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Paideia #1
پایدیا، جلد اول
The project of Greek culture in its heroic period was the creation of the perfect state-a goal that seemed within reach in the Athens of the fifth century B.C. But with the fall of Athens that prospect evaporated, and the result, which Werner Jaeger describes in this second volume of his magisterial three-volume study of Hellenism, was the spiritualizing of Greek culture-'the search for the divine centre.' Jaeger traces the growth of this new power in human culture from its early beginnings in the teachings of Socrates, to its natural climax in Plato's Republic.
537 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
42 people are currently reading
923 people want to read
About the author
Werner Wilhelm Jaeger
70 books53 followersJaeger attended school at Lobberich and at the Gymnasium Thomaeum in Kempen Jaeger studied at the University of Marburg and University of Berlin. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1911 for a dissertation on the Metaphysics of Aristotle. His habilitation was on Nemesios of Emesa (1914). Only 26 years old, Jaeger was called to a professorship with chair at the University of Basel in Switzerland. One year later he moved to a similar position at Kiel, and in 1921 he returned to Berlin. Jaeger remained in Berlin until 1936, when he emigrated to the United States because he was unhappy with Adolf Hitler's regime. Jaeger expressed his veiled disapproval with Humanistische Reden und Vortraege (1937) and his book on Demosthenes (1938) based on his Sather lecture from 1934. Jaeger's messages were fully understood in German university circles; the ardent Nazi followers sharply attacked Jaeger.
In the United States, Jaeger worked as a full professor at the University of Chicago from 1936 to 1939, at which time he moved to Harvard University to continue his edition of the Church father Gregory of Nyssa on which he started before World War I. Jaeger remained in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until his death. The Canadian philosopher James Doull was among his students at Harvard.
Jaeger wrote two dissertations, one in Latin and one in German, on Aristotle's Metaphysics. Jaeger's edition of the Metaphysics was printed in 1957. Only two years after editing Gregory of Nyssa's Contra Eunomium (1921), Jaeger became famous with his groundbreaking study on Aristotle in 1923 which largely remained undisputed until the 1960s.
Jaeger founded two journals: Die Antike (1925–1944) and the influential review journal Gnomon (since 1925).
Jaeger was the editor of the church father Gregory of Nyssa, Gregorii Nysseni Opera, editing Gregory's major work Contra Eunomium (1921, 1960). This edition is a major scholarly achievement and the philological foundation of the current studies on the Cappadocian Fathers.
Jaeger is perhaps best known for his multivolume work "Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture", an extensive consideration of both the earliest practices and later philosophical reflections on the cultural nature of education in Ancient Greece, which he hoped would restore a decadent early 20th century Europe to the values of its Hellenic origins.
Jaeger's last lecture, Early Christianity and Greek Paideia (1961) is a very impressive summary of his life's work covering Greek philology, philosophy and theology from Homer, the Presocratic philosophers, Plato to the Church Fathers, roughly a thousand years.
Source
In the United States, Jaeger worked as a full professor at the University of Chicago from 1936 to 1939, at which time he moved to Harvard University to continue his edition of the Church father Gregory of Nyssa on which he started before World War I. Jaeger remained in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until his death. The Canadian philosopher James Doull was among his students at Harvard.
Jaeger wrote two dissertations, one in Latin and one in German, on Aristotle's Metaphysics. Jaeger's edition of the Metaphysics was printed in 1957. Only two years after editing Gregory of Nyssa's Contra Eunomium (1921), Jaeger became famous with his groundbreaking study on Aristotle in 1923 which largely remained undisputed until the 1960s.
Jaeger founded two journals: Die Antike (1925–1944) and the influential review journal Gnomon (since 1925).
Jaeger was the editor of the church father Gregory of Nyssa, Gregorii Nysseni Opera, editing Gregory's major work Contra Eunomium (1921, 1960). This edition is a major scholarly achievement and the philological foundation of the current studies on the Cappadocian Fathers.
