Ancient Roman Education and Greek Legal Systems

Education in Ancient Rome

5.2 The education in Rome.

In the first period, Roman education was borne by the family. Apart from the first 7 years spent with the mother, the male parent took charge of the boys while mothers took care of the girls until marriage. To conquer colonies in southern Italy, the Greek system was adopted, and the educational way was renewed to be:

• Primary Education

  It was led by the school teacher; the school was called the "ludus." Children from 7 to 12 years old attended, where they learned to read, write, and count.

• Secondary Education

  It was headed by a professor named grammaticus and was only for boys from 12 to 16 years old. They were taught Latin and Greek literature, and they also learned music (piano and dance fiddling).

• Higher Education

  This was provided by a teacher named rhetor and lasted from 16 to 20 years of age. Students practiced oratory there; after this, wealthy families sent their children to Greece to continue their studies.

The Evolution of Greek Law

6. Law.

Greek Law

In the beginning, laws were not static, so the Greeks renewed their institutions according to the time. They considered the law (nomos) as an instruction for judges to protect citizens and as a limit to the arbitrariness of authority.

In Sparta, the first laws were given by a legendary legislator named Lycurgus, who lived in the 7th century BC and collected ancient customs into a code.

In Athens, Draco composed a very strict code of laws in the 7th century BC to address lawlessness. This was later updated by Solon (7th to 6th centuries BC), who incorporated some old habits.

Judicial Courts of Athens

6.2 Courts of Athens.

They had three types:

• The Council of the Areopagus: They investigated assassinations, fires, and poisoning. In the first two cases, the punishment was death; in the last, it was banishment (exile; if nothing was proven, they remained).
• The Palladium: They investigated homicides, incitement to murder, and complicity in the death of any person. There was no death penalty, but sometimes exile occurred, in this case without confiscation of property.
• The Heliaia: A popular court that investigated violent crimes (which were not only the responsibility of the other courts).

Athenian Magistracies and Democracy

6.3 Magistratures in Athens.

For democracy, there were nine archons who prepared the drawings, and judges and jurors involved in the preparation of trials. (There were also JPs whose function was based on resolving small problems.)