
the first centuries CE.
13 See Barclay 1997: 68–72; Bakke 2005: 152–201.
14 See e.g. Guroian 2001; Barclay 1997: 75–78.
15 See BAGD s.v.; LSJ s.v.
The Challenge of Homer6
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
24/336
well as terms which bring to mind traditional Graeco-Roman discourse on
education. Although the text refers to Christian teaching intra muros, it
draws heavily on ancient pedagogical traditions related to the so-called
encyclical training (see below). The concept of a development towards
maturity encapsulates a basic idea of Greek education.16 This connection
is further strengthened by the metaphor of milk and solid food (see
below). Finally, the text also includes the verb gumnavzein, which is closelyassociated with the raising of children in Greek education, thus demon-
strating familiarity with this tradition.
In 1947 the Norwegian scholar and bishop Bjarne Skard wrote a novel
about the teaching of catechumens in North Africa about 200 CE. The
book, Carthaginian Schooldays,17 is based on Tertullian’s texts, and Skard
gives a vivid and fascinating picture of what it was like to be a student inthis school. Home-teaching as well as schools for catechumens aimed at
introducing children and recent converts to the Christian faith and
doctrines.
Thirdly, some Christians attended the education commonly available
(encyclical teaching – see later) in the society – just like the schoolboy in
Papyrus Boriant. The Christians took no initiative to organize common
teaching of the children outside their homes and churches. The attendance
of Christian boys (and presumably some girls) at these pagan schools
became a hot issue among the Christians. It is the aim of this book todescribe this challenge, and to present the debate and solutions sought
throughout the first five centuries CE. It is my conviction that schooling
and education will prove particularly helpful in investigating the cultural
encounter between Christian faith and Greek culture. This is so because
primary education was so intimately connected with values, identity and
traditions in ancient society. The schools thus provided the means for
passing down key notions of the Hellenistic culture. Was this last-
mentioned education a big issue in the Church? Probably not, due to the
fact that the vast majority of people, Christians included, were illiterate.But it was still an important issue, not because it necessarily affected most
believers, but because it raised fundamental questions on the relationship
between Christian faith and pagan tradition. It raised questions of
hermeneutical significance far beyond the question of participation in
Greek education.
16 See e.g. Lucian of Samosata Hermotimus, where education is seen as climbing towards
a top, which was a common way of addressing education; see Ch. 2.5 in this study.
17 The book is only available in Norwegian; Kartagiske skoledager (1947).
Introduction 7
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
25/336
1.3 Is Greek Education Mentioned in the New Testament?
There is hardly any direct evidence of how Christians were involved with
traditional Greek education in the New Testament. Still, we can safelyassume that this was an issue of relevance and high on the agenda,
particularly for the well-to-do. Although our topic primarily appears in
later sources, we can be confident that the problem, challenge and
differing views were there from the beginning. This claim will be more
fully substantiated throughout this investigation.18 For the present, it
suffices to say that this is suggested by some observations. In Gal. 3.24
Paul writes that ‘the law was our paidagwgov" until Christ came’.19 ThisGreek word frequently appears in texts about the upbringing and teaching
of children. In Paul’s text it does not refer to the teacher, but to the personwho took care of the children. The word can be translated in various
ways. The paidagwgov" was a slave assigned to take care of the children.This implied taking them to their teachers. At the teacher’s the
paedagogues probably listened to the teaching and thus picked up
knowledge conveyed there. Accordingly, the paidagwgoiv often appear aspersons of some training, and they were expected to behave well, speak
well, and to have skills in teaching.20 In this way, many paidagwgoivplayed an intermediary role between the parents and the children. Not all
homes could afford to have paidagwgoiv; they marked well-to-dofamilies.21
Paul makes use of the paedagogus in a theological argument in which
this figure is clearly distinguished from the role of the teacher. Due to
Paul’s theological rhetoric, the distinction between the paedagogus and the
teacher is often exaggerated. In fact, the roles of the two were sometimes
blurred. The role of the paedagogus extended beyond caring for the young
children. As Chapter 2 will demonstrate, ‘primary’ education was often
given at home, particularly so with students from the elite. Quintilian, for
instance, speaks about the instruction given at home (see below). The paedagogus is the most likely candidate for being responsible for this
teaching.22 For the present, it is important to notice that Gal. 3.24
nonetheless demonstrates that Paul assumed his readers to be familiar
with the figure of the paidagwgov". The way Paul draws on this figure inhis argument in Galatians implies familiarity with traditional education,
although his readers themselves did not necessarily belong to the strata of
the society where these persons were at home.
18 Ch. 17 in this study will return to this issue.19 NRSV has ‘disciplinarian’. Biblical citations are from NRSV.
20 See e.g. Plato Resp. 467D; Pol. 308D–E; Plutarch Mor. 4A–B; Shelton 1998: 102;
Rawson 2003: 165–67; Vegge 2006: 22–29.