Jaeger is perhaps best known for his multivolume work "Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture", an extensive consideration of both the earliest practices and later philosophical reflections on the cultural nature of education in Ancient Greece, which he hoped would restore a decadent early 20th century Europe to the values of its Hellenic origins.
Jaeger's last lecture, Early Christianity and Greek Paideia (1961) is a very impressive summary of his life's work covering Greek philology, philosophy and theology from Homer, the Presocratic philosophers, Plato to the Church Fathers, roughly a thousand years.
Source
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 7, 2010
This is an impressive work by a profoundly learned philologist who received his classical training -- where else? -- in Germany. It is quite readable, and offers a wealth of insight into the educative purposes that classical Greek literature held for the Greeks themselves. He is especially good on the meaning of Homer and the manner in which his poetry permeated Greek society to a degree that we can hardly understand from our vantage point in a fragmented, postmodern, and secular world.
From the moment I opened this book I felt like I was in the company of a man whose knowledge was gigantic and who communicated it with considerable ease. It is a deeply enjoyable read that will greatly expand your appreciation for ancient Greek civilization -- much more so, in fact, than any number of readily available handbooks that provide cursory summaries of what the Greeks accomplished.
From the moment I opened this book I felt like I was in the company of a man whose knowledge was gigantic and who communicated it with considerable ease. It is a deeply enjoyable read that will greatly expand your appreciation for ancient Greek civilization -- much more so, in fact, than any number of readily available handbooks that provide cursory summaries of what the Greeks accomplished.
February 28, 2015
The first volume of 'Paideia : The Ideals of Greek Culture' focuses on Archaic Greece and 'The Mind of Athens'—in this volume Werner Jaeger traces the Greek art forms and their cultural and political implications from Epic, to Lyric, to Tragic character of the Fifth century BC. From the Aristocratic ideals of Homer, to the noble peasant ideals of Hesiod's 'Works and Days', from the blood nobility of Pindar to the Intellectual nobility of Plato, Jaeger's dense survey of the first few hundred years of Greek Literature certainly seems exhaustive—as this is my first attempt at so large and broad a work on the topic of Ancient Greek thought, I cannot say whether any other work is comparable to it, but if one does exist, it must be mighty good...
Jaeger at no point expresses an outright distaste for any one poet, though you get the feeling of where his preferences lie. For instance, I think it's safe to say his preference for the extollation of aristocratic virtues as seen in Pindar over the paranoid sinking-ship style of Theogonis is clear enough, I think. Though purely as a writer, Jaeger's work shines brightest when he gets to tell the reader about his favorites—for instance, when praising the emotional merits of Sappho, or the cosmic justice of Solon. That being said, I felt that the most inspired parts of the book where clearly the entries on Homeric and Tragic Greece, rather than the lyric poets (Solon perhaps being the exception). Of the tragedians, I feel that Jaeger holds tremendous respect for Aeschylus, enjoys Sophocles the most as an artist, yet has such sharp insight into the subjectivism of Euripides work. Behold, a marvelous passage from his chapter on Sophocles which almost has the blood rushing to one's face:
"Sophocles does not reply like Aeschylus with a theory of the universe, justifying the ways of god to man, but simply the form of his speech and the characters of his men and women. This can hardly be understood by those who have never turned to Sophocles for guidance at moments when, in the chaos and unrest of life, all principle and all structure seem to dissolve away, and have never restored the balance of their own lives by contemplating the firm harmonious repose of his poetry."
In faint biographical moments such as these Jaeger tenderly reaches out to his reader and subtly reveals his love of the subject... a love which runs deep.
