Wednesday, October 10, 2012

SPARTA

The agōgē (Greek: ἀγωγή in Attic Greek, or ἀγωγά, agōgá in Doric Greek) was the rigorous education and training regimen mandated for all male Spartan citizens, except for the firstborn son in the ruling houses, Eurypontid and Agiad. The training involved learning stealth, cultivating loyalty to the Spartan group, military training (e.g., pain tolerance), hunting, dancing, singing and social(communicating) preparation.The word "agoge" had many meanings in ancient Greek, among them seizure or abduction, but in this context generally meant leading, guidance or training.
According to folklore, agoge was introduced by the semi-mythical Spartan law-giverLycurgus but its origins are thought to be between the 7th and 6th centuries BZ when the state trained male citizens from the ages of seven to twenty-one.
The aim of the system was to produce physically and morally strong males to serve in the Spartan army. It encouraged conformity and the importance of the Spartan state over one's personal interest and generated the future elites of Sparta.The men would become the "walls of Sparta" because Sparta was the only Greek city with no defensive walls after they had been demolished at the order of Lycurgus. Discipline was strict and the males were encouraged to fight amongst themselves to determine the strongest member of the group.
The agoge was prestigious throughout the Greek world, and many aristocratic families from other cities vied to send their sons to Sparta to participate in the agoge for varying periods of time. The Spartans were very selective in which young men they would permit to enroll. Such honors were usually awarded to the próxenoiof Sparta in other cities and to a few other families of supreme ancestry and importance.

Structure

When a baby boy was born, it was washed with wine as Spartans thought this would have made them strong; then it was required that he be checked by theGerousia (a council of leading elder Spartans) from his tribe to see if he was fit and healthy enough to be allowed to live. In the event that the baby did not pass the test, he was left at a place called the apothetai near Mt. Taygetus to die of exposure. At the age of seven, he was enrolled in the agoge under the authority of the paidonómos (παιδονόμος), or "boy-herder", a magistrate charged with supervising education. This began the first of the three stages of the agoge: thepaídes (roughly speaking, ages 7–17), the paidískoi (ages 17–19), and thehēbōntes (20-29); some classical sources indicate that there were further subdivisions by year within these classes.[1]
The boys lived in groups (agélai, "herds") under an older leader. They were encouraged to give their loyalty to their communal mess hall known as the Syssitia, rather than to their families. Beginning at the age of 12 boys would be given only one item of clothing per year — a red cloak known as a Phoinikis. They also created beds out of reeds pulled by hand, with no knife, from the Eurotas River. Boys were intentionally underfed to encourage them to master the skills necessary to become successful at stealing their food. This was also meant to produce tall well-built soldiers rather than fat short ones. This let the boys become accustomed to hunger so that during a campaign hunger would not be a problem. They would be severely punished, however, if they were caught stealing. Only the heirs apparent of the two Spartan royal households (the Agiads and Eurypontids) were exempt from the process.
At around age 12 the boys would enter into an institutionalized relationship with a young adult male Spartan. Plutarch described this form of Spartan pederasty wherein somewhat older warriors would engage promising youths in a long-lasting relationship with a pedagogic motive. The boy was expected to request the relationship, which was seen as a method to pass on knowledge and maintain loyalty on the battlefield. At the stage of paidiskoi, around the age of 18, the students became reserve members of the Spartan army. Also, a group of promising young were allowed to become part of the Crypteia, a type of 'Secret Police', where the young members were instructed to spy on the helot population and even kill the helots who were out at night, work regarded to help keep the population submissive. The state supported this by formally declaring war on the helots every autumn, so that killing a member of the population was not regarded as a crime, but in fact as valuable deeds for the good of the state.
At the stage of hēbōntes, roughly age 20, the students became fully part of the syssitia and Spartan army although they continued to live in barracks and continued to compete for a place among the Spartan hippeis the royal guard of honor.[1] At the age of 20 they were voted into one of the public messes. The voting was done by their peers who were already in the mess; if all members of the mess did not vote in this person, they could not join that mess. They could then try for a different mess, usually one that was worse. They had ten years to be accepted into a mess, if they failed, they would not gain Spartan citizenship and be an inferior. When they turned 30, or at their peak age, they were finally permitted to marry and to become full citizens of Sparta who could vote and hold office.
Education in the agoge served as a great equalizer in Sparta. Men were meant to compete in athletics and in battle. Helots and common men likely only developed their reading and writing skills as was necessary to make votive offerings and read important inscriptions. On the other hand Spartans who became kings, diplomats or generals would also improve their rhetoric, reading and writing skills as they were necessary abilities to have for their positions. How the majority of the population of citizen male Spartans became literate, or whether they were literate at all, is not well known. However, there is reference made in Plutarch's "Sayings of Spartan Women" to correspondence kept between mother and sons on campaign, which would suggest some degree of literacy.

