Before the sun had risen over Rome, students were already making their way through the narrow, noisy streets toward their lessons. There were no school buses, backpacks, laptops, or Google Docs. Instead, a Roman student might arrive at a cramped room near the Forum carrying little more than a wax tablet and stylus, and the expectation that yesterday’s lesson had better be committed to memory. Welcome to school in Ancient Rome.
Whether it was learning to read, debate philosophy in the bathhouse, or orate political policy in the Senate, education played a major role in life in Ancient Rome. From the private tutors of the powerful and wealthy to the crowded classrooms of public schools, education was essential and highly regarded across the Roman Republic and, later, the Roman Empire.
Education may not have been standardized as it is today, but academia in Rome did have a general structure that was practically universal across the realm. Teachers could be male or female, and were either educated slaves or professional tutors who taught their pupils a variety of subjects. Classes were held either in private homes for the wealthy or in public schools where teachers worked in pergulae, simple, open-fronted shacks or verandas often attached to shops. These spaces were typically used by teachers of lower economic status and served as common venues for primary education. Functioning as roofed stalls with open sides, they exposed pupils to constant street noise and distractions. Other teachers would hold classes in the piazza or in other outdoor public locations, such as the corner of the trivium, where roads intersect.
For the wealthy, academics provided both a stepping stone to greater opportunities for their children and a means to establish their place in Roman society. Private tutors could be given room and board in an apartment or the home of their employer and were paid far more than public teachers, who ran their own operations.
The litterator, or chief lecturer, earned the least for their service, although they taught primary lessons to children between seven and ten, when most were able to attend school. They were responsible for teaching kids basic math, reading, and writing. The grammaticus, or the more advanced teacher, earned significantly more money than the litterator. They taught ten to fifteen year olds, focusing on more innovative theories and deeper concepts, and had fewer students, as many dropped out before entering this stage of their education. The most respected teacher in the system was the rhetor or rhetoric instructor, who was paid handsomely for their abilities and knowledge with fifteen to twenty year olds. They were the most sought-after teachers and would work for the elite families, particularly nobles and those involved in the military, politics, and business.
Students seven years old and upward would attend classes from dawn until noon. Students would take a variety of subjects, including, but not limited to, natural science, history, mathematics, literature, and astronomy with the litterator. As they grew up, attendance dropped as only wealthier or devoted students could attend; girls often dropped out of classes between the ages of ten and twelve to hone their skills at home and prepare for marriage. Specialty tutors for elite or dedicated students also taught music, art, poetry, oration, law, philosophy, religion, rhetoric, and strategy, all of which were highly desired and vital skills for anyone entering a prestigious career in Ancient Rome.
Books were essential and sometimes hard to get, but they provided many of the lessons the teachers gave their pupils. To take notes and write their assignments, the most widespread method back then was to use an ostraca, broken pottery pieces, or a tabula cerata, wax tablet enclosed in a pair of wooden frames (think of the hardcover of a book) that was carried in a case or theca. To write on the ostraca or the tabula, the students used a stylus of reed, bone, metal, or wood that was sharpened with a knife, and used a sponge to clear the tablet or pottery pieces. Teachers used larger versions to write lessons; the wealthiest students had slaves take their notes for them.
Discipline could be harsh. Teachers often used physical punishment to keep students in line. If you forgot your homework, talked too much, or simply annoyed your teacher, you might face the ferula, a wooden rod used for striking students. Suddenly, detention doesn’t seem so bad. As one Roman writer joked, school was less about learning and more about surviving the teacher.
Education was a luxury many could not afford. Still, those who could study further had access to some of the finest educators and thinkers, who have since inspired teachers and lessons for millennia. Roman education has had a lasting influence. The focus on literature, rhetoric, and critical thinking still shapes modern education today. When you write an essay, give a presentation, or analyze a text, you are, in a way, continuing a tradition that began over two thousand years ago.
So the next time you complain about homework, just remember: at least your teacher isn’t carrying a wooden rod. Tempora mutantur—times change, and thankfully, so has school.
Bibliography:
Eyre, J. J. “Roman Education in the Late Republic and Early Empire.” Greece & Rome vol. 10, no. 1 (1963): pgs. 47–59.
Johnson, Richard. “Education in Ancient Rome.” Education in Ancient Rome: From the Elder Cato to the Younger Pliny, by Stanley F. Bonner. History of Education Quarterly vol. 20, no. 3 (1980): pgs. 355–362.
Joyal, Mark, Iain McDougall, J.C. Yardley. “Greek and Roman Education: a Sourcebook.” New York: Routledge Publishing, 2009.
McCormack, Laura K.C. “Roman Education.” World History Encyclopedia. April 24th, 2024.
