Roman education : Observations on the Iberian experience

Abstract

This paper discusses Roman influence on the development of education in the Roman provinces of the Iberian peninsula. Marrou, Bonner, and others have suggested that during the Roman Imperial period there was a « dense network of schools » in Iberia and that education « flourished » in the Iberian provinces. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that while these opinions may apply to certain regions, they do not seem to be compatible with the literary and epigraphical evidence for the distant province of Lusitania and the more remote regions of Spain. With reliance on literary and epigraphical evidence the paper examines several topics related to Roman education in the Iberian peninsula in an attempt to gauge the depth and extent of Roman educational influence. The topics which are discussed include a « catalogue » of « educated » Spaniards mentioned in literary references, a list of the known inscriptions which cite the various types of teachers recorded in the epigraphical evidence, the extent of literacy in the Iberian peninsula, schools, and libraries. The conclusion reached is that the depth and effectiveness of Roman education through the early Imperial period may have been somewhat restricted, particularly in Lusitania and the more remote regions of Iberia.