Abstract

The movement from Greek paideia to Roman humanitas gives a clue into how the ancients conceived of the goals of the state and the means adopted to prepare citizens for the attainment of such goals. In these two ancient educational practices, evidences of how they conceived of the challenges of their time were found, as the formative ideals proposed to prepare citizens for the challenges and their ambiental peculiarities. The process, understanding and intricacies of this movement cannot but strike the curiosity of the modern African, whose educational ideals were laid on them, but whose practice of education is progressively moving away from them. Hence, the contemporary society needs to learn from the practice of ancient formation, which will create a bridge that happily adopts ancient values that can be of great assistance and serve as a template for authentic cultural development in Africa.