Upper-class men strove to become political figures, thereby making their ancestors proud, hence it would not do for such a man to be ignorant of basic grammar principles or his nation’s great history. A boy’s education was more extensive than a young girl’s but that does not mean that women went without one. A mother’s intellectual influence on her children was by no means small and therefore young girls were taught, more than adequately, the things which would allow them to instruct their future offspring.
A Father’s Role
As a son would grow up to continue his father’s work, it was clearly necessary for a man to take an active interest in his son’s education in order to ensure that the boy grew up to be the sort of man he could be proud of. We are all familiar with the concept and practices of Roman schools and, as the power of Rome grew over the centuries, the strict and intensive further education of young boys was commonly handed over to professionals. Despite this, the fathers of ancient Rome were fond of their traditions.
Marcus Porcius Cato was one such traditionalist, a fairly extreme one who was against contact with the Greek world for fear it would irrevocably change the Roman way of life. In Plutarch’s documentation of Cato’s life, he describes how nothing short of a government emergency would keep the man from being present at his infant son’s bathing and feeding. The Romans believed that a boy’s father should be his primary teacher and indeed Cato would not allow anyone else to educate his son as he grew.
Slaves as Teachers
Being a slave in ancient Rome was not associated with a lack of education. Slaves came to be so by a variety of misfortunes therefore it was very common for a slave to have an intelligence and education equal to, or indeed greater than, their masters. Wealthy families would seek to own the most impeccably educated slaves to instruct their children. Having their child educated by a slave was, however, seen as unacceptable by many men. Fathers often took it upon themselves to provide their son’s entire education, teaching athletics, swimming, fighting and equitation as well as academics; “Cato did not think it proper for his son to be criticized by a slave.”
A Mother’s Role
The role of a mother in the education of her children was not dismissed as an irrelevance. A girl’s education was therefore encouraged but it was also important that it not exceed her brother’s. A woman should have sufficient intelligence and education to allow her to appreciate the intelligence of her future husband and not out-do it. As a mother would spend a greater amount of time with the children in their infancy than her husband would, it was vital that her use of grammar be exemplary. A child’s early years were recognised as the most formative by the Romans and so every influence had to be a positive one.
Quintilian writes approvingly of Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi brothers, in his Elements of Oratory. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were accomplished public speakers and Quintilian credits Cornelia with their eloquence. Although the family was legally the property and responsibility of the husband, it was common for parents to work as a team of equals when it came to raising children. A woman’s intelligence was valued and consequently a young girl’s was nourished.
While fathers moulded their sons into perfect little public citizens, it was a mother’s duty to craft a daughter into the model future wife. On top of the basics in academics, which is all a woman should know and therefore all she should be able to teach, a mother would instruct her daughter in the practice of household management.
Beyond that girls were not educated. In the case of boys, who would with any luck grow up to run the known world, the majority of fathers would bestow the charge of their instruction upon the professionals in the Roman school system.
Sources
Plutarch, The Life of Marcus Cato
Quintilian, The Elements of Oratory
