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Ancient Literacy
How many people could read and write in the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans?
No one has previously tried to give a systematic answer to this question. Most historians who have considered the problem at all have given optimistic assessments, since they have been impressed by large bodies of ancient written material such as the graffiti at Pompeii. They have also been influenced by a tendency to idealize the Greek and Roman world and its educational system.
In Ancient Literacy W. V. Harris provides the first thorough exploration of the levels, types, and functions of literacy in the classical world, from the invention of the Greek alphabet about 800 B.C. down to the fifth century A.D. Investigations of other societies show that literacy ceases to be the accomplishment of a small elite only in specific circumstances. Harris argues that the social and technological conditions of the ancient world were such as to make mass literacy unthinkable. Noting that a society on the verge of mass literacy always possesses an elaborate school system, Harris stresses the limitations of Greek and Roman schooling, pointing out the meagerness of funding for elementary education.
Neither the Greeks nor the Romans came anywhere near to completing the transition to a modern kind of written culture. They relied more heavily on oral communication than has generally been imagined. Harris examines the partial transition to written culture, taking into consideration the economic sphere and everyday life, as well as law, politics, administration, and religion. He has much to say also about the circulation of literary texts throughout classical antiquity.
The limited spread of literacy in the classical world had diverse effects. It gave some stimulus to critical thought and assisted the accumulation of knowledge, and the minority that did learn to read and write was to some extent able to assert itself politically. The written word was also an instrument of power, and its use was indispensable for the construction and maintenance of empires. Most intriguing is the role of writing in the new religious culture of the late Roman Empire, in which it was more and more revered but less and less practiced.
Harris explores these and related themes in this highly original work of social and cultural history. Ancient Literacy is important reading for anyone interested in the classical world, the problem of literacy, or the history of the written word.
No one has previously tried to give a systematic answer to this question. Most historians who have considered the problem at all have given optimistic assessments, since they have been impressed by large bodies of ancient written material such as the graffiti at Pompeii. They have also been influenced by a tendency to idealize the Greek and Roman world and its educational system.
In Ancient Literacy W. V. Harris provides the first thorough exploration of the levels, types, and functions of literacy in the classical world, from the invention of the Greek alphabet about 800 B.C. down to the fifth century A.D. Investigations of other societies show that literacy ceases to be the accomplishment of a small elite only in specific circumstances. Harris argues that the social and technological conditions of the ancient world were such as to make mass literacy unthinkable. Noting that a society on the verge of mass literacy always possesses an elaborate school system, Harris stresses the limitations of Greek and Roman schooling, pointing out the meagerness of funding for elementary education.
Neither the Greeks nor the Romans came anywhere near to completing the transition to a modern kind of written culture. They relied more heavily on oral communication than has generally been imagined. Harris examines the partial transition to written culture, taking into consideration the economic sphere and everyday life, as well as law, politics, administration, and religion. He has much to say also about the circulation of literary texts throughout classical antiquity.
The limited spread of literacy in the classical world had diverse effects. It gave some stimulus to critical thought and assisted the accumulation of knowledge, and the minority that did learn to read and write was to some extent able to assert itself politically. The written word was also an instrument of power, and its use was indispensable for the construction and maintenance of empires. Most intriguing is the role of writing in the new religious culture of the late Roman Empire, in which it was more and more revered but less and less practiced.
Harris explores these and related themes in this highly original work of social and cultural history. Ancient Literacy is important reading for anyone interested in the classical world, the problem of literacy, or the history of the written word.
383 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 1989
7 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
William V. Harris
28 books14 followersWilliam V. Harris was born on 13 September 1938 in Nottingham, England. He attended Bristol Grammar School (1949–1956) and then was an Open Scholar in Classics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He earned first class in Classical Moderations in 1959, then first class in Literae Humaniores in 1961. From 1961 he pursued graduate studies as a State Student at Oxford, spending the year 1961-1962 in Rome (where he worked with J.B. Ward-Perkins), and was then the T.W. Greene Scholar in Classical Art and Archaeology. His dissertation supervisor was M. W. Frederiksen, and he received his D. Phil. in 1968.
From 1964 to 1965 Harris served as Lecturer in Ancient History at Queen's University, Belfast. In 1965, he joined the faculty of the Columbia University History Department, which he chaired from 1988 to 1994. In 1995 he was awarded the William R. Shepherd Professorship in History at Columbia. Since 2000, he has been director of Columbia's Center for the Ancient Mediterranean, which he co-founded. Since 2002 he has been Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in 2008 he was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In 2011 he was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.
From 1964 to 1965 Harris served as Lecturer in Ancient History at Queen's University, Belfast. In 1965, he joined the faculty of the Columbia University History Department, which he chaired from 1988 to 1994. In 1995 he was awarded the William R. Shepherd Professorship in History at Columbia. Since 2000, he has been director of Columbia's Center for the Ancient Mediterranean, which he co-founded. Since 2002 he has been Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and in 2008 he was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In 2011 he was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 11, 2022
It's about writing in antiquity, and in Greece at least most of the population was semi-literate. Meaning that soldiers knew how to handle tables with text to other soldiers so i it could end up in capitol. Or that most of women knew alphabet well enough to know how to run household.
And that Charondas has given law to support widespread of reading literature among Greek, although Greek are first to start that journey. It was still far from popular.
Charondas was a celebrated lawgiver of Catania in Sicily. It is uncertain when he lived; some identify him as a pupil of Pythagoras, but all that can be said is that he lived earlier than Anaxilas of Rhegium, as his laws were in use by the Rhegians until they were abolished by Anaxilas.
