In the

Greco-Roman world The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

, the grammarian () 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 Publis ...

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

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...

and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

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

rhetor Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse (trivium) along with grammar and logic/dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or writ ...

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

Grammar

Around 100 BC,

Dionysius Thrax Dionysius Thrax ( ''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 Greek language, one that was used as a st ...

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 born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

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

Position

Some grammarians achieved elevated positions in the Roman 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 was part of the household of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

. 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 ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

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 ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, 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