Children and Childhood in Antiquity

How did ancient childhood differ from ours? Were children the invisible ‘Other’ or a source of power in Mediterranean antiquity? This course explores childhood in classical Greece, Roman Italy, and Jewish Palestine by analyzing historical, literary, and archaeological evidence that attests to both philosophical thoughts on children and sociocultural practices regarding birth, childrearing, and death. We will see diverse understandings of physical, intellectual, and social aspects of children and how such understandings helped shape political agendas and religious ideas in antiquity. By reflecting upon the temporal differences and cross-cultural similarities between ancient and modern childhoods, we will ultimately ask how fresh insights into ancient children may help us revisit our own understanding of children and human life today.