Progymnasmata

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Progymnasmata (Greek, plural of progymnasma ) were preliminary exercises in rhetoric lessons from ancient times to modern times.

Originally the term referred to the preliminary exercises of Greek athletes before the actual competitions. He was later transferred to the first phase of training in rhetoric, with which he remained from then on.

In the ancient ( Greek and Roman ) teaching system, the progymnasmata were either completed with the language teacher ( grammaticus ) or with the speech teacher ( rhetor ). They consisted of individual exercises, one after the other in the order of their difficulty, such as retelling of Aesopian fables , chrien , exercises in praise, criticism and comparisons, descriptions of landscapes or events, discussions and discussions of laws.

Usually the teacher first gave an example that he had written himself or that he had chosen from previous authors. In the second step, the students had to work out exercises themselves and present them to the teacher. In contrast to the subsequent actual rhetoric lessons, however, no complete speeches have yet been made. In addition to rhetorical and linguistic training, the progymnasmata also imparted ethical and argumentative skills.

There were textbooks for the progymnasmata, such as the surviving Greek books by Ailios Theon and Aphthonios . In the case of Latin authors, for example, Marcus Tullius Cicero and Quintilian discuss this phase of teaching. The progymnasmata of the late antique rhetor Libanios provide numerous examples .

The rhetoric lessons of the Middle Ages (especially in Byzantium ) and the early modern period up to the 19th century largely followed the ancient models, so that the progymnasmata were still used here.

literature

  • Manfred Kraus: Progymnasmata, Gymnasmata . In: Gert Ueding (Hrsg.): Historical dictionary of rhetoric . 7: 159-191 (2005).
  • Vera Sauer: Training and Education. On the importance of teaching rhetoric in the time of Cicero. In: Childhood and Youth. Württemberg Association for the Promotion of Humanistic Education, Stuttgart 2004 (Humanist Education, 21/22), pp. 103–120, especially pp. 110–112.
  • Ruth Webb: The progymnasmata as practice . In: Yun Lee Too (Ed.): Education in Greek and Roman antiquity. Brill, Leiden 2001, pp. 289-316, ISBN 90-04-10781-9
  • Francoise Douay-Soublin: Les recueils de discours français pour la classe de rhetorique (XVIIIe – XIXe siècles). In: Histoire de l'éducation 74 (1997), pp. 151-185.
  • George A. Kennedy (transl.): Progymnasmata. Greek textbooks of prose composition and rhetoric. Brill, Leiden 2003, ISBN 90-04-12723-2 ; ISBN 1-589-83061-X