ABSTRACT
Conventional approaches to understanding writing instruction in ancient Greece typically draw upon well-established literary sources. We have learned a great deal about writing instruction from the corpus of ancient writers and this work is synthesized in the present chapter. In addition, non-traditional literary sources, such as fragments of writing on durable materials and the instruments of writing, have come to light, and these primary sources also add to and refi ne our understanding of writing instruction. As with the previous edition, Athens is an understandable focal point of study, not only because this powerful and enduring city-state is widely regarded as the fi rst literate community in ancient Greece and offers a substantial amount of evidence for examination, but also because new
sources of evidence have come to light in recent decades that tell us a great deal more about Athens as a literate community. Archaeological excavations in the Agora, for example, have unearthed inscriptions and related artifacts that now provide new evidence about everyday writing habits. These new resources-in the form of graffi ti and dipinti-expand and deepen our knowledge of what community literacy* meant in ancient Athens and, correspondingly, the attendant modes of instruction that accompanied a variety of writing functions.
