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The Greeks wrote the first plays. These educated the public on different Greek stories and language. -
Herodotus was the first historian from Ancient Greece. He wrote about the Persian War and set a precedent for future history students. -
Socrates was one of the first Greek philosophers. He started a train of great thinkers that we still learn from today. He also invented the Socratic method which is still used in schools today. -
Plato was a great Greek philosopher who was taught by Socrates and wrote The Republic. He found an academy that taught the next great philosophers and emphasized education in Greek culture. -
The library of Alexandria was a fundamental development in education in Hellenistic Greece. The library of Alexandria proves the eagerness to learn about other cultures and the meaning of life in Hellenistic Greece at the time. -
The ideal of Romanitas was similar to Greek virtues in learning how to speak effectively. Romanitas Idealized education as in order to become a good Roman a person had to study language and rhetoric. -
When Rome fell, all classical learning and rhetoric dwindled. Soon after Christianity would overcome Europe and practically extinguish classical learning, a bad time for education in Western history. -
Charlemagne became the king of the Franks and started his own small renaissance, named the Carolingian Renaissance. He built many schools and academies in his time and rose the literacy rates, he also gathered scholars at the time and reformed the alphabet. -
Petrarch was a renowned writer and linguist. He is known for establishing grammatically correct Latin and encouraging the rebirth of classical writing, emulated in academies. -
Niccolo Machiavelli wrote the first political science piece, "The Prince." His work encouraged a future generation to learn political science and discuss what makes a good leader. -
The Catholic and Protestant Reformations both contributed greatly to literacy rates. Information passed quickly with the printing press and even the lower social classes began to read