L’école d’Isocrate: un bilan

La tradizione antica attribuiva un ruolo centrale alla scuola di Isocrate nella cultura ateniese del IV secolo a.C. Tuttavia, una ricostruzione sistematica di questa istituzione nei suoi diversi aspetti manca ancora.Il saggio contiene un bilancio critico di quanto fino a questo momento noto e alcune precisazioni in merito ad alcune questioni (ubicazione, organizzazione, contenuti dell'insegnamento, pratiche di lavoro intellettuale).

The ancient tradition assigned an important place to the school of Isocrates within the Athenian culture of the 4th century BC, a role which was probably more important than modern scholarship has thus far recognized. However, a comprehensive investigation, designed to cast light on both the practical and ideal aspects of this institution, is still lacking. Thus, in the light of present knowledge, a general reassessment of the subject may be attempted, with special attention being paid to the location of the school, its nature and purposes, its organization, its teaching and research practices, to the texts that were produced in the school and to its role in the cultural and political life of Athens in the 4th century. In particular, as far as the last issue is concerned, an inclusive survey of the personalities that were connected to the school of Isocrates by the ancient tradition might prove useful.