ABSTRACT

Good moral development is desirable in every society for social, economic, and political development. Child’s moral competence and the effect on the society in ancient Greek and traditional Yoruba societies is the focus of this paper. For centuries, ancient Greece has captured the interest of scholars in humanities, especially, those in the field of Classical Studies. While different aspects of Greek’s life such as politics, economics and gender issues have been over flogged, the topic relating to ancient Greek children and their upbringing has received little or no attention until recently. This is due to the fact that children are underrepresented in written and archaeological record. In other words, children were rarely written about in literature or depicted in art. This paper will analyse comparatively the various means moral values were instilled in children in ancient Greek and the traditional Yoruba societies. Moral values can be regarded as guiding principles of life which are responsible for the overall development of an individual. Moral values reflect ones personality, attitude, behaviour and even vision. Values are backbone of any society or nation for moral values bring in peace of mind, joyful environment, better quality of life, sustainability, and harmony in the global society. Athens and Sparta were the two most prominent city-states during the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. Thus, this study focuses on these two Greek city states and the Yoruba people of different areas since all the Yoruba people have the same moral philosophy in helping their children to form good character. Content analytical method is employed in this work using the works of ancient writers and research of contemporary scholars.