Origins Original Academy '', fresco by
Raphael (1509–1510), that depicts a congregation of philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists primarily from
Ancient Greece, including
Plato,
Aristotle,
Pythagoras,
Archimedes, and
Heraclitus Before
Akademia was a school, and even before
Cimon enclosed its precincts with a wall, it contained a sacred grove of olive trees dedicated to
Athena, the goddess of
wisdom, outside the city walls of ancient
Athens. 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
hero, a legendary "
Akademos". The site of
Akademia was sacred to
Athena and other immortals. Plato's immediate successors as "scholarch" of
Akademia were
Speusippus (347–339 BC),
Xenocrates (339–314 BC),
Polemon (314–269 BC),
Crates (–266 BC), and
Arcesilaus (–240 BC). Later scholarchs include
Lacydes of Cyrene,
Carneades,
Clitomachus, and
Philo of Larissa ("the last undisputed head of the Academy"). Other notable members of
Akademia include
Aristotle,
Heraclides Ponticus,
Eudoxus of Cnidus,
Philip of Opus,
Crantor, and
Antiochus of Ascalon.
Neoplatonic Academy of Late Antiquity After a lapse during the early Roman occupation,
Akademia was refounded 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. The last "Greek" philosophers of the revived
Akademia 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
Akademia 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. After his exile, Simplicius (and perhaps some others), may have travelled to
Harran, near
Edessa. From there, the students of an academy-in-exile could have survived into the 9th century, long enough to facilitate the Arabic revival of the Neoplatonist commentary tradition in
Baghdad. (later become
Hunan University) can be classified as higher institutions of learning.
India Taxila or
Takshashila, in ancient
India, modern-day Pakistan, was an early centre of learning, near present-day
Islamabad in the city of
Taxila. It is considered one of the ancient universities of the world. According to scattered references which were only fixed a millennium later it may have dated back to at least the 5th century BC. Some scholars date Takshashila's existence back to the 6th century BC. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was most likely still provided on an individualistic basis. Takshashila is described in some detail in later
Jātaka tales, written in Sri Lanka around the 5th century AD. It became a noted centre of learning at least several centuries BC, and continued to attract students until the destruction of the city in the 5th century AD. Takshashila is perhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya. The famous
treatise Arthashastra (
Sanskrit for The knowledge of
Economics) by Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself. Chanakya (or Kautilya), the
Maurya Emperor
Chandragupta and the
Ayurvedic healer
Charaka studied at Taxila. Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age of sixteen. The
Vedas and the
Eighteen Arts, which included skills such as
archery,
hunting, and
elephant lore, were taught, in addition to its
law school,
medical school, and school of
military science. from 427 to 1197
Nalanda was established in the 5th century AD in
Bihar, India. Nalanda University attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey.
Persia The geographical position of
Persia allowed it to absorb cultural influences and ideas from both west and east. This include the spread of the Greek form of schools in the new Hellenistic cities built in Persia after the invasion of
Alexander the Great.
Islamic world Founded in Fes,
University of Al-Karaouine in the 9th century and in Cairo,
Al-Azhar University in the 10th century, and in Mali, the
University of Timbuktu in about 1100.
Mustansiriya Madrasah in
Baghdad, Iraq, was established in 1227 as a
madrasah by the
Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir. Its library had an initial collection of 80,000 volumes, given by the Caliph. The collection was said to have grown to 400,000 volumes.
Medieval Europe ,
University of Naples Federico II in Italy is the world's oldest state-funded academic institution in continuous operation. In Europe, the academy dates to the ancient Greeks and Romans in the pre-Christian era. Newer universities were founded in the 12th and 13th centuries, and the European institution of academia took shape. Monks and priests moved out of monasteries to
cathedral cities and other towns where they opened the first schools dedicated to advanced study. The most notable of these new schools were in
Bologna and
Salerno,
Naples,
Salamanca,
Paris,
Oxford and
Cambridge, while others were opened throughout Europe. The seven
liberal arts—the
Trivium (
Grammar,
Rhetoric, and
Logic), and the
Quadrivium (
Arithmetic,
Geometry,
Music, and
Astronomy)—had been codified in
late antiquity. This was the basis of the curriculum in Europe until newly available Arabic texts and the works of Aristotle became more available in Europe in the 12th century. It remained in place even after the new scholasticism of the
School of Chartres and the encyclopedic work of
Thomas Aquinas, until the humanism of the 15th and 16th centuries opened new studies of arts and sciences.
