The Athenaeum was a school ('' ludus'') founded by the Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

for the promotion of literary and scientific studies (''ingenuarum artium''). The name "Athenaeum" came from the city of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, which was still regarded as the seat of intellectual refinement. The Athenaeum was situated near the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

: its site was discovered in 2009 during excavation for the construction of the Rome Metro C Line ( Venezia station), in the middle of what is now Piazza Venezia. A staff of professors, for the various branches of study, was regularly engaged. Under

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

, for example, there were three orators, ten grammarians, five sophists, one philosopher, two lawyers, or jurisconsults. Besides the instruction given by these magistri, poets, orators, and critics were accustomed to recite their compositions there, and these prelections were sometimes honoured with the presence of the emperors themselves. There were other places, as the Ulpian Library, where such recitations were made; sometimes also a room was hired, and made into an auditorium. The Athenaeum seems to have continued in high repute till the sixth century. Little is known of the details of study or discipline in the Athenaeum, but in the constitution of the year 370, there are some regulations respecting students in Rome, from which it would appear that it must have been a very extensive and important institution. And this is confirmed by other statements contained in some of the Fathers and other ancient authors, from which we learn that young men from all parts, after finishing their usual school and college studies in their own town or province, used to resort to Rome as a sort of higher university, for the purpose of completing their education. After the moving of the capital city to

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy. The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...

and

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

similar schools were opened also in these cities, as well as in the other main cities of the Empire, like

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

. In the modern period, the term ''Athenaeum'' is widely used in various countries for schools, libraries, museums, cultural centers, performance halls and theatres, periodicals, clubs and societies – all aspiring to fulfill a cultural function similar to that of the ancient Roman school.

References

{{SmithDGRA, title=Athenaeum, url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0063%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D9%3Aentry%3Dathenaeum-cn Culture of ancient Rome Nerva–Antonine dynasty Greco-Roman relations in classical antiquity Organizations based in ancient Rome