History
After the Battle of the Titanomachy, the gods recommended to the father Zeus to create immortal beings who would protect the arts with which mortals would immortalize their triumph, so that it would never be forgotten. Thus Zeus gave birth to the nine Moeses with Mnemosyne. Moussa Klei protects history, so that:
«Neither the things that have been done by men in the course of time have become interminable, nor have great and wonderful works been done»
That is, everything that has been done by people to remain indelible in time and not to forget ingloriously the great and wonderful works, as Herodotus, the father of history, writes to us. History, therefore, is the memory and knowledge of the past. After all, the word history comes from the ancient Greek word oida, which means to know.
Benefits and Teaching Methods
But what is the use of having this knowledge? When we want to get to know a person, it is useful to know his past and his childhood. Similarly, when we want to get to know a people or even the entire human race, we need to know its past and its course through time. History is the memory of humanity and the knowledge of the past that leads us to understand the present and to sense the future. Knowledge of history has great power, because it contributes to the formation of national and cultural identity, to the crystallization of political consciousness, to self-knowledge, to the understanding of peoples, human actions and their consequences, to the cultivation of critical thinking and to the interpretation of the contemporary spiritual, political and social situation.
By learning history, we practice making use of sources, analyzing facts, and understanding causes and consequences. History brings us into contact with great personalities and high values who can inspire and set an example. By understanding history, we understand how the world works, which is considered a key element of wisdom and happiness.
«Olivius, who had a lesson in history»
Euripides
The teaching of history in Hermeion does not, of course, focus on the sterile memorization of dates and meaningless details. Nor do we examine political history separately from economic history, from military history, etc., so that the children do not understand anything, become unbearably bored and do not even remember the basics! In Hermeion we know the events in chronological order and causal relationship, so that we understand how one event causes the next. We lower the historical figures from their pedestals in order to get to know them in their normal, human dimension and to understand human nature and psychology. Through authentic sources, through images of monuments, statues, buildings and all kinds of material remains, we learn history as an interesting, fascinating and adventurous fairy tale, which, however, happened in reality!.
Summing Up
Hermeion aims to transmit to children the «forever estate» bequeathed to us by our ancestors, in order to create intelligent and cultured people, who, knowing the past, will understand the present and look to the future.