Renaissance academies in Italy With the
Neoplatonist revival that accompanied the revival of
humanist studies,
academia took on newly vivid connotations.
15th-century academies 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 the young
Marsilio Ficino. Cosimo had been inspired by the arrival at the otherwise ineffective
Council of Florence of
Gemistos Plethon, who seemed a dazzling figure to the Florentine intellectuals. In 1462 Cosimo gave Ficino a villa at
Careggi for the academy's use, situated where Cosimo could see it from his own villa, and drop by for visits. The academy remained a wholly informal group, but one which had a great influence on
Renaissance Neo-Platonism. In Rome, after unity was restored following the
Western Schism, humanist circles, cultivating philosophy and searching out and sharing ancient texts tended to gather where there was access to a library. The
Vatican Library was not coordinated until 1475 and was never catalogued or widely accessible: not all popes looked with satisfaction at gatherings of unsupervised intellectuals. At the head of this movement for renewal in Rome was
Cardinal Bessarion, whose house from the mid-century was the centre of a flourishing academy of Neoplatonic philosophy and a varied intellectual culture. His valuable Greek as well as Latin library (eventually bequeathed to the city of
Venice after he withdrew from Rome) was at the disposal of the academicians. Bessarion, in the latter years of his life, retired from Rome to
Ravenna, but he left behind him ardent adherents of the classic philosophy. The next generation of humanists were bolder admirers of pagan culture, especially in the highly personal academy of
Pomponius Leto, the natural son of a nobleman of the
Sanseverino family, born in
Calabria but known by his academic name, who devoted his energies to the enthusiastic study of classical antiquity, and attracted a great number of disciples and admirers. He was a worshipper not merely of the literary and artistic form, but also of the ideas and spirit of classic paganism, which made him appear a condemner of
Christianity and an enemy of the Church. In his academy every member assumed a classical name. Its principal members were humanists, like Bessarion's protégé
Giovanni Antonio Campani (Campanus),
Bartolomeo Platina, the papal librarian, and
Filippo Buonaccorsi, and young visitors who received polish in the academic circle, like
Publio Fausto Andrelini of Bologna who took the
New Learning to the
University of Paris, to the discomfiture of his friend
Erasmus. In their self-confidence, these first intellectual
neopagans compromised themselves politically, at a time when Rome was full of conspiracies fomented by the Roman barons and the neighbouring princes:
Paul II (1464–71) caused
Pomponio and the leaders of the academy to be arrested on charges of irreligion, immorality, and conspiracy against the
Pope. The prisoners begged so earnestly for mercy, and with such protestations of repentance, that they were pardoned. The Letonian academy, however, collapsed. In Naples, the
Quattrocento academy founded by
Alfonso of Aragon and guided by
Antonio Beccadelli was the
Porticus Antoniana, later known as the
Accademia Pontaniana, after
Giovanni Pontano.
16th-century literary-aesthetic academies The 16th century saw at Rome a great increase of literary and aesthetic academies, more or less inspired by the Renaissance, all of which assumed, as was the fashion, odd and fantastic names. We learn from various sources the names of many such institutes; as a rule, they soon perished and left no trace. In the 1520s came the
Accademia degli Intronati, for the encouragement of theatrical representations. There were also the academy of the "
Vignaiuoli", or "
Vinegrowers" (1530), and the '''' (1542), founded by
Claudio Tolomei under the patronage of Cardinal
Ippolito de' Medici. These were followed by a new academy in the "
Orti" or
Farnese gardens. There were also the academies of the "
Intrepidi" (1560), the "
Animosi" (1576), and the "
Illuminati" (1598); this last, founded by the
Marchesa Isabella Aldobrandini Pallavicino. Towards the middle of the 16th century there were also the academy of the "
Notti Vaticane", or "
Vatican Nights", founded by
St.
Charles Borromeo; an "Accademia di
Diritto civile e canonico", and another of the university scholars and students of philosophy (
Accademia Eustachiana). As a rule these academies, all very much alike, were merely circles of friends or clients gathered around a learned man or wealthy patron, and were dedicated to literary pastimes rather than methodical study. They fitted in, nevertheless, with the general situation and were in their own way one element of the historical development. Despite their empirical and fugitive character, they helped to keep up the general esteem for literary and other studies. Cardinals, prelates, and the clergy in general were most favourable to this movement, and assisted it by patronage and collaboration. In Florence, the Medici again took the lead in establishing the
Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno in 1563, the first of the more formally organised art academies that gradually displaced the medieval artists'
guilds, usually known as the
Guild of Saint Luke, as the bodies responsible for training and often regulating artists, a change with great implications for the development of art, leading to the styles known as
Academic art. The private
Accademia degli Incamminati set up later in the century in
Bologna by the
Carracci brothers was also extremely influential, and with the
Accademia di San Luca of Rome (founded 1593) helped to confirm the use of the term for these institutions.
17th- and 18th-century academies in Europe Gradually academies began to specialize on particular topics (arts, language, sciences) and began to be founded and funded by the kings and other sovereigns (few republics had an academy). And, mainly, since 17th century academies spread throughout Europe.
Literary-philosophical academies In the 17th century the tradition of literary-philosophical academies, as circles of friends gathering around learned patrons, was continued in Italy; the "
Umoristi" (1611), the "
Fantastici (1625), and the "
Ordinati", founded by
Cardinal Dati and
Giulio Strozzi. About 1700 were founded the academies of the "
Infecondi", the "
Occulti", the "
Deboli", the "
Aborigini", the "
Immobili", the "
Accademia Esquilina", and others. During the 18th century many Italian cities established similar philosophical and scientific academies. In the first half of the 19th century some of these became the
national academies of pre-unitarian states: the academy of
Accesi became the
Panomitan Academy of Buon Gusto (
Trento); the academy of
Timidi became the Royal Academy of
Mantua; the
Accademia dei Ricovrati became the
Galileiana Academy of Arts and Science (
Padua); the academy of
Dissonanti became the Royal Academy of
Modena and the academy of
Oscuri became the Royal Academy of
Lucca.
Academies of the arts The
Académie de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, established by the monarchy in 1648 (later renamed) was the most significant of the artistic academies, running the famous
Salon exhibitions from 1725. Artistic academies were established all over Europe by the end of the 18th century, and many, like the
Akademie der Künste in Berlin (founded 1696), the
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid (founded 1744), the
Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg (1757), the
Royal Academy in London (1768) and the
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan (1776) still run art schools and hold large exhibitions, although their influence on taste greatly declined from the late 19th century. A fundamental feature of academic discipline in the artistic academies 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 in French. Similar institutions were often established for other arts: Rome had the
Accademia di Santa Cecilia for music from 1585; Paris had the
Académie Royale de Musique from 1669 and the
Académie Royale d'Architecture from 1671.
Language academies The
Accademia degli Infiammati of
Padua and the Accademia degli Umidi, soon renamed the
Accademia Fiorentina, of
Florence were both founded in 1540, and were both initially concerned with the proper basis for literary use of the
volgare, or
vernacular language of Italy, which would later become the
Italian language. In 1582 five Florentine literati gathered and founded the to demonstrate and conserve the beauty of the Florentine vernacular tongue, modelled upon the authors of the Trecento. The main instrument to do so was the
Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca. The Crusca long remained a private institution, criticizing and opposing the official Accademia Fiorentina. The first institution inspired by the Crusca was the
Fruitbearing Society for German language, which existed from 1617 to 1680. The Crusca inspired
Richelieu to found in 1634 the analogous with the task of acting as an official authority on the
French language, charged with publishing the official dictionary of that language. The following year the Académie received letters patent from King
Louis XIII as the only recognized academy for French language. In its turn the state established Académie was the model for the (founded in 1713) and the
Swedish Academy (1786), which are the ruling bodies of their respective languages and editors of major dictionaries. It also was the model for the
Russian Academy, founded in 1783, which afterwards merged into the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Academies of sciences After the short-lived