Education of girls

Girls also had a form of state education involving dancegymnastics and other sports; together with other subjects such as music, dance, poetry, including writing and war education. Traits such as grace and culture were frowned upon in favor of physical tempering and moral rectitude. The girls were also encouraged to help the males by humiliating them in public and criticizing their exercising. Just as Spartan males were raised to become warriors, so the females of Sparta were trained for their primary task: giving birth to warriors. Encouraged to be strong and healthy, girls participated in athletic competitions, running footraces in off-the-shoulder chitons. Unquestioning in the performance of their duty, Spartan mothers did not give in to sentiment even when faced with a child's death. "I bore him so that he might die for Sparta," one woman said of her son, "and that is what has happened, as I wished."
Spartan women wore the old-fashioned peplos (πέπλος), open at the side, leading to banter at their expense among the other Greeks who dubbed them phainomērídes (φαινομηρίδες) the "thigh-showers." At religious ceremonies, on holidays and during physical exercise girls and women were nude as in bed.[citation needed]

Rise and fall

Any male who did not successfully pass through the agoge would be denied Spartan citizenship. At various times this selection process came to be seen as detrimental to Spartan society particularly when the number of free male Spartan citizens dwindled. The practice waned in the 3rd century BC but was successfully reinvigorated some time in the 220s BC by Cleomenes III. It was abolished, however, less than forty years later by Philopoemen in 188 BC. The agoge was reinstated in the year 146 BC after the Roman defeat of the Achaeans in the Achaean War.

Roman agoge

The Roman agoge was limited to males between the ages of 14 to 19 and was essentially ephebic in nature and organized by phyles(citizen tribes). The instruction consisted of athletics, singing, dancing, military and probably some academic training. The students were supervised by officials called bideioi[citation needed] ("overseers") and a patronomos ("guardian of law"). During the Flavian dynasty a team-based structure was introduced to the Roman agoge which put groups of students under the command of a team leader or boagos(βοαγός). Sponsorship was available to some poor students who could not afford the training.



Activity
Spartan education compare with today?
which you prefer?
that exchange?

Educació a Esparta




Video from the comments that you think


Arch of Titus





The Arch of Titus is a 1st-century honorific arch[1] located on the Via SacraRome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c.82 AD by the Roman EmperorDomitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
The Arch of Titus has provided the general model for many of thetriumphal arches erected since the 16th century—perhaps most famously it is the inspiration for the 1806 Arc de Triomphe inParisFrance, completed in 1836.

History

The Arch of Titus
Detail from the Arch of Titus showing spoils from the Sack of Jerusalem
Based on the style of sculptural details, Domitian's favored architect Rabirius, sometimes credited with the Colosseum, may have executed the arch. Without contemporary documentation, however, attributions of Roman buildings on basis of style are considered shaky.
The Frangipani family turned it into a fortified tower in the Middle Ages.[3]
It was one of the first buildings sustaining a modern restoration, starting with Raffaele Stern in 1817 and continued by Valadier under Pius VII in 1821, with new capitals and with travertine masonry, distinguishable from the original. The restoration was a model for the country side of Porta Pia.[3][4]

[edit]Significance

The Arch provides one of the few contemporary depictions of Temple period artifacts.[5][6] The seven-branched menorah and trumpets are clearly depicted. It became a symbol of the Jewishdiaspora. In a later era, Pope Paul IV made it the place of a yearly oath of submission. Roman Jews refused to walk under it. The menorah depicted on the Arch served as the model for the menorah used on the emblem of the state of Israel.[citation needed] However, when David Ben Gurion declared independence for the State of Israel, the chief rabbi gathered the entire Roman Jewish community by the arch and in solemn procession, walked the opposite way under the arch to symbolise the return to Jerusalem and Israel.