What was most interesting for me was his passages on Heraclitus, Aeschylus, and Solon, who all have an acute concern for Justice and the individual in society—that is, more concretely, the divinity of law in human affairs. There is much we can learn about freedom from these artists, we who all-too-often suffer from what Jaeger might consider to be an unbalanced Ionian streak in our understanding of freedom and individuality. What we have here is a sort of 'public' individuality, one which is very much a part of a performance. Freedom is the allowance of this performance, which receives its semantic anchorage from that all-too-human strike at immortality, that which we call LAW. In reference to Heraclitus's cosmic anthropology, Jaeger states,
"[...] by the virtue of his own intellect, he harbors within himself the eternal law of the life of the universe, he can share the highest wisdom, from whose council springs the divine law. The freedom of the Greek lies in the fact that the subordinates himself, as one part, to the whole which is the city state, and to its law."
IOW, Heraclitus (or, 'The Greeks'), in limiting their sphere of relevance to the Polis, could actually speak of a freedom which was tangible, rather than a universal suprasensual freedom of the modern world, some inward looking locus of 'Being', of murky individuality. It's a radical difference and bears consideration. After all, outside the law is the chaos of Might over Right... is it not so? And cannot law takes a creative and almost artistic shade, as if we might sculpt law akin to Phidias?
My final note is that this book isn't "An Introduction To...". If you're reading this, you've probably read Homer, Hesiod, some major Tragedy, and hopefully Aristophanes (which I haven't read much of) and Thucydides. Though, if you've put in the time, you'll get a lot out of this book, written by one who truly has an enthusiasm for his subject. I think I'll tackle volume two sooner rather than later...
--AF
Jaeger at no point expresses an outright distaste for any one poet, though you get the feeling of where his preferences lie. For instance, I think it's safe to say his preference for the extollation of aristocratic virtues as seen in Pindar over the paranoid sinking-ship style of Theogonis is clear enough, I think. Though purely as a writer, Jaeger's work shines brightest when he gets to tell the reader about his favorites—for instance, when praising the emotional merits of Sappho, or the cosmic justice of Solon. That being said, I felt that the most inspired parts of the book where clearly the entries on Homeric and Tragic Greece, rather than the lyric poets (Solon perhaps being the exception). Of the tragedians, I feel that Jaeger holds tremendous respect for Aeschylus, enjoys Sophocles the most as an artist, yet has such sharp insight into the subjectivism of Euripides work. Behold, a marvelous passage from his chapter on Sophocles which almost has the blood rushing to one's face:
"Sophocles does not reply like Aeschylus with a theory of the universe, justifying the ways of god to man, but simply the form of his speech and the characters of his men and women. This can hardly be understood by those who have never turned to Sophocles for guidance at moments when, in the chaos and unrest of life, all principle and all structure seem to dissolve away, and have never restored the balance of their own lives by contemplating the firm harmonious repose of his poetry."
In faint biographical moments such as these Jaeger tenderly reaches out to his reader and subtly reveals his love of the subject... a love which runs deep.
What was most interesting for me was his passages on Heraclitus, Aeschylus, and Solon, who all have an acute concern for Justice and the individual in society—that is, more concretely, the divinity of law in human affairs. There is much we can learn about freedom from these artists, we who all-too-often suffer from what Jaeger might consider to be an unbalanced Ionian streak in our understanding of freedom and individuality. What we have here is a sort of 'public' individuality, one which is very much a part of a performance. Freedom is the allowance of this performance, which receives its semantic anchorage from that all-too-human strike at immortality, that which we call LAW. In reference to Heraclitus's cosmic anthropology, Jaeger states,
"[...] by the virtue of his own intellect, he harbors within himself the eternal law of the life of the universe, he can share the highest wisdom, from whose council springs the divine law. The freedom of the Greek lies in the fact that the subordinates himself, as one part, to the whole which is the city state, and to its law."
IOW, Heraclitus (or, 'The Greeks'), in limiting their sphere of relevance to the Polis, could actually speak of a freedom which was tangible, rather than a universal suprasensual freedom of the modern world, some inward looking locus of 'Being', of murky individuality. It's a radical difference and bears consideration. After all, outside the law is the chaos of Might over Right... is it not so? And cannot law takes a creative and almost artistic shade, as if we might sculpt law akin to Phidias?
