In the two epics, both in The Iliad and in The Odyssey, one can find a description of the education methods used within the noble layer. An inexperienced, young man was in the company of an experienced tutor due to whom he could get acquainted with lofty ideals of male virtues passed on by the tradition.31 The element of particular importance with respect to the noble ideals was an ←23 | 24→educative meaning of an example. Thus, in addition to the impact of the environment, primarily the family, an example constituted the core of the education process. It strengthened the power of persuasion. Appealing to figures of famous heroes and to examples from legends was an inseparable part of the noble ethics and education.
Over time, the ideals included in those two poems acquired the universal meaning. They expressed the fullness of not only the noble features but also of the human nature in general because every man should be able to articulate the wise thought and implement the right objectives32. The human education hinged upon the “bottom up” and not the “top down” principle. It was reflected in the ideal of noble competition. The possession of areté was the foundation of a healthy self-love (philautía) and required the fair respect and reverence from the environment. Thus, although the possession of virtues originally constituted the innate privilege of the noble layer, it gradually began to rely on the education within the framework of tradition and under the guidance of a respected, righteous person, who acted as a guide on the path of learning a definite moral discipline and was able to give good advice and illustrate it with an accurate example.33 Such model of culture and education became a characteristic feature of the Western culture: Greece, Rome and the Christianity.
1.2. DEMOCRACY – THE POPULARISATION OF THE IDEAL
With the emergence of a new socio-political structure – the city-state, called polis, the meaning of the concept of aréte went through certain transformations. Greece was divided into a number of independent small states, governed by their own rules. They were the centres in which the political, social, economic and cultural life of the then man was realized. The relationship between the man and the society started to be more clearly accentuated and a specific understanding of a political community, uniting all citizens, was developed. The framework for the statehood emerged along with the Greek polis (city-state). The polis became the source of all applicable standards.34
The appearance of polis had a fundamental importance for the transformation of ancient Greek court culture into the Pan-Hellenic culture. Under these conditions, the Greek culture reached its classical character.35 Over time, the ←24 | 25→urban culture began to replace the noble culture. The meaning of polis relied, among other things, on the fact that it constituted a social framework for a new, Greek culture and was the source of all forms of cultural life. It impacted the creation of new concepts regarding, among other things, the aims and methods of education and the transformation of the existing ideals. However, it is necessary to stress at this point an element which is typical for the Greek culture – it was developing and it did not destroy its previous forms. The indicated development took place through the transformation of what existed and the adaptation to the new current living conditions.36
With the appearance of a new ideal model of man, who regarded not only the nobility of deed but also the nobility of spirit as the supreme goal, the old chivalrous concept of aréte, signifying the heroic strength and bravery on the battlefield, turned out to be insufficient. As a result of the transformation of old noble traditions, the democratization of the Greek culture took place in the fifth and the fourth centuries BC.37 It became available to the entire society. In the course of the indicated transformations, its two characteristic features emerged, namely, the universalism and rationalism, due to which it became the culture of the whole Greek nation and finally, the universal culture.38 It was refined by ←25 | 26→the fact that it included a certain pattern of a higher form of life – the life consistent with reason. Therefore, the careful and purposeful education of the most talented citizens was paid attention to in the democratic Athens. The rulers were selected and trained to serve for common good.
The expression of the changes taking place at that time was a new – political and military – ideal proclaimed by the Greek poet Tyrtaeus.39 The subject of his poetry was the fight of Sparta with Messenia. The old Homeric ideal of a heroic areté was firmly contrasted by the author with the new ideal of love to the nation.40 He gave the final shape to the ideal model of civic areté, based on the new moral and political order. He perceived it as a readiness to fulfill the social duties of a citizen. He discovered a new concept of valour and perfection. The place of the Homeric ideal of a knight, whose areté manifested itself in the individual fight and personal success, in line with a new civic ethics, was seized by an ideal of undertaking action for the good of the society, the common good (koinon agathon).41 Areté was understood as a warlike fortitude displayed in a particular type of fight. Now, it was not about finding one hero but it was about raising the whole community of heroes, soldiers ready to sacrifice themselves for the country.42 In one of his excerpts, Tyrtaeus writes: “It is a beautiful thing to die fighting in a first row, as benefits a brave man, who fights for his homeland.’43 Following the principles of the civic ethics, the key measure of the true value is the country and what is beneficial to it. A man distinguished by bravery and valour, not aiming at gaining personal recognition but at defending the endangered freedom of polis, became a model.44
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The ideal glorified by Tyrtaeus had a significant impact on education in the entire Greece at that time. It was also accepted outside the Spartan country. Tyrtaeus’ elegies became a solid foundation of the civic culture. At special moments of fighting for the preservation of freedom and national existence – both during the Greco-Persian wars and during the Peloponnesian War – a common reverence was offered to a citizen, who while fighting against an enemy, distinguished himself by valour.45 The fact that a hero forever remained in the memory of the citizens, whose good he was fighting for, is meaningful because the early Greek thought did not know the concept of the immortality of the soul. At that time, there was a conviction that along with the death of the body, the whole man died. It was believed, however, that the sacrifice of life on the battlefield – in the name of the common good – ensured immortality.46
While analysing the changes that took place at that time, it should be noted that one of the important factors responsible for those transformations was the democratization of the military service – the former aristocratic privilege. Given the fact that in the Athenian polis every citizen was obliged to do a period of military service, the equality sign was placed between the concept of a “citizen” and a “soldier.” The changes related not only to the issues of the tactics of fighting but also to the sphere of morality, in addition, they significantly impacted the personality of the warrior himself. The civic ethics moved the values of solidarity and obedience into the foreground, in contrast to the chivalrous ethics of individual distinctions. Moreover, taking care for one’s dignity was closely connected with attention paid to the victory gained while defending others. According to the then ideal, the warrior’s valour could not be dependent on thymos – passion and the lack of control, but it was in a close relationship with sóphrosyné – the sense of moderation and discipline.47
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By analysing this Greek term, it is possible to notice that it encompasses two dimensions of human life – moral and intellectual. They consist of the following elements: temperance, self-control, self-knowledge, inner balance and common sense. This is the essence of the intellectual freedom (mens sana, set against the powerlessness caused by the lack of control and passions.48 Due to the combination of areté – in the sense of valour with sóphrosyné, the ideal of strength and physical fitness was linked with the new ideal of spiritual perfection, according to which man’s behaviour