Education in Graeco-Roman Egypt: An Intercultural Approach

EduGRE proposes a radically novel approach to ancient education. Tackling the urgent need to investigate diversity in knowledge transmission in the ancient Mediterranean, the project will comprehensively collate and analyse all school artefacts from Graeco-Roman Egypt, including Egyptian, Greek and Latin material, to set Graeco-Roman education in its specific Egyptian context and explore intercultural osmosis. Challenging the traditional view of Greek education as a tool for perpetuating and disseminating a pure and monolithic form of Greek culture within multicultural communities, this project explores the complex interplay of identities and cultural traditions in educational practices. Through a bottom-up approach that prioritises the concrete experience of individuals who were far removed from the main centres of power and literary production, and who rarely feature in ancient and modern historiographical narratives, EduGRE detects interactions between different languages and cultures, elucidates the role of local agency, and identifies variations in education over time in relation to religious and societal change.EduGRE also introduces a new methodology in editing written artefacts. Its dedicated digital platform will house innovative critical editions combining methodologies of papyrology and New Philology to capture the unique textual iterations encoded in school artefacts. The platform’s uniform editorial methods and tagging system will allow for comprehensive analysis and comparison of educational practices, transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries. The inclusion of images and 3D reconstructions will facilitate analysis of material features.EduGRE will redefine perceptions of ancient education by uncovering cultural diversity and dialogue in its practices. The project’s innovative approach, comprehensive methodology and commitment to inclusivity ensure it will have a lasting impact on cultural studies, both within and beyond antiquity.