21 See e.g. Plato Leg. 808D–E; Cribiore 2001: 45–50.
22 Thus Booth 1979: 3; Cribiore 1996: 16–17.
The Challenge of Homer8
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
26/336
In 1 Cor. 4.14-17 Paul describes his teaching in a way which echoes
ancient pedagogical literature: ‘admonish’, ‘remind you of my ways’,
‘teach’, ‘imitate’, ‘ paidagwgoiv’. This text thus confirms how dependentearly Christian discourse on teaching and upbringing was on traditional
Greek education. In the preceding chapter (1 Cor. 3.1-2), Paul reproached
his converts in Corinth for not having passed the level of being nourished
on milk (cf. Heb. 5 above). Philo demonstrates that this was a popular
metaphor associated with Greek elementary education, the so-called
encyclical studies. According to Agr. 9, milk is nourishment for children
( nhv pioi); tevleioi (cf. Paul’s pneumatikoiv), however, eat wheaten bread,which is for grown-ups. This refers to encyclical studies which offered
milk-like food as opposed to wisdom ( frov nhsi", swfrosuv nh, ajrethv)
fitting for mature men (cf. Congr. 19–20). In Prob. 160, Philo refines themetaphor. He says that children are given milk to drink. Encyclical studies
will later replace the milk (aj nti; gavlakto") and provide soft food only,which is later again replaced by the meat of philosophy. According to
Quintilian, teachers should act as nurses ‘careful to provide softer food for
the still undeveloped minds and to suffer them to take their fill of the milk
of the more attractive studies’ (Inst. 2.4.5).23 These texts mirror different
levels in Greek education (see Chapter 2).
According to 1 Tim. 4.8, the Christians are urged to train themselves in
godliness, for ‘while physical training [ gumnasiva] is of some value,godliness is valuable in every way’. This text assumes familiarity not only
with the language of education, but also with the physical training
associated with Greek education.
From these observations we conclude that although school and
education are not directly mentioned in the New Testament, they are
clearly assumed as something with which Christians were familiar. Greek
education formed a significant part of the world the Christians had to
make decisions about. It is therefore not anachronistic to assume the
presence of a debate among the first Christians, although the issue is madeexplicit only later. Towards the end of this investigation we will, therefore,
return to the question of the New Testament.
1.4 The Aim of this Study
Education involved both literacy and numeracy. As we will see, the final
goal of education was to promote the quality of the mind: in short, virtue.
Literacy was seen as the primary means of achieving this. My main
interest in this study is, therefore, literacy, the reading skill which accessed
23 For similar references in Epictetus, where Greek education in general is described in
terms of milk and philosophy in terms of solid food, see Dutch 2005: 250–51.
Introduction 9
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
27/336
the cultural canon dominated by Homer’s writings (see Chapter 4). Our
topic provides a pathway to understanding how the Christians viewed the
Hellenistic culture which developed from the time of Alexander the Great
until the first centuries CE. Greek language, mythology, sport, temples,
theatres, etc. worked as glue in this culture, thus making it a complex
unity. Greek education held a significant role in conveying these traditions
and values. Cribiore says that ‘education became a powerful agent for
preserving ‘‘Greekness’’ ’.24 Sources from this period demonstrate how
Jews as well as Christians struggled to keep their identity and still wanted
to be reckoned as citizens or among the members of society; 1 and 2
Maccabees speak of apostasy among the Jews due to the introduction of
Greek customs, among which Greek education was prominent (1 Macc.
1.11-15; 2 Macc. 4.10-20). These texts also mention the reaction caused byGreek athletic competitions in the vicinity of the Jerusalem Temple. The
gumnavsion was a symbol of Greek identity and education in a way whichmany Jews found provocative. The strong opposition witnessed in these
writings should, however, not distract from the fact that Jews neither
thought nor acted unanimously in these questions.
Neither did all Christians agree in defining the proper relationship to
Hellenistic culture. The New Testament witnesses discussions and
arguments on how the Christians should interact with the Roman
authorities and the temples.25 Later Christian sources include athleticcompetitions, theatre and shows in this list of disputed issues.26 These
challenges are certainly older than the sources in which they appear as
topics under discussion. Such was probably also the situation with the so-
called encyclical education. Christian faith was put into practice through
scriptural reading, interpretations, prayers and liturgy. All this required
that some were able to read and write. Differing views, therefore, emerged
among the believers, as well as intense debate on how to deal with the
ancient ‘ paideiva-system’. The aim of this book is to unfold this debate
and the arguments paving the way to different positions and solutions.The ultimate aim is to shed light on a challenge which early Christians
faced even at a time before the sources directly address it. This historical
topic raises fundamental theological questions on the relationship between
faith and pagan culture. The historical material in this study thus serves
the purpose of looking into one of the main hermeneutical challenges
which faced the Christians: Are they allowed to participate in the reading
of pagan texts, and if so, how should they do it?
The debate on this issue among the first Christian generations
24 Cribiore 2001: 9.
25 See e.g. Ra ¨ isinen 1995 who demonstrates the diverse attitudes towards Graeco-
Roman culture witnessed in the Book of Revelation.
26 See e.g. Guyot and Klein 1994: 98–121.
The Challenge of Homer10
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
28/336
developed competing viewpoints for how the relationship between
Christian faith and pagan texts and traditions might be conceived. In
order to understand the Christians of the New Testament period better, I
believe it is necessary to listen carefully to how believers in the first
centuries CE. addressed questions of Greek education. The question of
reading Homer in particular lends itself to a study on the relationship
between the nascent Christian faith and the surrounding society. The
theatre, athletic competitions, festivals and baths, to mention some areas
which were controversial to Christians, were, at least in principle,
avoidable. Christian believers could, more or less, do without participat-
ing in these institutions. But could they do without reading? This is
precisely the implications of the challenge of Homer to the Christians.
Thus the question of education forced the Christians to think throughtheir position.
