In the

Greco-Roman world The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

, the grammarian ( la, grammaticus) was responsible for the second stage in the traditional education system, after a boy had learned his basic Greek and Latin.McNelis, C. (2007) "Grammarians and rhetoricians" in Dominik, W. and Hall, J. (eds.) ''A companion to Roman rhetoric''. Oxford:

Blackwell Publishing Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publish ...

, pp. 285-296. The job of the grammarian was to teach the ancient poets such as

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

, and the correct way of speaking before a boy moved on to study under the

rhetor Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate partic ...

. Despite often humble origins, some grammarians went on to achieve elevated positions in Rome, though few enjoyed financial success.

Grammar

In about 100 B.C.,

Dionysius Thrax Dionysius Thrax ( grc-gre, Διονύσιος ὁ Θρᾷξ ''Dionýsios ho Thrâix'', 170–90 BC) was a Greek grammarian and a pupil of Aristarchus of Samothrace. He was long considered to be the author of the earliest grammatical text on the G ...

defined grammar as an "acquired expertise of the general usage of poets and prose writers". He identified six elements to the field: *Accurate reading aloud *Explanation of literary devices *Comments on subject matter *Comments on etymologies *Working out analogical regularities *The critical study of literature. Nearly two hundred years later,

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...

defined the subject as the knowledge of proper speaking and the explication of the poets.

Position

Some grammarians achieved elevated positions in the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

world and enjoyed preferential treatment, despite their relatively lowly job and often humble origins. They were exempt from local taxes in Rome for instance. By tutoring the children of the wealthy, grammarians could meet and become associated with prominent families in Rome.

Marcus Antonius Gnipho Marcus Antonius Gnipho (''fl.'' 1st century BC) was a grammarianMcNelis, C. (2007) "Grammarians and rhetoricians" in Dominik, W. and Hall, J. (eds.) ''A companion to Roman rhetoric''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 285-296. and teacher of rheto ...

was part of the household of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

. This despite the fact that some noted grammarians had originally been brought to Rome as captives. Twelve of the twenty grammarians described by

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

in ''De Illustribus Grammaticis'' had been slaves.Suetonius. ''Gram''. 6.1, 10.1, 11.1, 12.1, 13.1, 15.1, 16.1, 17.1, 18.1, 19.1, 20.1, 23.1. Latin grammarians, like their Greek equivalents, came from all over the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, including Syria, Spain, Gaul, Athens and Italy.

References

External links

* {{Authority control * Education in classical antiquity

Grammar

Position

See also

References

Further reading

External links