Athenian schoolboys have at least their full share of idleness, as
well as of animal spirits. There is soon a loud whisper from one
corner. Instantly the ruling tyrant rises. "Antiphon! I have
heard you. Come forward!" If Antiphon is wise, he will advance
promptly and submit as cheerfully as possible to a sound caning;
if folly possesses him, he will hesitate. At a nod from the master
two older boys, who serve as monitors, will seize him with grim
chuckles. He will then be fortunate if he escapes being tied to a
post and flogged until his back is one mass of welts, and his very
life seems in danger. It will be useless for him to complain to
his parents. A good schoolmaster is supposed to flog frequently to
earn his pay; if he is sparing with the rod or lash, he is probably
lacking in energy. Boys will be boys, and there is only one remedy
for juvenile shortcomings.

This diversion, of course, with its attendant howling, interrupts
the course of the school, but presently matters again become normal.
The scholars are so few that probably there is only one teacher,
and instruction is decidedly "individual," although poetry and
singing are very likely taught "in concert."


55. The School Curriculum.--As to the subjects studied, the
Athenian curriculum is well fixed and limited: letters, music, and
gymnastics. Every lad must have a certain amount of all of these.
They gymnastics will be taught later in the day by a special
teacher at a "wrestling school." The "music" may also be taught
separately. The main effort with a young boy is surely to teach
him to read and write. And here must be recalled the relative
infrequency of complete books in classic Athens.[*] To read public