My final note is that this book isn't "An Introduction To...". If you're reading this, you've probably read Homer, Hesiod, some major Tragedy, and hopefully Aristophanes (which I haven't read much of) and Thucydides. Though, if you've put in the time, you'll get a lot out of this book, written by one who truly has an enthusiasm for his subject. I think I'll tackle volume two sooner rather than later...
--AF
November 5, 2017
An impassioned, authoritative, and in-depth account of how the character-shaping ideas of education and culture developed in ancient Greece, and how the civilization's first educators were its poets.
I forget how I first got to hear about this book. Probably it was offered by the recommendation engine on Goodreads or on Amazon. I was already acquainted with the Greek word paideia from reading the works of Mortimer J. Adler, the driving force behind the Britannica Great Books of the Western World. Adler himself had written a book with that word in the title: The Paideia Proposal: An Educational ManifestoThe Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto. Published in 1982, when Adler was 80, it is a call for sweeping change to the American educational system, from elementary school to postsecondary learning. The vision of Adler and his colleagues is to wrench public education away from vocational training, which it had largely become even in 1982, and toward the ideals of liberal education. He and the other members of the Paideia Group believe that this is the only way to save American democracy. As he puts it in chapter 1:
Werner Jaeger, in this extraordinary volume, shows us how the ancient Greeks coped with this question. There was no such thing as public education, but, as he says at the very beginning of his introduction:
The Greeks came to see that this process of education was a matter of shaping the soul, of giving it a desirable form in a manner analogous to the way that a sculptor shapes marble or bronze. This desirable form of the soul came to take the name of arete or "excellence." The best men had arete in the highest degree, exemplified by mythical heroes such as Odysseus or Achilles. But how was this education effected? How were ordinary boys shaped into excellent men? In Jaeger's words, the Greeks
Jaeger notes how every society attends to the training of its young: teaching children the practical and moral rules by which the society lives, and adding technical training to that, so that the children may have the skills needed to make their way in life. This process must be distinguished from what he calls cultural education, "which aims at fulfilling an ideal of man as he ought to be." For this latter task, what counts is not utility but the society's idea of the Beautiful. He thinks that the contrast between these two views of education can be seen throughout history, and proposes to refer to the former as education and the latter as culture. Jaeger goes on to say:
Jaeger shows how this ideal of human excellence evolved in ancient Greece, and how the ideal was given given form and voice by poets, starting with Homer, whose works had enormous authority throughout the ancient world for centuries. Homer was universally studied not just for the quality of his verse, but because of the educative power of his poems. The Iliad and the Odyssey taught men--and women--how to be. The characters in these epics were the benchmark against which living men and women were measured.
As time went on, Greece changed, and its cultural ideals changed with it. The word paideia itself, which originally meant simply "child-rearing," eventually morphed into the concept that we would probably call "culture." Jaeger shows how these changes are reflected in the work of the poets after Homer: Hesiod, Tyrtaeus, Theognis, Pindar, and others. It's not all about poets; other great minds also contribute, notably the lawgiver Solon. The birth of the city-state, the ideal of justice, the birth of scientific speculation, the rise of individualism--all these are reflected in the work of the poets, who express the ideas in potent, pithy form for their society. The ideas strive and clash with each other, poetry and society mutually shaping each other.
That's all in Book 1, Archaic Greece. The volume also contains Book 2, The Mind of Athens, which focuses on the great dramatists of Athens, the sophists, and a final chapter on Thucydides, whom Jaeger terms a "political philosopher" and the first political historian.
Again and again I was amazed at the depth and reach of Jaeger's thought. His understanding of ancient Greece must be virtually unrivaled. It's not just that he knows that world and its art so well; it's that he has reflected deeply on the significance of both, and their interconnection. And although the book is about ancient Greece, it reads like a discussion of the issues of today, for ideas do not die; they throb beneath our own body politic. It is tremendously relevant.
