Education
Anna writes at the beginning of the Alexiad about her education, highlighting her experience with literature, Greek language, rhetoric, and sciences. Tutors trained her in subjects that included astronomy, medicine, history, military affairs, geography and math. Anna was noted for her education by the medieval scholar, Niketas Choniates who wrote that Anna “was ardently devoted to philosophy, the queen of all sciences, and was educated in every field." Modern historian Carolyn L. Connor states that, “education is central to Anna’s self-definition.” Anna’s conception of her education is shown in her testament, which credits her parents for allowing her to obtain an education. This testament is in contrast to a funeral oration about Anna given by her contemporary, Georgios Tornikes. In his oration he says that she had to read ancient poetry, such as the Odyssey, in secret because her parents disapproved of its dealing with poly-theism and other “dangerous exploits,” which were considered “dangerous” for men and “excessively insidious” for women. Tornikes goes on to say that Anna “braced the weakness of her soul” and studied the poetry “taking care not to be detected by her parents.”
Read more about this topic: Anna Komnene
Famous quotes containing the word education:
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—Richard B. Stolley (20th century)
“If factory-labor is not a means of education to the operative of to-day, it is because the employer does not do his duty. It is because he treats his work-people like machines, and forgets that they are struggling, hoping, despairing human beings.”
—Harriet H. Robinson (1825–1911)
“Whether in the field of health, education or welfare, I have put my emphasis on preventive rather than curative programs and tried to influence our elaborate, costly and ill- co-ordinated welfare organizations in that direction. Unfortunately the momentum of social work is still directed toward compensating the victims of our society for its injustices rather than eliminating those injustices.”
—Agnes E. Meyer (1887–1970)