Anastasia D. Vakaloudi

Upbringing and Education of children and adolescents in the Byzantine Empire during the first Byzantine period

Ancient Greek and modern didactic and pedagogic perspectives in the works of the Fathers of the Church

Ed. Antonis Stamoulis, Thessaloniki 2013

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discover ancient Greek and modern didactic and pedagogic thoughts into the works of Saint Basil, John Chrysostom and other Fathers of the Church. It is attempted to find out where the Christian philosophical/pedagogical theories of the two Fathers of the Church meet and interweave with the ancient philosophical/pedagogical thought (Plato, Aristotle, Xenophon, Isocrates etc.) and the modern pedagogical theories.

The hierarchs draw didactic examples from various social classes and connect them with the life, knowledge and experiences of children and adolescents. These examples add clarity to their didactic and pedagogic suggestions and make them familiar and understandable to the people. Thus, the hierarchs succeed in providing guidelines and goals regarding the upbringing and education of children and adolescents. Simultaneously, the Fathers describe vividly the society of the first Byzantine period; the urban life in a multidimensional, cosmopolitan environment, characterized by intensive mobility and Christian, Hellenistic and Roman features.