There is no actual poetry in the book. Familiarity with the poets and their work is assumed. I had read some of the works--Homer, Hesiod, the dramatists, and Thucydides--but I was still fascinated to read about the others I had not read. I could still experience the reflected glow of their work in Jaeger's appreciative analysis. But of course, the more of it you have read, the more you can gain from his discussion.
There are 2 more volumes in this series on The Ideals of Greek Culture. I don't know what's in them, but I'm dying to find out. I've read thousands of books in my life, but only a handful compare with this one for depth and quality. I'm amazed at how much he achieved, and I'm really surprised that I had never heard of him before.
I forget how I first got to hear about this book. Probably it was offered by the recommendation engine on Goodreads or on Amazon. I was already acquainted with the Greek word paideia from reading the works of Mortimer J. Adler, the driving force behind the Britannica Great Books of the Western World. Adler himself had written a book with that word in the title: The Paideia Proposal: An Educational ManifestoThe Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto. Published in 1982, when Adler was 80, it is a call for sweeping change to the American educational system, from elementary school to postsecondary learning. The vision of Adler and his colleagues is to wrench public education away from vocational training, which it had largely become even in 1982, and toward the ideals of liberal education. He and the other members of the Paideia Group believe that this is the only way to save American democracy. As he puts it in chapter 1:
Suffrage without schooling produces mobocracy, not democracy--not rule of law, not constitutional government by the people as well as for them.Here in British Columbia, where I live, the issue of education is often in the news, usually in the form of conflicts between the provincial government and the B.C. Teachers Federation--the teachers' union. They have fought over things like who is to determine class sizes. What's never in the debate, at least not that I've seen, is the question of what education is for. What is the aim of our education system? Usually it's assumed to be employment: putting our kids in position to get "good jobs." Our universities are now almost entirely vocational schools: law, medicine, accounting, engineering, forestry, and so on. Adler was strongly critical of this approach. Vocational training does not teach us how to be citizens of a free democratic society--the society that we live in, or like to think that we live in.
Werner Jaeger, in this extraordinary volume, shows us how the ancient Greeks coped with this question. There was no such thing as public education, but, as he says at the very beginning of his introduction:
Every nation which has reached a certain stage of development is instinctively impelled to practise education. Education is the process by which a community preserves and transmits its physical and intellectual character. For the individual passes away, but the type remains. . . . [M]en can transmit their social and intellectual nature only by exercising the qualities through which they created it--reason and conscious will. Through the exercise of these qualities man commands a freedom of development which is impossible to other living creatures. . . .This short extract gives a fair sense, I think, of the caliber of observation and thought that the author maintains throughout the 510 pages of this volume (which comprises the first 2 books of his series: Archaic Greece and The Mind of Athens).
The Greeks came to see that this process of education was a matter of shaping the soul, of giving it a desirable form in a manner analogous to the way that a sculptor shapes marble or bronze. This desirable form of the soul came to take the name of arete or "excellence." The best men had arete in the highest degree, exemplified by mythical heroes such as Odysseus or Achilles. But how was this education effected? How were ordinary boys shaped into excellent men? In Jaeger's words, the Greeks
considered that the only genuine forces which could form the soul were words and sounds, and--so far as they work through words and sounds or both--rhythm and harmony. . . .Words, sounds, rhythm, harmony: we're talking about poetry. The educators of ancient Greece were its poets.
