Philosophical and anthropological origins concept of kalokagathia: Athens and Sparta

Abstract

The paper studied the philosophical and anthropological origins antique kalokagathia in the Greek states of Sparta and Athens. In Greece, human education was directed toward mental, physical and musical development. This was the unity of the «gymnastic» and «musiсal» (mousikē). These two structural components were the classical balance of body and spirit, the ideal of «kalokagathia» ‒ beauty and goodness, merged in man into one. The evidence from these studies suggests a variety of factors related to the difference between the term «kalokagathia» Athens and Sparta should be stressed. The condition for «kalokagathia», in the Athenian and Spartan poleis, was to belong to civil society and the availability of appropriate leisure activities.. In different historical periods of development, the philosophical meaning and content of this concept, of «kalokagathia» was is subjected to various modifications and very different from each other. The task of the Spartan aristocratic education was limited to the training of the military community, the ultimate goal of educational in the multi-year Athenian school was first of all the recognition of oneself as a full member of the elected wealthy Athenian society; consequently, the tasks of education were primarily to acquire a number of such knowledge and skills that would raise the personal individual culture of a full citizen, would be its attributes as a «freeborn» Hellenes and would be given the opportunity diverse to spend time recreation and leisure. In conclusion the author says that the concept of «kalokagathia» by the Athenians was used in a broader sense ‒ the recognition of oneself as a full member of the elected elite of Athenian society, while in the Spartans the «kalokagathia» had a narrower meaning ‒ only military valor prevailed, including bravery, courage and man’s patriotism. The arguments given above prove that the two systems are pretty similar, since both in one, and in another case, the person in the center of attention, acts as the main active person and is the bearer of «kalokagathia». Both Athens and Sparta borrow from «kalokagathia», gradually, each one has almost all the features of himself, and therefore education in these policies accumulates in itself both spiritual and moral and physical potential in the area of forming a new state man model as a messenger of the «kalokagathian» ideal.