[edit]Architectural influence

Works modeled on, or inspired by, the Arch of Titus include:

Activity
think if our country have any monument with similar traits



Tuesday, September 18, 2012


Great initiative from the Prado, which has created a website hosted on the website of the Museum which displays all production of Francisco de Goya: more than 150 paintings, 500 drawings, and 300 prints and engravings. .. "Goya in the Prado" provides technical and historical information of each and every one of the works in addition to high-resolution images that allow contemplate with great detail and even compare them. A great way to learn more about the production of the great artist. http://bit.ly/PNe8c2

Wednesday, September 5, 2012


Greek heritage
Democracy flourished in ancient Greece, specifically in the V century Athens. C. (The Age of Pericles). Therefore it is often referred to as Athenian democracy. He had a relatively long life compared to current liberal democracies, it may speak of democratic period in Athens from Cleisthenes reforms around 510. C. until the suppression of democratic institutions because of the Macedonian hegemony in 322. C. It should also be cited as precedent timocratic system established by the Constitution of Athens Solon in the year 594. C.
Athens was one of the first known democracies (although some anthropological research suggests that democratic behavior were probably common in some societies stateless long before the golden age of Athens). Other Greek cities also established democracies, but not all Athenian modeled, and certainly none was as powerful or as stable (or well documented) as Athens. It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct democracy, where people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf, but they developed legislation and executive power exercised personally. However, participation was far less universal, but within the participating barely influenced economic power, and the number of people involved was enormous. The public opinion of voters was remarkably influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theaters.
Solon (594 a.), Cleisthenes (509 a.) And Ephialtes of Athens (462 a.) Contributed to the development of Athenian democracy. Historians disagree about which of them was responsible for the creation of each of the institutions, and which of them represented more faithfully a truly democratic movement. The most common is starting to refer to democracy Cleisthenes, since Solon's constitution was abolished and replaced by the tyranny of Peisistratus, whereas Ephialtes revised Cleisthenes' constitution in a relatively peaceful.
However, the most popular democratic leader was Pericles and long-lived, and after his death, Athenian democracy was twice interrupted by oligarchic revolution towards the end of the Peloponnesian War. The democratic system was slightly modified after being restored by Eucleides, in fact, most of the detailed descriptions of the system date from this time and not the original system of Pericles. It was suppressed by the Macedonians in 322. C. The Athenian institutions were restored again later, but how they came to be a real democracy is debatable.

Thursday, August 30, 2012



Tutankhamun

Egyptian Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty (?, H. 1372 - Thebes?, 1354 a. C.). Son of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was Akhenaten, who died childless men, hence was succeeded by his sons, Semenkera and Tutankhamen, the latter, his brother, took the throne to the 1360. C. In fact, until the death of his father, took the name Tutankhamun Tutankhaton in honor of the sun god Aten Akhenaten whose cult had driven on an almost monotheistic.

Three years after acceding to the throne, the new king restored the traditional religion and therefore the power of the priests of Amon, seriously weakened in the previous reign, while the capital back to Thebes, leaving the capital created by Akhenaton in Amarna, and to symbolize these changes, replaced his own name to Tutankhamun (meaning "the living image of Amun).


Mask of Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun's reign had no other meaning than this restoration of the traditional order of Pharaonic Egypt, under the influence of the priests and conservative generals. Tutankhamun died when he was only 18 and had six of reign, probably in a palace revolt.

Tutankhamen is famous for his tomb was the only tomb in the Valley of the Kings that came without loot to the contemporary age, its discovery by Howard Carter in 1922 was a global archaeological event, showing the splendor and wealth of the royal tombs and exposing valuable information on the time.


In June 1815, French military leader and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in present-day Belgium. Find out more about the famous general, who despite being small in stature left behind a huge legacy.http://histv.co/nPn