And an ancient Italian legislator, established in his city in the seventh century BC the first celebrated gymnasium ruled by free men using state expenses.
It's rather "toporne"( like hard piece of wood to chop in reading )tough and plane, but good nevertheless.
And that Charondas has given law to support widespread of reading literature among Greek, although Greek are first to start that journey. It was still far from popular.
Charondas was a celebrated lawgiver of Catania in Sicily. It is uncertain when he lived; some identify him as a pupil of Pythagoras, but all that can be said is that he lived earlier than Anaxilas of Rhegium, as his laws were in use by the Rhegians until they were abolished by Anaxilas.
And an ancient Italian legislator, established in his city in the seventh century BC the first celebrated gymnasium ruled by free men using state expenses.
It's rather "toporne"( like hard piece of wood to chop in reading )tough and plane, but good nevertheless.
May 9, 2018
This study focuses on literacy in Greek and Latin from the 8th century B.C. (the origins of Greek writing) to the 5th century A.D. (the end of Late Antiquity). Part one consists of an introduction to scholarly studies of literacy and some methodological challenges of examining it in antiquity. One must remember that there is no simple dichotomy between literate and illiterate. There are an infinite number of levels of “semi-literacy” between these two poles. Harris also shows the utility of three terms to give generalizations about a society’s level of literacy. First, “scribal literacy” refers to a society with an extremely small minority of literate individuals, primarily those who worked for the upper classes. This would be the case for medieval Europe until about the 12th century. Second, “craftsman’s literacy” refers to a diffusion of literacy to some of the skilled artisans of the middle class, who used it mainly for businesses transactions and record keeping. Europe from about the 16th to 18th centuries would exemplify this level. Lastly, “mass literacy” is what developed countries experience today, whereby 99% of the populace is literate due to public education. Although these categories are imperfect and have hazy boundaries, they provide a useful starting point for discussing literacy on a large scale.
The rest of the text is divided up in a roughly chronological manner. Part two tackles the earliest beginnings of literacy in Greece to the Archaic period, literacy in Classical Greece, and in the Hellenistic period. Part three shifts to the Roman side of things, covering the first Latin inscriptions in Archaic Italy, the Late Republic and the Principate (a particularly lengthy chapter due to the increased geographic scope and functions of literacy), and literacy in Late Antiquity.
Two related phenomena are also frequently considered: the state of primary education and oral culture. Basic education is vital to literacy as most would have only been able to learn reading and writing from a teacher. However, the somewhat costly nature of education kept most of the ancient populace illiterate. Examining the oral culture of antiquity also shows that most could have still gotten by without learning to read and write. Unlike modern cultures, more features of daily life, like advertisements and books, were absorbed through listening rather than reading, so there is less emphasis on being literate for most occupations.
Harris does an excellent job of also considering many other relevant questions. What can we know about the literacy levels of women? How did the other languages of the Mediterranean impact literacy in Greek and Latin? How did different classes view education? Did social or religious changes like the rise of Christianity impact literacy? These are challenging questions and the subject itself is daunting, but Harris thoroughly explores this topic with a variety of primary sources and is candid in the instances when he must resort to guesswork. Furthermore, Harris disproves earlier scholarly assumptions that were too optimistic in believing that there may have been mass literacy in the ancient world, something that would be difficult to achieve without a functional public education system.
This is both a fascinating read for those interesting in literacy and provides a good reference text on it for classicists. Overall, we can perhaps best sum up literacy in antiquity with on of Harris’ closing statements: “The written culture of antiquity was in the main restricted to a privileged minority – though in some places it was quite a large minority – and it coexisted with elements of an oral culture.”
The rest of the text is divided up in a roughly chronological manner. Part two tackles the earliest beginnings of literacy in Greece to the Archaic period, literacy in Classical Greece, and in the Hellenistic period. Part three shifts to the Roman side of things, covering the first Latin inscriptions in Archaic Italy, the Late Republic and the Principate (a particularly lengthy chapter due to the increased geographic scope and functions of literacy), and literacy in Late Antiquity.
Two related phenomena are also frequently considered: the state of primary education and oral culture. Basic education is vital to literacy as most would have only been able to learn reading and writing from a teacher. However, the somewhat costly nature of education kept most of the ancient populace illiterate. Examining the oral culture of antiquity also shows that most could have still gotten by without learning to read and write. Unlike modern cultures, more features of daily life, like advertisements and books, were absorbed through listening rather than reading, so there is less emphasis on being literate for most occupations.
Harris does an excellent job of also considering many other relevant questions. What can we know about the literacy levels of women? How did the other languages of the Mediterranean impact literacy in Greek and Latin? How did different classes view education? Did social or religious changes like the rise of Christianity impact literacy? These are challenging questions and the subject itself is daunting, but Harris thoroughly explores this topic with a variety of primary sources and is candid in the instances when he must resort to guesswork. Furthermore, Harris disproves earlier scholarly assumptions that were too optimistic in believing that there may have been mass literacy in the ancient world, something that would be difficult to achieve without a functional public education system.
This is both a fascinating read for those interesting in literacy and provides a good reference text on it for classicists. Overall, we can perhaps best sum up literacy in antiquity with on of Harris’ closing statements: “The written culture of antiquity was in the main restricted to a privileged minority – though in some places it was quite a large minority – and it coexisted with elements of an oral culture.”
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews