Academy 149170 219232267 2008-06-14T05:55:18Z 85.75.142.227 {{otheruses}} An '''academy''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership. The name traces back to [[Plato]]'s school of [[philosophy]], founded approximately [[385 BC]] at '''Akademia''', a sanctuary of [[Athena]], the goddess of wisdom, north of [[Ancient Athens|Athens]], [[Greece]]. ==The original Academy== {{main|Platonic Academy}} Before the ''Akademia'' was a school, and even before [[Cimon]] enclosed its precincts with a wall ([[Plutarch]] ''Life of Cimon'' xiii:7), it contained a sacred grove of olive trees dedicated to [[Athena]], the goddess of [[wisdom]], outside the city walls of ancient [[Athens]] ([[Thucydides]] ii:34). The archaic name for the site was ''Hekademia'', which by classical times evolved into ''Akademia'' and was explained, at least as early as the beginning of the [[6th century BC]], by linking it to an Athenian [[Greek hero cult|hero]], a legendary "[[Akademos]]". The site of the Academy was sacred to [[Athena]] and other immortals. Plato's immediate successors as "scholarch" of the Academy were [[Speusippus]] ([[347 BC|347]]-[[339 BC]]), [[Xenocrates]] (339-[[314 BC]]), [[Polemon (scholarch)|Polemon]] (314-[[269 BC]]), [[Crates of Athens|Crates]] (ca. 269-[[266 BC]]), and [[Arcesilaus]] (ca. 266-[[240 BC]]). Later scholarchs include [[Lacydes of Cyrene]], [[Carneades]], [[Clitomachus (philosopher)|Clitomachus]], and [[Philo of Larissa]] ("the last undisputed head of the Academy"<ref>''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 3rd ed. (1996), s.v. "Philon of Larissa."</ref>).<ref>See the table in [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521250285 The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy] (Cambridge University Press, 1999), pp. 53-54.</ref> Other notable members of the Academy include [[Aristotle]], [[Heraclides Ponticus]], [[Eudoxus of Cnidus]], [[Philip of Opus]], [[Crantor]], and [[Antiochus of Ascalon]]. ===The Neoplatonic Academy of Late Antiquity=== {{see|End of Hellenic Religion}} After a lapse during the early Roman occupation, the Academy was refounded (Cameron 1965) as a new institution of some outstanding Platonists of late antiquity who called themselves "successors" (''[[diadochoi]]'',, but of Plato) and presented themselves as an uninterrupted tradition reaching back to Plato. However, there cannot have actually been any geographical, institutional, economic or [[personal continuity]] with the original Academy in the new organizational entity (Bechtle). The last "Greek" philosophers of the revived Academy in the 6th century were drawn from various parts of the [[Hellenistic]] cultural world and suggest the broad [[syncretism]] of the common culture (see ''[[koine]]''): Five of the seven Academy philosophers mentioned by Agathias were [[Syriac]] in their cultural origin: Hermias and Diogenes (both from Phoenicia), Isidorus of Gaza, Damascius of Syria, Iamblichus of Coele-Syria and perhaps even Simplicius of Cilicia (Thiele). The [[Byzantine Empire|emperor]] [[Justinian I|Justinian]] closed the school in AD [[529]], a date that is often cited as the end of [[Classical antiquity|Antiquity]]. According to the sole witness, the historian [[Agathias]], its remaining members looked for protection under the rule of [[Sassanid dynasty|Sassanid]] king [[Khosrau I of Persia|Khosrau I]] in his capital at [[Ctesiphon]], carrying with them precious scrolls of literature and philosophy, and to a lesser degree of science. After a peace treaty between the Persian and the Byzantine empire in 532 guaranteed their personal security (an early document in the history of [[freedom of religion]]), some members found sanctuary in the [[paganism|pagan]] stronghold of [[Harran]], near [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]. One of the last leading figures of this group was Simplicius, a pupil of Damascius, the last head of the Athenian school. The students of the Academy-in-exile, an authentic and important Neoplatonic school surviving at least until the 10th century, contributed to the [[Islamic]] preservation of Greek science and medicine, when Islamic forces took the area in the 7th century (Thiele). One of the earliest academies established in the east was the [[7th century]] [[Academy of Gundishapur]] in [[Sassanid|Sassanid Persia]]. ==Modern use of the term ''academy''== [[Image:Mk01n101.jpg|thumbnail|300px|The modern [[Academy of Athens (modern)|Academy of Athens]], next to the [[University of Athens]] and the National Library forming 'the Trilogy', designed by [[Karl Friedrich Schinkel|Schinkel's]] Danish pupil [[Theophil Freiherr von Hansen|Theofil Hansen]], 1885, in [[Ionic order|Greek Ionic]], academically correct even to the polychrome sculpture.]] Because of the tradition of intellectual brilliance associated with this institution, many groups have chosen to use the word "Academy" in their name. During the [[Florentine Renaissance]], [[Cosimo de' Medici]] took a personal interest in the new Platonic Academy that he determined to re-establish in 1439, centered on the marvellous promise shown by [[Marsilio Ficino]], scarcely more than a lad.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Cosimo had been inspired by the arrival at the otherwise ineffective [[Council of Florence]] of [[Gemistos Plethon]], who seemed like a Plato reborn to the Florentine intellectuals.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} In 1462 Cosimo gave Ficino a villa at [[Careggi]] for the Academy's use, situated where Cosimo could descry[?] it from his own villa.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} The Renaissance drew potent intellectual and spiritual strength from the academy at Careggi.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} During the course of the following century many Italian cities established an Academy, of which the oldest survivor is the [[Accademia dei Lincei]] of Rome, which became a national academy for a reunited Italy. Other national academies include the [[Académie Française]]; the [[Royal Academy]] and [[Royal Academy of Music]] of the [[United Kingdom]]; the [[International Academy of Science]]; the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]], [[New York]]; the [[United States Naval Academy]]; [[United States Air Force Academy]]; and the [[Australian Defence Force Academy]]. In emulation of the military academies, police in the United States are trained in [[Police academy|police academies]]. The [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] presents the annual [[Academy award]]s. A fundamental feature of academic discipline in those academies that were training-schools for artists was regular practice in making accurate drawings from antiquities, or from casts of antiquities, on the one hand, and on the other, in deriving inspiration from the other fount, the human form. Students assembled in sessions drawing the draped and undraped human form, and such drawings, which survive in the tens of thousands from the 17th through the 19th century, are termed '''''académies'''''. In the early 19th century "academy" took the connotations that "[[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]]" was acquiring in German-speaking lands, of school that was less advanced than a college (for which it might prepare students) but considerably more than elementary. An early example are the two academies founded at [[Phillips Academy|Andover]] and [[Phillips Exeter Academy]]. Amherst Academy expanded with time to form [[Amherst College]]. [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] organized public subscription performances of his music in Vienna in the 1780s and 1790s, he called the [[concert]]s "academies." This usage in musical terms survives in the concert orchestra [[Academy of St Martin in the Fields]] and in the [[Brixton Academy]], a concert hall in Brixton, South London. Academies proliferated in the 20th century until even a three-week series of lectures and discussions would be termed an "academy." In addition, the generic term "the academy" is sometimes used to refer to all of [[academia]], which is sometimes considered a global successor to the Academy of [[Athens]]. === Academies overseeing universities === In some countries, notably France, academic councils called Academies are responsible for supervising all aspects of University education in a given region. Universities are answerable to their Academy, and the Academies are answerable to the Ministry of Education. However private Universities are independent of the state and therefore independent of the Academies. The French Academy regions are similar to, but not identical to, the standard French administrative regions. This is not an exclusive use of the word "Academy" in France, note especially [[Académie Française]]. === Honorary academies === See the [[Académie Française]] and its many emulators among national honorary academies of strictly limited membership. === Research academies === In [[Imperial Russia]] and [[Soviet Union]] the term "academy", or [[Academy of Sciences]] was reserved to denote a state research establishment, see [[Russian Academy of Sciences]]. The latter one still exists in [[Russia]], although other types of academies (study and honorary) appeared as well. ===United Kingdom school type=== As a British school type, privately funded Academies first became popular in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. At this time the offer of a place at an English public school and university generally required conformity to the [[Church of England]]; the Academies or ''Dissenting Academies'' provided an alternative for those with different religious views, called [[nonconformists]]. [[University College London]] (UCL) was founded in the early nineteenth century as the first publicly funded English university to admit anyone regardless of religious adherence; and the Test and Corporation Acts that had imposed a wide range of restrictions on citizens who were not in conformity to the Church of England, were also abolished at about that date. Recently [[Academy (England)|Academies]] have been reintroduced. Today they are a type of secondary school - they no longer teach up to university degree level - and unlike their predecessors are only partly privately sponsored and independent, being partly paid for and controlled by the state. They have been introduced in the early years of the 21st century and though mainly state funded have a significant measure of administrative autonomy. Some of the early ones were briefly known as "City Academies". In February 2007, the National Audit Office published a report about the performance of the first academies (www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/06-07/0607254.pdf). In [[Scotland]], the designation "Academy" refers to a secondary school, with over a quarter of state schools incorporating the designation into their name. ==Notes== <references/> ==References== *Alan Cameron, "The last days of the Academy at Athens," in ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society'' vol 195 (n.s. 15), 1969, pp 7-29. *[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2000/2000-04-19.html Gerald Bechtle, Bryn Mawr Classical Review of Rainer Thiel, ''Simplikios und das Ende der neuplatonischen Schule in Athen''. Stuttgart, 1999] (in English). *John Glucker, ''Antiochus and the Late Academy'', Göttingen 1978. *Francis Haskell and Nicholas Penny, 1981. ''Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900'' (New Haven: Yale University Press) ==External links== ===Plato's Academy=== * [http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/academy.htm The Academy], from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy * [http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/athens.htm Map of ancient Athens with location of the Academy] * [http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2407 Plato's Academy], from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture * [http://php.iupui.edu/~cplaneau/plato_02.html Christopher Planeaux' history of the site of the Academy] * [http://www.harrys-athens-greece-guide.com/ancient-plato.asp Site of the Academy rediscovered] (needs better site linked) * [http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Societies/Plato.html Academy of Plato] - MacTutor * [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17124 Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography] (Project Gutenberg) see Athens & Syracuse map - by [[Samuel Butler (schoolmaster)|Samuel Butler]] === Modern institutions=== *[http://www.academyofathens.gr/ Academy of Athens], official website of the modern institution *[http://usafa.af.mil The United States Air Force Academy] *[http://www.filmacademy.co.uk Film Academy] *[http://www.ram.ac.uk Royal Academy of Music, London] *[http://www.the-academy.info Academy Drama School website] *[http://www.charlemont.org The Academy at Charlemont] *[http://www.thierryschool.org/outdoor_academy_ardennes.htm Ardennes Outdoor Academy] of the [http://www.thierryschool.eu Thierry Graduate School of Leadership] *[http://www.jamd.org The Jewish Academy] *[http://www.adh-geneve.ch/ Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights] *[http://www.burg-fuersteneck.de Academy Burg Fürsteneck] German academy for vocational and cultural education in the castel [[Burg Fürsteneck]] ==See also== *[[National academy]] *[[List of honorary societies]] *[[Academician]] *[[Military academy]] {{Greek mathematics}} [[Category:Academia]] [[Category:History of ideas]] [[Category:School types]] [[Category:Plato]] [[Category:Greek loanwords]] [[ca:Acadèmia]] [[cs:Akademie]] [[da:Akademi]] [[de:Akademie]] [[et:Akadeemia]] [[es:Academia]] [[eo:Akademio]] [[fa:فرهنگستان]] [[fr:Académie]] [[ia:Academia]] [[it:Accademia]] [[he:אקדמיה]] [[ka:აკადემია]] [[lad:Akademia]] [[nl:Academie]] [[ja:アカデミー]] [[no:Akademi]] [[pl:Akademia (starożytność)]] [[pt:Academia]] [[ro:Academie]] [[ru:Академия]] [[sq:Akademia]] [[sr:Академија]] [[fi:Akatemia]] [[tr:Akademi]] [[uk:Академія]] [[ur:اکیڈیمی]] [[zh:学园]]