Jaeger notes how every society attends to the training of its young: teaching children the practical and moral rules by which the society lives, and adding technical training to that, so that the children may have the skills needed to make their way in life. This process must be distinguished from what he calls cultural education, "which aims at fulfilling an ideal of man as he ought to be." For this latter task, what counts is not utility but the society's idea of the Beautiful. He thinks that the contrast between these two views of education can be seen throughout history, and proposes to refer to the former as education and the latter as culture. Jaeger goes on to say:
Culture is shown in the whole man--both in his external appearance and conduct, and in his inner nature. Both the outer and the inner man are deliberately produced, by a conscious process of selection and discipline which Plato compares to the breeding of good dogs. At first this process is confined to one small class within the state--the nobility. . . . But as the two types were taken over by the bourgeoisie in its rise to power, the ideals inspiring them became universal and at last affected the whole nation.But this about the nobility is an important point, for Jaeger then says that
all higher civilization springs from the differentiation of social classes--a differentiation which is created by natural variations in physical and mental capacity between man and man. . . . The nobility is the prime mover in forming a nation's culture. The history of Greek culture . . . begins in the aristocratic world of early Greece, with the creation of a definite ideal of human perfection, an ideal toward which the elite . . . was constantly trained. . . . All later culture . . . bears the imprint of its aristocratic origin. Culture is simply the aristocratic ideal of a nation, increasingly intellectualized.That's all taken from one paragraph on page 4. I find this to be a tremendously provocative set of ideas. When we remember that the original meaning of the word aristocracy is "rule by the best," we can see the power of this notion of culture. The purpose of culture is to shape people into being the best that they can be.
Jaeger shows how this ideal of human excellence evolved in ancient Greece, and how the ideal was given given form and voice by poets, starting with Homer, whose works had enormous authority throughout the ancient world for centuries. Homer was universally studied not just for the quality of his verse, but because of the educative power of his poems. The Iliad and the Odyssey taught men--and women--how to be. The characters in these epics were the benchmark against which living men and women were measured.
As time went on, Greece changed, and its cultural ideals changed with it. The word paideia itself, which originally meant simply "child-rearing," eventually morphed into the concept that we would probably call "culture." Jaeger shows how these changes are reflected in the work of the poets after Homer: Hesiod, Tyrtaeus, Theognis, Pindar, and others. It's not all about poets; other great minds also contribute, notably the lawgiver Solon. The birth of the city-state, the ideal of justice, the birth of scientific speculation, the rise of individualism--all these are reflected in the work of the poets, who express the ideas in potent, pithy form for their society. The ideas strive and clash with each other, poetry and society mutually shaping each other.
That's all in Book 1, Archaic Greece. The volume also contains Book 2, The Mind of Athens, which focuses on the great dramatists of Athens, the sophists, and a final chapter on Thucydides, whom Jaeger terms a "political philosopher" and the first political historian.
Again and again I was amazed at the depth and reach of Jaeger's thought. His understanding of ancient Greece must be virtually unrivaled. It's not just that he knows that world and its art so well; it's that he has reflected deeply on the significance of both, and their interconnection. And although the book is about ancient Greece, it reads like a discussion of the issues of today, for ideas do not die; they throb beneath our own body politic. It is tremendously relevant.
There is no actual poetry in the book. Familiarity with the poets and their work is assumed. I had read some of the works--Homer, Hesiod, the dramatists, and Thucydides--but I was still fascinated to read about the others I had not read. I could still experience the reflected glow of their work in Jaeger's appreciative analysis. But of course, the more of it you have read, the more you can gain from his discussion.
There are 2 more volumes in this series on The Ideals of Greek Culture. I don't know what's in them, but I'm dying to find out. I've read thousands of books in my life, but only a handful compare with this one for depth and quality. I'm amazed at how much he achieved, and I'm really surprised that I had never heard of him before.