Academia Secretorum Naturae of Naples, the first academy exclusively devoted to sciences was the
Accademia dei Lincei founded in 1603 in Rome, particularly focused on natural sciences. In 1657 some students of
Galileo founded the
Accademia del Cimento (Academy of Experiment) in
Florence, focused on physics and astronomy. The foundation of academy was funded by
Prince Leopoldo and
Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici. This academy lasted after few decades. In 1652 was founded the
Academia Naturae Curiosorum by four physicians. In 1677,
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, recognised the society and in 1687 he gave it the epithet
Leopoldina, with which is internationally famous., p. 7–8; So, it became the academy of sciences for the whole
Holy Roman Empire. On 28 November 1660, a group of scientists from and influenced by the Invisible College (gathering approximately since 1645) met at Gresham College and announced the formation of a "College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning", which would meet weekly to discuss science and run experiments. In 1662
Charles II of England signed a
Royal Charter which created the "Royal Society of London", then "Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge". In 1666
Colbert gathered a small group of scholars to found a scientific society in Paris. The first 30 years of the academy's existence were relatively informal, since no statutes had as yet been laid down for the institution. In contrast to
Royal Society, the academy was founded as an organ of government. In 1699,
Louis XIV gave the academy its first rules and named it
Académie royale des sciences. Although Prussia was a member of Holy Roman Empire, in 1700
Prince-elector Frederick III of
Brandenburg founded its own
Prussian Academy of Sciences upon the advice of
Gottfried Leibniz, who was appointed president. During the 18th century many European kings followed and founded their own academy of sciences: in 1714 the
Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, in 1724 the
Russian Academy of Sciences, in 1731 the
Royal Dublin Society, in 1735 in
Tuscany, in 1739 the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in 1742 the
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, in 1751 the
Göttingen Academy of Sciences, in 1754 in
Erfurt, in 1759 the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, in 1763 the
Academia Theodoro-Palatina in
Heidelberg, in 1779 the
Sciences Academy of Lisbon, in 1783 the
Royal Society of Edinburgh, in 1782 the
Accademia dei Quaranta in Rome, in 1784 in
Turin. This kind of academy lost importance after the university reform begun with the foundation of the
University of Berlin, when universities were provided with laboratories and clinics, and were charged with doing experimental research.
Academic societies Academic societies or
learned societies began as groups of academics who worked together or presented their work to each other. These informal groups later became organized and in many cases state-approved. Membership was restricted, usually requiring approval of the current members and often total membership was limited to a specific number. The
Royal Society founded in 1660 was the first such academy. In 1720, King
John V of Portugal approved the founding and gave royal patronage to the
Royal Academy of Portuguese History which had been meeting informally, since 1717, under the sponsorship of the 4th
Count of Ericeira. The
American Academy of Arts and Sciences was begun in 1780 by many of the same people prominent in the
American Revolution. Academic societies served both as a forum to present and publish academic work, the role now served by academic publishing, and as a means to sponsor research and support academics, a role they still serve. Membership in academic societies is still a matter of prestige in modern academia.
Military academies At first such institutions only trained the
Artillery and
Military Engineering officers, like the
Aula da Artilharia (founded in 1641) and the
Aula de Fortificação (1647) in Lisbon, the
Real Accademia di Savoia in Turin (opened in 1678), the
Imperial Artillery Military Academy of Saint Petersburg (1698), the
Royal Military Academy Woolwich (1741), the
Real Colegio de Artilleria in Segovia (1764). Starting at the end of the 16th century in the Holy Roman Empire, France, Poland and Denmark, many
Knight academies were established to prepare the aristocratic youth for state and military service. Many of them lately turned into
gymnasiums, but some of them were transformed into true military academies. The
Royal Danish Military Academy began to educate all
officers for the
Royal Danish Army by request of
King Frederick IV in 1713. The
École Militaire was founded by
Louis XV in 1750 with the aim of creating an academic college for cadet officers from poor families. The construction began in 1752, but the school did not open until 1760. The
Theresian Military Academy was founded on 14 December 1751 by
Maria Theresa of Austria. Per year the academy accepted 100 noblemen and 100 commoners to start their education there. These were the model for the subsequent military academies throughout Europe, like the
Reale Accademia Militare of Naples in 1787 and the
Military Academy Karlberg in 1792. ==Modern use of the term
academy==