Education at Athens was less brutal than at Sparta. An Athenian boy practised athletics, but he also learned music and poetry. Here a boy is being heard a piece of poetry he has Iearned -- probably Homer, whose works had to be known thoroughly. Written exercises were done on wooden tablets covered with wax. A pointed metal instrument was used. The man on the right is a slave, though you could not tell this from his dress. He escorts the boy to and from the lesson. Like other older men he is bearded and carries a long walking-stick. All three of the group have fairly long hair, kept in place by a band, but not as elegantly plaited as the wrestlers’ or the banqueter’s.