1.5 Method
We have pointed out that our topic is not addressed directly in the oldest
Christian sources, but they show awareness of a society in which
traditional Greek education was at work. This makes it necessary to
illuminate the situation of early Christians with the help of later sources.We thus hope to portray a challenge which was relatively constant from
the beginning until Augustine in the fourth century CE. Obviously, the
situation differed due both to time and place, but the sources nevertheless
point out problems and solutions which were typical of the entire period
in question. The Christian sources (Part 2) will be presented in
chronological order without any claim to depict a historical development.
The sources are hardly representative of the time of their composition;
rather they are examples of competing attitudes and positions. The next
chapter will demonstrate that, in spite of all the diversity of Greekeducation, a fixed pattern is discernible in ancient education throughout
the centuries in question. This supports a method where later sources are
used to describe situations typical of Christians in the ancient world.
Christian sources can thus also shed light on the first Christian
generations without forgetting that later sources represent a development
or furthering of what might have been present in nuce earlier.
The backbone of the presentation is the involvement with key texts.
This is not a book about the Christians and education in antiquity in
general, but a presentation of some key texts on this issue. The topic is
presented through a collection of some influential and informative texts
which are then commented upon. This allows that some themes will
appear more than once. This source-oriented approach will prove
beneficial for the investigation; it brings the reader closer to the sources
Introduction 11
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
29/336
themselves, and also to an awareness of the context in which our topic is
being raised.
Education in antiquity generally followed a threefold pattern, elemen-
tary or primary, secondary and higher education. The next chapter will
substantiate this, and also demonstrate the diversity found in the sources.
For our investigation it is important to remember that the Christian
sources of relevance usually lump these levels together. The discussion is
not always specific on this point. It is therefore difficult to define precisely
the level they address. The Christian sources often treat school and
education within discussions of how Greek philosophy and Christian faith
were to be understood. In practice, however, to most believers, this
theological issue involved sending their children to the teacher nearby
offering classes in reading Homer and copying the texts of the poets.Nonetheless, this is not a book about Christianity and Greek philosophy
or early Christian apologetics in general. The presentation will focus on
the question of education, which will, however, work as a window on the
question of culture and faith.27 The writings of Homer in particular
formed important building-blocks for the sense of a common identity in
antiquity. These writings were precisely what many Christians found to be
obstacles for their participation in education. Given the pivotal role of
Homer in Greek education (see Chapter 3), the study focuses on charting
attitudes to Homer in early Christian literature.We have pointed out that in the relationship to Greek culture and
customs Jews and Christians very often developed related strategies.
Philo, the Alexandrian Jew of the early first century CE, forms an
interesting point of comparison. His writings vividly present the situation
of a Jewish minority in the Greek metropolis. One of the issues to which
he gives special attention is Greek education and how his fellow Jews
should respond to this challenge. Philo will, therefore, be discussed in a
separate chapter (see Chapter 5), following the presentation of education
in antiquity and preceding the Christian sources. Philo is of particularinterest because he bridges the historical gap between the later Christian
sources and the silence of the New Testament on our topic. He represents
the period about which our Christian sources are silent on the question of
Greek education. Philo allows us to assume a debate on this also among
the Christians. Jewish education, as it appeared in the family and
synagogue, is not in view in this investigation. The focus is throughout on
classical education in Graeco-Roman society. This is also the perspective
on Philo in our presentation.
The investigation will be based on sources where questions aboutschool, teachers and education are explicitly raised. An alternative
27 Ellspermann 1949: 1 rightly points out that Christian attitudes to paganism and pagan
literature in particular can be fully understood only if the school problem is included.
The Challenge of Homer12
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
30/336
approach would be to investigate the level of education on the part of
Christian authors by looking into their use of texts, traditions and
knowledge taught in the schools of their culture. That approach would
provide examples of Christians who probably participated in the ancient
encyclical curriculum. Furthermore, it would also offer a counterbalance
to the problem-oriented focus of the texts on education. However, some
such investigations have already been presented. Gu ¨ nter Glockmann has
investigated the influence of Homer on early Christian literature up to
Justin Martyr (c. 150 CE), and does not find any Homeric quotation, with
the sea narratives in Acts as possible exceptions.28 He takes these findings
as indicative of a lack of Greek education among the early Christians.29
Justin, however, demonstrates knowledge of Homer’s writings, thus
showing his dependence on Greek education.30 Glockmann rightlyassumes that references to Homer’s writings are indicative of familiarity
with the cultural canon taught in schools. Dennis R. MacDonald has
suggested that Mark’s Gospel and the Book of Acts are thoroughly
embedded in Homeric traditions, and are in fact consciously imitating
Homeric language, style and narrative technique, aiming at a theological
rivalry with Homer.31 He says that ‘one best reads these texts against the
backdrop of classical Greek literature and mythology’.32 In short, ‘early
Christian authors . . . wrote as they had been taught in school’.33 I
consider MacDonald’s view exaggerated, but vis-a `-vis Glockmann 1968,his works are still necessary corrections. Similarly, Marianne Palmer Bonz
suggests that Luke–Acts was composed with Virgil’s Aeneid as a structural
paradigm.34
Peter Lampe has presented a prosopographic investigation of the
Christian community of Rome in the two first centuries, including the
level of education some of the key figures went through, tracing both their
social and educational background. He concludes that the relationship
between education and social status is multi-levelled; this makes it
28 Glockmann 1968: 56: ‘In keiner Schrift des Neuen Testaments begegnet der Name des
‘‘grossen’’, ‘‘besten’’, ‘‘vornehmsten’’ und ‘‘ersten’’ Dichters der Hellenen, wie Homer spa ¨ ter
von christlichen Schriftstellern – freilich zumeist mit einer gewissen ironischen Distanzierung
– genannt worden ist.’ (‘No New Testament writing mentions the name of ‘‘the greatest’’,
‘‘most distinguished and the first poet’’ of the Greek, as Homer was called by later Christian
authors – although mostly with some ironical distance’: my trans.) Freund 2000 investigates
the question of Virgil’s role in early Latin Christianity. The hermeneutical thrust of my study
is not focused upon in their books.
