Introduction to the students and other informal rituals in the high school of Late Antique Athens

Author(s):  A.M. Bolgova, candidate of Sciences, associate Professor, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia, bolgova@bsu.edu.ru

Issue:  Volume 45, № 3

Rubric:  Topical issues of world history

Annotation:  During the Late Antiquity high schools of Athens, mostly philosophical, kept the most prestigious educational institutions. The informal ceremonies and rituals of the students are most of interest in this article. There was a practice of catching the students who came to Athens, and forced their entry to the professor, whose assistants were able to capture a beginner. There followed an informal rite of initiation to the students, reminding theurgic practices and Eleusinian mysteries, then it was no longer possible to go to another teacher. There was also a rite of up-coming for a second, advanced level training. Students who did not pass these initiations due to personal characteristics (like Basil the Great), were in trouble in daily communication with classmates. Education trained a new generation of the elite of the empire for a public career. It taught young people how to interact with peers, behave in public and maintain the extensive personal ties with friends and like-minded people; and also linked them with a common culture

Keywords:  Athens, students, rituals, initiations, mystery, theurgy, teachers

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