ABSTRACT

There is scarcely any part of the study of Roman education in which precise information is so difficult to obtain as that which concerns the localities and premises in which teaching took place. From Hellenistic Greece there is more evidence, for archaeological excavation has not only brought to light the remains of gymnasia and palaestrae, but has secured therefrom a rich harvest of inscriptions of educational interest; [1] though, even in Greece, we do not always know exactly in which part of the buildings lessons or lectures were held. [2] In Greece, too, we hear of teachers who had the use of temples, [3] particularly those dedicated to the Muses, and designated by the title ‘Museum’; [4] and, in late antiquity, an eminent public teacher of rhetoric, such as Libanius, might be provided with a lecture-room in the council-house itself. [5] But even in Greece there were very many teachers who were not officially appointed, or attached to gymnasia, and who had to find the best accommodation they could; and, though we are ill-informed as to its nature, it is unlikely that it was often in buildings designed for educational purposes. [6] This is even more true of Rome, where the State took practically no interest in financing public education until Vespasian made a start by instituting official appointments in rhetoric. [7] The teacher usually had to depend upon his fees for a livelihood; consequently, the environment in which he worked might vary very much according to his personal circumstances, and the amount he could manage to pay for a hired room. At the very lowest level, he might not be able to afford rented accommodation at all, and might have to teach when and where he could in the open air; and this was also true of Greece. If he had suitable living-accommodation, the teacher might use it for the purposes of his school, either permanently, or at least as a first step. The disadvantage of this arrangement was that it usually imposed too much restriction on the size of the class, and teachers for whom it was imperative to expand their school had to look round for premises which they might hire. From the point of view of attracting public interest and becoming known, the best proposition was to secure accommodation in or near the Forum, or one of the fora, where people most congregated; but this brought the teacher, who was often lamentably impecunious, into competition with the shop-keepers and the business community, and he might be driven to look for less expensive, and therefore inferior, premises. It was only if he was fortunate enough to secure a public appointment that he could expect to be provided by others with accommodation worthy of his work. Thus the teaching scene at Rome, as elsewhere, was one of very considerable variety; but, even though the evidence is limited, it may be possible to clarify, to some degree, the different settings in which the teacher held his class.