ĂTHĒNAEUM

( ἀθήναιον ), a school ( lud us ) founded by the Emperor Hadrian at Rome, for the promotion of literary and scientific studies ( ingenu arum artium ), and called Athenaeum from the town of Athens, which was still regarded as the seat of intellectual refinement. The Athenaeum was situated on the Capitoline hill. It was a kind of university, with a staff of profe ors, for the various branches of study. Besides the instruction given by these magistri, poets, orators, and critics were accustomed to recite their compositions there, and these prelections were sometimes honoured with the presence of the emperors themselves. The Athenaeum seems to have continued in high repute till the fifth century.