Abstract/Summary

Some ancient cultures included a second language and/or study of another culture in their education systems: why, and what difference did that make to their histories? And can ancient educational practices offer any useful lessons for the modern world? Based on seven examples of ancient language teaching (Latin speakers studying Greek, Roman-period Greek speakers studying Homeric Greek, Ptolemaic Egyptian speakers studying Greek, Greek speakers studying Latin, Gauls and Britons studying Latin, Akkadian speakers studying Sumerian, and Aramaic-speaking Jews studying Hebrew), this piece argues that ancient societies prioritised particular second languages for inclusion in the education system based largely on the importance to those societies of the texts composed in those languages. Although teaching a second language in school did not always lead to many adults having significant competence in that language, such teaching nevertheless allowed ancient societies to keep their identities intact and to ensure that their key texts remained important and relevant to successive generations.