29 Glockmann 1968: 59.30 Glockmann 1968: 193.
31 See his 2000 and 2003. For a critique, see Sandnes 2005.
32 MacDonald 2003: 14–15.
33 MacDonald 2003: 2.
34 Bonz 2000.
Introduction 13
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
31/336
impossible to deduce social status from the level of education.35 Slaves
who accompanied children to school, being their paedagogi , acquired
through their presence at the instruction familiarity with skills usually
connected with participation in education.36 This is, however, not to deny
that educational opportunities were generally accessed through higher
social origin. Little education may well be combined with wealth, as with a
freedman like Trimalchio. In his Cena Trimalchionis, Petronius has
Trimalchio summarize Homer’s writings and Greek mythology in a
distorted way. This very rich man has no precise knowledge of the basic
knowledge required of Roman nobility (Sat. 58). Similarly, Petronius
amuses his readers by having one of Trimalchio’s friends, Hermeros, say
that he has not learned geometry, literature nor the nonsense (alogia) or
wrath (menia) of Achilles. The accusative plural menias is a reference tothe opening line of the Iliad where mh' ni" is the very first word. In short,Hermeros had not learnt Homer’s text, but he says ‘I do know my capital
letters [lapidariae litterae]37 and I can work out percentages in weights and
measures and currency’ (Sat. 58).38 The fee given to the teacher for the
knowledge Hermeros scorns is wasted since it does not necessarily give
access to loans. Hermeros makes a laughing-stock of Ascyltos who is well
educated but unable to make money.39 Trimalchio enjoys Hermeros’
attack on Ascyltos, but calms the situation by having the company listen
instead to the actors reciting Homer.The approach applied by Glockmann and Lampe is demanding, and
goes beyond the limits of this investigation. Furthermore, their approach
will amplify the methodical problem of our topic, namely the fact that the
sources mainly speak from the perspective of the intellectual elite. Their
approach, therefore, gives limited insight into the debate on Greek
education among the Christians, and the tensions caused by it. It must,
however, be pointed out that a negative attitude to Greek education does
not necessarily imply lack of education. Tertullian (see Chapter 10), for
example, sharply criticizes encyclical training, but is still familiar with it.The topic of this book is of interest to a wider public. In the first place,
it gives a presentation of the kind of schools children in antiquity
attended, and also the contemporary pedagogical debate. The book thus
35 Lampe 1989: 299–300.
36 There is evidence that some masters trained their slaves to read and write, thus
making them more useful and also raising their price; see Haines-Eitzen 2000: 58–60.
37 This is probably synonymous with quadrata littera found in inscriptions, such as cave
canem, mentioned in Sat. 29.38 Quoted from Walsh 1996.
39 Philodemus, the Epicurean philosopher, assumes the presence of uneducated members
even in the philosophical school. These worked as manual labourers, were uneducated in
gravmmata, and hence in need of help from members who had a good Greek training; see
Snyder 2000: 57–61.
The Challenge of Homer14
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
32/336
introduces the historical roots of present-day education. In the second
place, the book describes how early Christian interpretation of the Bible
partly developed from the reading of Homer in ancient schools. The book
thus addresses a hermeneutical question of how authoritative texts are to
be interpreted – be they Homeric or biblical. Finally, the debate on
education among the first Christian generations encapsulates the question
of whether and, if so how, Christian faith interacted with pagan culture.
Homer in particular, mirrors their attitude to pagan education and culture
in general.
Introduction 15
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
33/336
Chapter 2
SCHOOL IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD
2.1 Introductory Comments
In order to understand why and how Christian believers were challengedby issues related to school and education, it is necessary to possess some
historical knowledge about ancient schooling. It is the aim of this chapter
to provide this. What kind of school did children, mostly boys, attend?
What were they taught there? What were the teaching conditions? These
are some of the issues which will enable us to read the Christian texts (Part
2) more adequately.
Present-day readers tend to think of ‘school’ in antiquity in terms
similar to our contemporary world, with a sequential arrangement of
programmes and curricula organized so that the first feeds into the next.This chapter will demonstrate that this is misleading. We have to think in
terms of flexibility, local variations and circumstantial differences. The
Roman Empire was vast, and education was not in any way controlled or
supervised by authorities. My investigation also covers a large period of
time: the first four centuries CE. All this suggests not uniformity but
variation and flexibility.
‘School’ in this investigation is not a reference to buildings or public
institutions; in fact it rarely is in antiquity.1 Primarily ‘school’ refers to the
activity performed by teachers who taught their students. School was
1 Rawson 2003: 184–87 demonstrates some public interest in education in Rome, Pliny
Ep. 4.13 being an interesting example, albeit hardly representative of the situation. In this
letter he tells of a visit to his home town Comum. Due to the lack of teachers, children had to
leave home and study at other places. Pliny expresses a strong opinion on the importance of
keeping the children at home during their studies. As a remedy he suggests teachers hired by
collective funding. Pliny will himself contribute to this. The question of teachers should not
be left to the parents alone to decide:
The children born here should be brought up on their native soil, so that from their
earlier years they may learn to love it and choose to stay at home. I hope that you
will introduce teachers of repute, so that nearby towns will seek education here, and
instead of sending your children elsewhere as you do today, you will soon see other
children flocking here to you.
