EDUCATIONAL ROLE OF THE FATHER IN THE ROMAN FAMILY ACCORDING TO PLUTARCH OF CHAERONEA

Roman society was well rooted in the patriarchal tradition, characterised by the power and authority of the father. He ruled over life and death of his progeny since the moment of their birth. The morals evolved gradually as a result of contact with peoples on higher level of civilisational development as well as general increase in welfare and relaxation of discipline and mores. This was reflected in the views and methods employed in the upbringing of children in Rome. Plutarch appreciated the significance and role of the father in bringing up his children and tried to put his notions in practice. He maintained that the character of a child might be moulded because it was nothing else than a long-term habit, while the parent should be an everyday role-model to follow. The Chaeronean attached importance to striving to attain virtue and perfection, and above all the awareness of continual self-development. The continuators of educational methods advocated by Plutarch had to modify his theory, because in the early Empire the role of the father was considerably diminished and the family ties became relaxed. The duty of educating children was most often shifted onto teachers and schools. The conflicting views concerning the choice of educational methods and the parental practice of corporal punishment were another problem which often caused dispute. Plautus and Terence, contemporary comedy playwrights, advocated gentleness and leniency of parents towards their progeny, which in most cases induced greater obedience than severe punishments. The factor which had an impact on the manner of educating boys was the political history of Rome, which engendered profound moral transformation during the late Republic and the early Empire.The paper is devoted to the educational role of the father in a Roman family as envisioned by Plutarch of Chaeronea in his notion of optimised moral and intellectual development of a boy and young man. Furthermore, the article depicts Roman realities and their relation to the “ideal” recommendations of the Chaeronean, in the context of transformation of morals and changes in methods of bringing up resulting from the expansive policy of Rome from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD.957734Studia Europaea Gnesnensi