Education and literacy in ancient Italy: Evidence from the dedications to the goddess Reitia
McDonald, K
Date: 6 August 2019
Article
Journal
Journal of Roman Studies
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publisher DOI
Abstract
This article discusses the votive dedications to the goddess Reitia at the sanctuary of EsteBaratella (Veneto) as evidence for the acquisition of literacy in Italy c. 350–150 B.C. These
dedications, which take the form of bronze writing tablets and styluses, are inscribed with
Venetic dedicatory formulae, abecedaria and other writing ...
This article discusses the votive dedications to the goddess Reitia at the sanctuary of EsteBaratella (Veneto) as evidence for the acquisition of literacy in Italy c. 350–150 B.C. These
dedications, which take the form of bronze writing tablets and styluses, are inscribed with
Venetic dedicatory formulae, abecedaria and other writing exercises. This article shows how
these texts function as writing exercises – some of the earliest evidence of elementary education
methods in Italy. Many of the votives were dedicated by women, and this article argues that
women were active participants in literacy and education in this period. It also sets the
dedications in their Italian and Mediterranean context by comparing them to votive and
funerary deposits of abecedaria from across Italy and the ancient world.
Classics, Ancient History, Religion and Theology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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