Pliny’s text also illustrates the difference between country and city in matters of education.
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
34/336
more or less identical with the teacher. This means that ‘school’ as a
fellowship of teachers, together providing a curriculum of various subjects
at different levels, was rarely found in the ancient world. To avoid
the misunderstanding that schools were organized in this way, it is
probably preferable to speak of ‘going to the teacher’s’. Greek has no
regular word for ‘school’ at this early period. The students are said to
‘go to the teacher’s’ ( eij" didaskavlou), ‘to the writing-teacher’s’ ( eij" grammatistou').2 In full it would be to ‘go to the teacher’s house, placeetc.’, but this phrase does not imply a reference to any physical location
where a teacher gathered his students. The sources assume that teaching
took place in houses, courtrooms, colonnades or under a shady tree, in the
palaivstra (wrestling-place) or in the gymnasium.3 In a treatise where DioChrysostom speaks favourably of the ability to remain unaffected byconditions (Or. 20.20), he holds the elementary teachers (oiJ tw' n
grammav twn didavskaloi) to be good examples. They practise in thestreets, without being distracted by the passing crowd (Or. 20.9-10). In
20.11 he allows an objection concerning his example, namely that the
elementary teachers perform an activity which does not affect the mind
properly, as does true paideia, which is philosophy requiring both
seclusion and retirement.4 When we speak of ‘school’ in this study, this isthe flexible situation we have to take into consideration.
Nonetheless, Teresa Morgan has argued convincingly that, in spite of all variations, literate education, which was essential for Greek culture,
was adopted and adapted by the Romans so profoundly that Hellenistic
and Roman literate education are rightly discussed as a single phenom-
enon. From the time of the Macedonian kings, education created stability,
continuity and cultural identity which worked as a glue in the ancient
world for more than a thousand years: ‘It is one of the places where it is
possible to see how strongly, despite all local variations of politics,
bureaucracy, culture and social structure, a sector of the ancient world
regarded itself as an entity.’5 It is possible to distinguish between classicalGreek and Roman education. However, Roman schooling was, as already
pointed out, to a large extent borrowed from the Greek. The similarities
are so obvious that Henri-Ire ´ ne ´ e Marrou introduces the chapter on school
in Rome by saying that the presentation, strictly speaking, is superfluous.6
Quintilian, the famous teacher of rhetoric in Rome in the late first century
CE, attests this fundamental similarity in his full account of Roman
2 E.g. Plato, Lysis 208C; see Griffith 2001: 66.3 Alexander 1994: 73–76; Morgan 1998: 18–19; Cribiore 2001: 21–36.
4 Dio Chrysostom here assumes noisiness as typical of school life; this is confirmed in
Martial Epigram 9.68.11 (quoted later).
5 Morgan 1998: 24.
6 Marrou 1956: 265.
School in the Graeco-Roman World 17
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
35/336
education (Inst. 1) (see below).7 Since Roman education developed from
the Greek culture, this study will draw upon both Greek and Latin
sources in depicting ancient schools. According to Cicero, knowledge is to
be sought from the Greek (De or. 3.137). He thus remembers how his
teachers primarily taught him and his friends to speak Greek perfectly (De
or. 2.2). I am, therefore, confident that it is justified in this context, and
that it will serve our purpose to give a unified presentation of Graeco-
Roman education.
Ancient sources share the idea of mastering a ‘circle of education’; i.e.
to be ‘encircled’ with everything necessary to know. This common
education started with learning to read and write; it continued with the
reading of classical authors, and it included grammar, literary criticism,
arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, rhetoric and philosophy. This listof disciplines varies in the sources, but it was commonly called ej gkuvklio" paideiva.8 The corresponding Latin expression is septem artes liberales.The idea was that a man who mastered these deserved the respect of
society; he was a cultured male citizen.9 The fullest description of this
circle of education is given by Quintilian in his Inst. 1.10.1-6. He includes
learning to read and to write, grammar, literature, geometry, astronomy,
music and logic. He calls these disciplines orbis doctrinae. Quintilian says
that the circle of education represents the necessary instruction before
boys are handed over to the teacher of rhetoric: priusquam rhetori traduntur (1.10.1). The ultimate goal is, therefore, rhetoric. As pointed out
by Morgan,10 this is possibly the reason that Quintilian left out both
rhetoric and philosophy from his definition of encyclical studies. He
considered the liberal arts as paving the way for these two types of
superior learning.
2.2 Sources
The sources for encyclical education are of two kinds: literary and non-
literary. Literary sources are Greek and Roman authors who address
questions relating to education. Of special importance among these are
Plato, Republic and the Laws; Cicero, De oratore; Ps.Plutarch, On
7 Townsend 1971: 139 aptly remarks: ‘Roman education should be viewed as one aspect
of Hellenistic education with Latin added to the curriculum and with less stress on the
physical training.’
8 See e.g. how Philo defines this in his Congr. 11–18, 74–76, 142, 148–50; Morgan 1998:6–7, 34–39, 42–43.
9 Andersen 1999: 11. Cribiore 2001a: 241 rightly points out that although encyclical
usually concerns ‘the totality of the disciplines that encircled a student’, it also refers
sometimes to ‘the cyclic revisiting of the same texts’.
