Presentation on Children
Jana Shopkorn

Adolescence in Historical Perspective

Youth was ambiguous - Adolescence was absent

Adolescence in modern society- 12-20 year olds who left childhood behind and have not yet entered into adulthood.

Distinction between adolescence in classical Athens and today - adolescence is what we see in modern, industrialized society; in classical society it is termed youth.

Differences:

* Youth was an extended period of time, probably through age 30.

* Youth in classical society adhered to the dominant ideals of adulthood; following by example.

* Youth performed adult tasks.

* Youth were treated as adults, but not yet accepted as full adults.

* Youth were equal in the duties they performed but their contributions to society were considered of lower value.

* Respect for elders was one of the highest ideals of society, disrespect was considered a grave crime.

* Idea was to grow up as fast as possible.

Negative Characteristics

Plato often groups children with women, slaves and animals because animals stand in the same relation to humans as children to adults.

Aristotle thought that boys beared a physical resemblance to women:

regarded as physically weak, morally incompetent, and mentally incapable.

Children were thought to know little, to be gullible, and to be easily persuaded.

Positive Characteristics

Children are often referred to by the sweet smell of their breath and skin and by their softness.

Aristotle said that a child's smell stays sweet until puberty at which point sweat becomes saltier and stronger smelling.

The Child in the Household

Children had to be accepted by the kyrios- the household's head. This was based on cultural constructs such as gender and the optimum size of the family (girls were rejected more than boys)

2 ceremonies mark acceptance into the kyrios: :

1- Amphidromia - took place on 5th or 7th day after birth.
Involved a sacrifice. A naked father carried his child around the household hearth; women purified themselves; friends and relatives sent traditional gifts and did not attend unless they had been present at the birth.

Family decorated the doorway of the house announcing the birth:

Boy= wreath of olive

Girl= wool (because of their spinning)

Girls and children of poorer families might be named at the same rite.

Wealthy families had a 2nd celebration on the 10th day after birth - dekate
*involved an offering to the gods but more festive than the amphidromia

*included dancing by women

Athenians had 1 personal name:

Girls names often the feminine forms of boys names ex. Didymus - Didyma =" twins"

Names were often indications of family values.

There were no surnames or family names so personal names advertised a child's membership in the family. Ex- Philia="friendship", Hegesistratus="army leader"

Athenian system of nomenclature included 3 parts:

the personal name; the fathers name; the demotic (indicative of the deme to which the family belonged)

Ex. Hegesistratus Hegesiou Kephalethen

= Hegesistratus, son of Hegesias of the deme Cephale

a following of the patronymic, an obvious hereditary component in the classical world

Greeks in the classical world generally regarded sons and daughters in menial occupations as substitutes for slave labor.

Contributions of girls: domestic duties, food preparation, child care of siblings

Contributions of boys: prepared for work by assisting their father

The Child in the Community

Until boys reached the age of majority, they couldn't vote in the assembly, serve in the armed forces, represent themselves in a court of law, make a will, enter into contracts.

Girls were lifelong minors- not completely excluded from civic life but couldn't share fully in the community.

Both boys and girls though, are regarded as children of the polis not the family's alone.

Children's Play

linguistically, Pais = "child", root meaning small or insignificant. It shares the root paizo= "I play".

Pais has a very broad range, its derivatives are applied to others of subordinate status; slaves and the junior partners in homosexual couples.

Teknon = "young child". Clytemnestra calls her son Orestes by both.

Teknon in text usually increases the emotional intensity of the passage.

Play characterizes children:

Children's games form an important part of juvenile development today, and did almost 2500 years ago in the 4th c. BC where Plato and Aristotle were advancing their theories.

Plato and Aristotle thought children's play should be directed towards their education - intellectual, practical, and ethical. They recognized the value of play in learning.

Plato said "in infancy the whole character is determined - to form the character there will be a need for games."

Aristotle also thought "children's games should be imitations of the serious occupations of later life."

We know about children's toys in ancient society because of drawings on vases:

Much as today, one of the earliest toys would have been a
rattle - made of wood or bronze and sometimes fashioned in terra-cotta in animal shape.

feeding cups - have an inbuilt rattle, thus serving a dual purpose

Similar to today:

little clay animals, horses on 4 wheels which could be pulled on a string, other movable toys even those perhaps which helped infants to walk also existed.

For older boys - small wheeled carts were used in play as well as yo-yo's

For girls - dolls usually of terra-cotta were used in play

Pets such as birds, dogs, hares, goats, tortoises, and mice subsisted

Children enjoyed listening to stories, playing ball games, and practiced music

Schooling

*There was no state system of education.

*Boys attended privately run schools where they were taught to read, write, draw, and mathematics.

* Girls usually continued to stay at home with their mothers and some were taught to read and write.

*Education was a priority for the well-to-do:

There was restricted accessibility to education - higher income citizens could pay for education whereas the lower class couldn't afford it.

Bibliography - Children and Childhood in the Ancient World

Beaument, Leslie. 'Child's Play in Classical Athens', History Today, 44 (1994), pp. 30-36.

Garland, Robert. The Greek Way of Life from Conception to Old Age, London: Duckworth, 1990.

Golden, M., Children and Childhood in Classical Athens, Baltimore and London: The

Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.

Pelling, C., 'Childhood and Personality in Greek Biography', Pelling, (ed.), Characterization and Individuality in Greek Literature, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986.

Contact the author, Jana Shopkorn
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