October 12, 2024
gracias señor jaeger
April 12, 2020
Fantastic. Clearly dated in some respects, but insightful and relevant when it comes to the concept of the Paideia and the value of studying Greece for our own sake. As far as history goes, this is as engaging of an academic work that I've read, which is fitting since it is all about the importance of education and ideas for everyone. Jaeger really captures the paradoxes and contradictions of the Greek lived experience and gives full life to the tensions between the Dionysian and Apollonian cults, the two most prevalent in Greece. Ancient Greek city-states, which marveled at the life of foreigners and wilderness hunter-gatherers, all the same were repulsed by the foreigner within their walls. Greek education, aimed at bringing the best to each individual, in his or her own way, also at its most successful forms created and perpetuated institutions of stark inequality, from the irreverent aristocracy to the enslaved people that stand behind the edifices of Greece's most powerful states. This book feels utterly comprehensive, delving into matters of existence, of mathematics, of music and the arts, of physical activity, of politics, of space and time, and of nearly everything else we concern ourselves with today. It also creates a stark contrast between the modern mind and the Greek mind, with Jaeger going to great lengths to explain the ways in which archaic religion and conceptions of the cosmos shaped one's conception of the world in a fundamentally different way than we do, so impacted we have been by notions of material progress and religious redemption. I wish that modern scholars wrote in such an ambitious, comprehensive, engaging, and accessible prose (not to mention this is a translation of the original German!). I loved about the concept of paideia and of its evolution from Ionian arete to Spartan collectivism and finally synthesizing in the feverish and conflictual Athens. I found the dialectical unfolding of Jaeger's account of history to be mostly convincing but I found the book more engaging for its ideas and the story it told rather than for its contributions to the study of Greece. It touched on community, individuality, existence, and education in a deep way, serving as an inspiring read for anyone who is thinking of their own development, or anyone with an interest in helping to develop the minds of others. It's one of those books that gets you riding on a high after finishing it, but also leaves you crestfallen because you don't know when it'll be that you'll become so fully enthralled by a text again.
September 22, 2025
In this volume, Jaeger traces the development of an aristocratic ideal in Homeric times to a democratic one in Athena and how paideia (a word that can be linked to the following words: civilization, culture, tradition, literature, or education) transformed with the ideal.
March 29, 2020
The perfect book for understanding greek culture, especially areté.
Read
June 10, 2020Inspiring book about the mindset of Athenians in archaic Greece - a book to go back to again and again. Plus, there are two more follow-on volumes!
June 19, 2023
In the realm of classical studies, Werner Jaeger's "Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" stands as a seminal work, offering a comprehensive and meticulous examination of the intellectual and educational development of ancient Greece during the Archaic period. This review aims to provide an academic analysis of Jaeger's scholarship, highlighting the book's strengths, weaknesses, and its significance within the field.
"Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" delves into the foundations of Greek civilization, exploring the transformative era that laid the groundwork for Western thought. Jaeger deftly dissects the socio-cultural milieu, focusing on the role of education and the development of individual and collective intellect within ancient Greek society. By scrutinizing the works of pivotal thinkers like Homer, Hesiod, and Pythagoras, Jaeger presents a nuanced understanding of the educational methods, philosophies, and values that shaped the minds of the Archaic Greeks.
One of the key strengths of Jaeger's work lies in its meticulous research and extensive use of primary sources. His rigorous analysis of ancient texts and critical engagement with various scholarly interpretations demonstrate a profound command of the subject matter. Jaeger's ability to synthesize complex ideas and present them in a coherent and accessible manner is commendable, making the book highly suitable for both specialists and those new to the field.
Furthermore, "Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" effectively highlights the interconnectedness of various disciplines such as philosophy, literature, and music within the broader educational framework of ancient Greece. Jaeger skillfully weaves together these interdisciplinary threads, demonstrating how they contributed to the overall intellectual growth and cultural identity of the period. This multidimensional approach adds depth and richness to the book, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of the era.
While Jaeger's scholarship is undoubtedly impressive, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of his work. The sheer breadth of the subject matter necessitates some sacrifices in terms of depth and focus. As a result, certain aspects, such as the influence of social hierarchies on education or the role of women within the educational system, receive relatively less attention. Scholars seeking a more specialized examination of these topics may find themselves wanting additional resources.
"Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" occupies a significant position within the realm of classical studies. Its lasting impact lies in its ability to illuminate the intellectual foundations of Western civilization by exploring the Archaic Greek educational system. Jaeger's work has inspired subsequent generations of scholars to further investigate the transformative influence of ancient Greek education on subsequent cultural and intellectual developments. By emphasizing the role of education in shaping individuals and societies, Jaeger's book remains an indispensable resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the ancient Greek world.