10 Morgan 1998: 35.
The Challenge of Homer18
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
36/336
Education of Children (Mor. 1A–14C); Quintilian, Institutio oratoria; and
Philo of Alexandria, On Mating with the Preliminary Studies (De
congressu). These sources are often idealized remarks about education,
and they assume the social elite of the society. Hence they witness to ideals
rooted in the upper strata of society more than daily practice. The non-
literary evidence includes papyri, ostraca (pieces of clay pottery on which
students took their notes), waxed wooden tablets, pieces of parchment
with fragments from teachers’ textbooks and students’ notebooks with
gnomic maxims. The student’s notebook partly preserved in Papyrus
Boriant (see Introduction) is, of course, an example of non-literary
sources. The Egyptian desert has preserved numerous pieces of such
material, and the studies of Cribiore (1996) and Morgan (1998) draw
heavily on this. Cribiore lists the levels or categories of these students’exercises, which demonstrate the sequence of their learning:
Letters of the alphabetAlphabetsSyllabariesLists of wordsWriting exercisesShort passages: maxims, sayings and limited amount of versesLonger passages: copying or dictationScholia minoraCompositions, paraphrases, summariesGrammatical exercisesNotebooks.11
The non-literary sources allow access to daily life in ancient schools.
Teresa Morgan has argued for the primacy of the non-literary sources
over the literary sources. She emphasizes that these sources mirror a social
context different from most of the literary sources. Furthermore, they
attest how fragmentary and uncompleted was the training. From theliterary sources one has the impression that most of Homer was read, and
with equal frequency. The non-literary sources, however, correct this
picture. Many Homeric texts have survived in the school sources. Thus
they testify to the primary importance of Homer in school (more on this
later), but his writings appear mostly in smaller units, quotations and
clusters mainly from the beginning of the works, and some recurrent
scenes which attracted interest: ‘The striking thing about most of the other
survivals, however, is that they do not cover the narrative.’12 From this
material Morgan concludes that a notion of core and periphery was in
use. Most students were taught only a core of skills, texts and authors
11 Cribiore 1996: 31–32, 140.
12 Morgan 1998: 107.
School in the Graeco-Roman World 19
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
37/336
during their education. Few moved beyond the core and received the
education mentioned in the literary sources.13 For the present investiga-
tion, however, it is of significance that a fundamental overlapping between
the non-literary and literary sources is observable. This allows us to
assume an educational ‘system’ in practice: ‘The papyri include all the
components of ej gkuvklio" paideiva on which elite sources agree, and theelements which do not appear in papyri are typically characterized in
literary sources as extras, alternatives or aims, rather than means of
education.’14
2.3 The Marrou Tradition: A Tripartite Educational Pattern
In 1948 H.I. Marrou presented his study Histoire de l’education dans
l’antiquité . The book has appeared in several editions, and has been
translated into many languages. It is truly a classic on this topic. Yun Lee
Too says that ‘Marrou’s work has come to occupy a position as the
authoritative history of ancient education.’15 Marrou has popularized the
standard tripartite picture of ancient education. Literary instruction was,
according to this view, divided into three levels: primary, secondary and
‘higher’ education, each supervised by a different teacher.16 These levels
were taught sequentially, and each was supervised by different teachers.The upbringing of children proceeded in corresponding levels; small
children up to age 7 ( paidei'o"); children ( pai'") from 7 to 14, andadolescent (meiravkion) from 14 till age 20. True paideiva started, then, inprimary schooling at age 7. Until then the home provided for the needs of
children, and their upbringing was spoken of in terms such as
aj nastrofhv,17 which means nourishment.18 From this it is deduced thatprimary education started at about the age of 7, and that secondary
education continued when the student had learned his ABC.
In primary education, learning to read and write were given mostattention. The elementary teacher was called grammatisthv". This pointsto the main activity, namely to work with ta; gravmmata, the letters, that ishow to identify, copy and pronounce the letters of the alphabet as well as
how to combine the syllables. In Latin, a teacher at this level was called
13 Morgan 1998: 71–73, 77, 88, 103–4.
14 Morgan 1998: 50.
15 Too 2001a: 1.
16 See how this pattern structures the presentation of Hellenistic schools and educationin dictionaries; e.g. Alexander 1992; Townsend 1992.
17 See e.g Aristotle, Pol. 1336B.
18 Cf. trofov", the person, mostly a woman, who cares for the small children. Paul the
apostle compared his responsibilities with his recent converts in Thessalonica with those of a
trofov" in private homes (1 Thess. 2.8); see Malherbe 1970.
The Challenge of Homer20
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
38/336
ludi magister, or simply litterator, which is derived from litterae, letters.
Teachers on this level did not enjoy high repute and status. Their
occupation was often taken to exemplify an unlucky person or one who
had failed. In the dialogue Menippus, Lucian of Samosata has a character
saying after a short visit to Hades: ‘But you would have laughed much
more heartily, I think, if you had seen our kings and satraps reduced to
poverty there, and either selling salt fish on account of their neediness or
teaching the alphabet [ ta; prw' ta didavskonta" gravmmata], and gettingabused and hit over the head by all comers, like the meanest of slaves’
(Men. 17).19 In the first stage, the teaching aimed at enabling the students
to read extracts, usually aloud, from classical texts.20 The teachers were
seen as conveying to their students the practical skill of reading, very
much like an artisan or labourer in reading and writing (see Chapter 4).This contributed to the low status of the grammatistaiv.
