A Greek boy generally had but one name. The favorite name
for the eldest son was that of his paternal grandfather. A father, however,
might give him his own name or that of an intimate friend. The Romans at first
seem to have used only the one name, then two were given; and later we have the
familiar three-fold name, representing the individual, the clan, and the
family. [4]
[4] In "Marcus Tullius Cicero,"
"Marcus," the praenomen, corresponds to our "given"
name; "Tullius," the nomen, marks the clan, or gens;
"Cicero," the cognomen, indicates the family.
GREEK EDUCATION
Greek education consisted of three main branches, known as
gymnastics, music, and grammar. By gymnastics the Greeks meant the physical
training in the palestra, an open stretch of ground on the outskirts of the
city. Here a private teacher gave instruction in the various athletic sports
which were so popular at the national games. The training in music was intended
to improve the moral nature of young men and to fit them for pleasant social
intercourse. They were taught to play a stringed instrument, called the lyre,
and at the same time to sing to their own accompaniment. Grammar, the third
branch of education, included instruction in writing and the reading of the
national literature. After a boy had learned to write and to read, the
schoolmaster took up with him the works of the epic poets, especially Homer,
besides Aesop's Fables and other popular compositions. The student
learned by heart much of the poetry and at so early an age that he always
remembered it. Not a few Athenians, it is said, could recite the entire Iliad
and Odyssey.