Werner Jaeger's "Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" serves as an invaluable contribution to the field of classical studies. Through meticulous research, interdisciplinary analysis, and a comprehensive exploration of ancient Greek education, Jaeger sheds light on the intellectual roots of Western civilization. While the book may have certain limitations in terms of focus, its significance and lasting impact make it an essential resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike. "Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" stands as a testament to Jaeger's scholarly prowess and remains a cornerstone in the study of ancient Greek intellectual history.
GPT
"Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" delves into the foundations of Greek civilization, exploring the transformative era that laid the groundwork for Western thought. Jaeger deftly dissects the socio-cultural milieu, focusing on the role of education and the development of individual and collective intellect within ancient Greek society. By scrutinizing the works of pivotal thinkers like Homer, Hesiod, and Pythagoras, Jaeger presents a nuanced understanding of the educational methods, philosophies, and values that shaped the minds of the Archaic Greeks.
One of the key strengths of Jaeger's work lies in its meticulous research and extensive use of primary sources. His rigorous analysis of ancient texts and critical engagement with various scholarly interpretations demonstrate a profound command of the subject matter. Jaeger's ability to synthesize complex ideas and present them in a coherent and accessible manner is commendable, making the book highly suitable for both specialists and those new to the field.
Furthermore, "Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" effectively highlights the interconnectedness of various disciplines such as philosophy, literature, and music within the broader educational framework of ancient Greece. Jaeger skillfully weaves together these interdisciplinary threads, demonstrating how they contributed to the overall intellectual growth and cultural identity of the period. This multidimensional approach adds depth and richness to the book, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of the era.
While Jaeger's scholarship is undoubtedly impressive, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of his work. The sheer breadth of the subject matter necessitates some sacrifices in terms of depth and focus. As a result, certain aspects, such as the influence of social hierarchies on education or the role of women within the educational system, receive relatively less attention. Scholars seeking a more specialized examination of these topics may find themselves wanting additional resources.
"Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" occupies a significant position within the realm of classical studies. Its lasting impact lies in its ability to illuminate the intellectual foundations of Western civilization by exploring the Archaic Greek educational system. Jaeger's work has inspired subsequent generations of scholars to further investigate the transformative influence of ancient Greek education on subsequent cultural and intellectual developments. By emphasizing the role of education in shaping individuals and societies, Jaeger's book remains an indispensable resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the ancient Greek world.
Werner Jaeger's "Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" serves as an invaluable contribution to the field of classical studies. Through meticulous research, interdisciplinary analysis, and a comprehensive exploration of ancient Greek education, Jaeger sheds light on the intellectual roots of Western civilization. While the book may have certain limitations in terms of focus, its significance and lasting impact make it an essential resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike. "Paideia Volume 1: Archaic Greece" stands as a testament to Jaeger's scholarly prowess and remains a cornerstone in the study of ancient Greek intellectual history.
GPT
September 5, 2022
I can't recommend it enough. I couldn't swallow the other volumes, but the first is more than enough for me for it makes an unforgettable view on the pre-platonic Greeks, and their relation to western culture as a whole. Now I am always left wondering why nobody talks about Solon, or why what people call "presocratic philosophers" seems to leave out so much of the greek spirit, and thus misses the point.
December 8, 2010
Muy altos los ideales de la educación que guian como modelo a las demás culturas subsiguientes.
Tomados de la agrucultura los principios de la educación se aplican a los seres humanos,cultivarse es posible.
Desde Sócrates a Platón la revision de los perfiles esperados en los hombres son bien explicados por Jaeger.
Tomados de la agrucultura los principios de la educación se aplican a los seres humanos,cultivarse es posible.
Desde Sócrates a Platón la revision de los perfiles esperados en los hombres son bien explicados por Jaeger.
November 1, 2011
Aqui solo esta referenciado el primer volumen. son tres. Magnifica y preciosa historia de la Grecia clásica y sus instituciones educativas. Las preguntas pedagógicas por supuesto siguen siendo validas en un mundo donde la formación en muchos aspectos se devalua por minutos.
October 18, 2018
Wonderful!
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