Learning the alphabet was the most important activity in primary
education. Notebooks which have been preserved, such as wooden wax
tablets, pieces of broken pots or papyri, show how the alphabet was
taught. From this material we know that the students learnt the alphabet
forwards and backwards, and that they were taught to read in rhythm,
and to memorize and pronounce difficult words or names.21 From the
letters they moved to syllables, words and sentences (see above). The
notebooks show that teaching was primarily done by means of memorizing. The aim was correct and beautiful writing and correct
pronunciation of letters and syllables. This was learned either by following
the outlines of letters carved into a wooden tablet, by the teacher guiding
the hand of his student, or by copying the teacher’s model between
parallel lines.22 Lists of Homeric names were to be memorized. The
teachers explained and commented upon the identity and deeds of these
names, and thus introduced students to Greek history, culture and
identity.
Martial, who lived in Rome in the last part of the first century CE, is wellknown for his epigrams satirizing daily life in the city. Of course, satirists
are prone to exaggeration, but their exaggerations usually take typical
scenes as the point of departure. This seems to be the case when Martial is
describing a teacher working in the vicinity:
19 All citations from LCL unless otherwise indicated. For more evidence that primary
teachers were objects of derision, see Booth 1981.20 See e.g. Acts 8.28-30 and Quintilian Inst. 1.8.1-2, in which reading aloud is assumed.
The comparison between reading and singing is also relevant here; cf. Clement Protr.
4/59.1-2.
21 On school exercises, see Cribiore 1996: 27–55.
22 See Cribiore 1996: 122–28.
School in the Graeco-Roman World 21
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
39/336
What have you to do with me, cursed schoolmaster [ludi magister],
creature hateful to boys and girls? The crested cocks have not yet
broken silence and already you make a din with your savage roaring
and your thwacks. The bronze resounds as loudly from smitten anvils,when the smith is fitting a barrister23 to the horse’s middle. The shouting
rages less wildly in the great Amphitheater when the winning buckler24
is applauded by its backers. We your neighbors ask for sleep – not all
night through; to lie awake is nothing much, but to lie awake all night is
a cross. Dismiss your pupils [discipulos dimitte suos]. Will you take as
much for holding your tongue as you get for shouting? (Epigram
9.68.11)
The text is instructive, conveying a picture of early-morning loud recital
from the school, to the annoyance of the neighbours. Martial seems toassume that even girls attended this school (see later in this chapter). The
teaching is accompanied by harsh discipline. His contempt for the ludi
magister shines through clearly, for instance in his mention of the
payment. The text illustrates what it meant for schools to be ‘public’;
instruction took place in ways which could be observed by the
community; sometimes to its annoyance.
According to this standard view, students advanced to the next stage
when they were ready for it. Working on grammar and the exegesis of the
poets required skills in both reading and writing. The transition to thesecond stage, therefore, depended upon these skills. The teachers taught
style, language and morals based on these as well as on other texts. The
students were given exercises, pieces to memorize and recite, supervised by
grammatikov". The secondary curriculum of grammar and literature partlyoverlapped on the first stage, but it was more complex and sophisticated.
The students now passed from words and syllables to literary works,
primarily those of Homer. By teaching classical literature, the school-
masters were gradually forming an identity based on the great traditions
of the culture. Most important were Homer’s epics, the Iliad and theOdyssey. Homer was ‘the poet’ par excellence, and the Iliad was,
according to the number of copies found, three times more popular
than the Odyssey.25 The literature with which the students had to occupy
themselves made frequent mention of the gods, and pagan mythology, as
Jews and Christians would call it, was important. The authority assigned
to these epics is due to the guiding and intervening role the deities have in
these stories. The destiny of people and history are decided on Mount
23 In a note, the LCL edition says that successful lawyers were in the habit of erectingequestrian statues of themselves in their vestibules (cf. Juvenal Sat. 7.125).
24 In a note the LCL edition says that this was carried by Thracian gladiators. They had
a reputation for rarely winning. When they won, however, the applause would be all the
louder.
25 For the fragmentary nature of this learning, see references above.
The Challenge of Homer22
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
40/336
Olympus. These texts are, accordingly, religious poems. It is the awareness
of this which made education a much-discussed topic among Christians of
the first century CE. The subjects taught at the primary and secondary
stages were collectively called encyclical (see above).
Students who finished the two first levels had different options. They
were to find a teacher in medicine,26 law, rhetoric or philosophy.27 The
students continued their study of literature, but were now focusing on
how this knowledge would prove helpful for speeches and philosophy.
The textbooks, progymnasmata,28 used for the purpose of rhetoric,
demonstrate the continuing use of Homer at this advanced level of
education. For young Greek boys from well-to-do families this was also
the time to start the so-called ‘ephebian’29 education, which could last for
two years. The activities of the gumnavsion30 were meant to complete andadd to what the youth had so far been taught. Emphasis, however, was
laid on physical training and athletics. Traditionally, this training was
motivated by the need to prepare for defending the city in time of war.31
Studying at the gymnasia gave the youngsters access to public positions, in
politics and administration,32 particularly so in places where Greek
culture was highly valued. In his Symposiakon 9 (Mor. 736D–37D),
Plutarch tells us how civil servants in Athens attended an aj povdeixi" wherestudents performed in reading, geometry, rhetoric and music. This Greek
term implies some form of evaluation or inspection.Participation in the activities of the gymnasia was reckoned as a
criterion of Greekness, and necessary to enjoy full rights as a citizen. This
is illustrated in 2 Maccabees 4, a Jewish text describing how Greek and
pagan mores were introduced to Jerusalem at the time of Jason the high
priest (c. 160 BCE):
26 The writings of Galen give some insight into medical education; see Alexander 1992:
1009–10.
