In this exercise you will reflect on two different ways of bringing up children as shown in a Greek vase and in a letter from the Greek mathematician and Pythagorean philosopher Theano to Eubule in the 4th century BC.
1- Pottery is one of the richest sources of information on several aspects of public and private life in Ancient Greece. Here is a vase from 360 BC, preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto (Italy), which depicts Aphrodite threatening to beat her son Eros.
1a.- Explain the difference between the two main painting techniques used in pottery: black-figure technique and red-figure technique. Which one predominates in the vase from the picture?
1b.- The vase in the picture might be a stamnos. What was it used for and how was it different from other vases?
1c.- Draw the outline of a stamnos and of four other types of Greek pottery, writing down their name and what their purpose was.
1d.- Look at the scene represented in the vase. Why do we know it is the goddess Aphrodite? What did Eros do to end up being threatened or punished by his mother? Look up information on the Internet or in a mythology book.
1e.- Do you think using "the slipper" is a good way to straighten out rebellious children and teens? Give reasons for your answer.
2- Read carefully this letter from Theano of Crotone:
From Theano to Eubule, greetings!
I hear you raise your children to live a comfortable life. However, what a good mother should do is not to fuel the pleasure of their children, but to show them the way to moderation... When pleasure interferes in the education of children, they become undisciplined...
Do not let them stuff themselves with food or indulge in all pleasures, for this is the cause of total indiscipline in children, they must not be allowed to say and try everything they want, specially if you feel worried every time they cry and you feel happy when they laugh and you smile indulgently, even if they hit their nanny or use rude words against you...
Take care of them, dear, by giving them an austere upbringing and not a comfortable life; let them be hungry and thirsty, cold and hot, let them feel embarrassed in front of their peers or keepers. In doing so, your children might grow to have a noble soul... For sacrifice, dear, is for children like a mordant that compels them to perfect their virtue...
Our own translation from Gutiérrez, Mercedes; Jufresa, Montserrat; Mier, Cristina y Pardo, Félix (1996). «Teano de Crotona», en Enrahonar, Quaderns de Filosofía, vol. 26. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelon. 26, pp. 95-108.
2a.- What does Theano understand as a "comfortable" upbringing and a "austere" one? Which one does she prefer? Do you agree with her that sacrifice is a stimulus that helps improve education?
2b.-Do you agree that boundaries and saying "no" are essential when bringing up children? What paragraph in the text includes this information?
2c.- Do you agree with Theano completely or do you differ in anything?
2d.- Compare the educational methods used by Aphrodite and Theano. Are they similar? Give reasons for your answer.