27 See Alexander 1992: 1007–09. In Arrian’s compilation of the discourses of his teacher,
namely Epictetus, we see a philosophical teacher at work. See also Culpepper 1975: 135–40.
28 See Vegge 2006: 121–38.
29 This word is derived from the Greek e[ fhbov", meaning young adolescent.
30 A gymnasion was a sports ground, very often with a colonnade providing shade to
protect against heat or shelter from wind and rain. The word is derived from Greek gumnov"
(naked), due to the fact that athletic exercises were performed nude. Ps. Lucian Am. 45
mentions physical training as integral to boys’ education, although this element was declining
in the first century CE. Quintilian does not share the Greeks’ enthusiasm for athletics in
education (Inst. 1.11.1), but his scepticism is, in fact, testimony that some children in Romecontinued to include physical training in their education.
31 See e.g. Lucian, Anach. 10, 14, 20, 24, 30.
32 In the Western parts of the Roman Empire, Augustus encouraged a similar education
in collegia juvenum, emphasizing physical training; see Townsend 1971: 151 with further
references.
School in the Graeco-Roman World 23
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
41/336
. . . to establish by his authority a gymnasium and a body of youth
[ gumnavsion kai; ej fhbei"on] for it, and to enrol the people of Jerusalemas citizens of Antioch (9) . . . he took delight in establishing a
gymnasium right under the citadel, and he induced the noblest of theyoung men to wear the Greek hat.33 There was such an extreme of
Hellenization and increase in the adoption of foreign ways because of
the surpassing wickedness of Jason, who was ungodly and no true high
priest, that the priests were no longer intent upon their service at the
altar. Despising the sanctuary and neglecting the sacrifices, they hurried
to take part in the unlawful proceedings in the wrestling arena34 after
the signal for the discus-throwing, disdaining the honours prized by
their ancestors and putting the highest value upon Greek forms of
prestige35 (vv. 9, 12–15)
Athletics, practised in the Greek way, but also education in general, are
here seen as a distinct mark of Greek identity. The implicit accusation
against Jews participating in the activities described here is that they have
abandoned their Jewish identity for the Greek.
Cicero and Quintilian considered rhetoric the peak of education. Both
of them, however, acknowledged the need to attend lessons in encyclical
studies or artes liberales before embracing the proper education of
rhetoric (e.g. Cicero, De or. 1.73-77; 1.137; 2.5-6). Cicero presents these
studies as comites ac ministrae oratoris, ‘attendants and handmaids of oratory’ (De or. 1.75). As will appear later in the present investigation, this
is a standard way of talking about encyclical education: it provides
knowledge which prepares for, paves the way for, or ministers, to real
knowledge, available in rhetoric, philosophy or medicine.36 Furthermore,
encyclical subjects were usually described in terms of a beautiful
maidservant (ministra) or attractive woman as opposed to the legal
wife, the symbol of ‘higher education’.37
The Roman philosopher Seneca (see Chapter 4) attended the classes of
the philosopher Attalos (Ep. 108). The aim of this education was not tolearn how to debate, but how to live; not to collect knowledge but to
develop or improve souls (Ep. 108.23). This is, as we will see in Chapter 4,
an implicit critique of encyclical studies. Training in philosophy is
distinguished from the rest of the curricula taught in the schools in its aim
of ennobling the souls of the students. Encyclical teachers teach their
33 Hermes wore a broad-brimmed hat, and he was often associated with athletic
competitions.
34 The Septuagint has here ej n palaivstrhæ.35 The Septuagint has here timaiv and dovxai, which in this context probably refer to the
wreath given to the winner of the competitions.
36 The basic structure of this logic was easily applied by Jews as referring to knowledge
preparing for Torah, or by Christians for the Christian faith.
37 More on this in Chs 4.4; 5.1. 3 and 14.1. 3.
The Challenge of Homer24
-
8/16/2019 K.O. Sandnes-The Challenge of Homer_ School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity (2009)
42/336
students to analyse Virgil’s sentence fugit . . . tempus. The students would
be taught the grammar of this sentence, how often these words appear in
Virgil’s writings, etc. The philosophy teacher, however, takes this sentence
as a point of departure to teach his students how to make right use of time
(Ep. 108.24-26). The same sentence from Virgil is thus studied with
different purposes, among which only the latter is truly important,
according to Seneca. The philosopher’s lessons aim at words becoming
acts: ut verba opera sint. The way philosophers taught their students was
organized in order to bring about this. In his Ep. 6.56, he addresses his
friend Lucilius. In order to convey wisdom (sapientia) to this friend,
Seneca sends him some books in which he has marked the passages
Lucilius ought to study carefully:
Of course, however, the living voice [viva vox] and the intimacy of a
common life will help you more than the written word. You must go to
the scene of action [res praesens], first, because men put more faith in
their eyes than in their ears, and second, because the way is long if one
follows precepts [ per praecepta], but short and helpful, if one follows
patterns [ per exempla]. Cleanthes could not have been the express image
of Zeno, if he had merely heard his lectures; he shared in his life, saw
into his hidden purposes, and watched him to see whether he lived
according to his rules [an ex formula sua viveret]. Plato, Aristotle, and
the whole throng of sages who were destined to go each his differentway, derived more benefit from the character than from the words of
Socrates [ plus ex moribus quam ex verbis Socratis traxit]. It was not the
class-room of Epicurus [schola Epicuri ], but living together under the
same roof, that made great men of Metrodoru