Platonism, Paganism and Early Christianity

The Seven Liberal Arts

Painting by Alessandro Botticelli entitled Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts (c.1484-1486) - a fresco, transferred to canvas, on display at the Louvre, Paris, France.

The Seven Liberal Arts were based upon the categories of study typically taught during the Classical Era of Greece and Rome. In the 5th century A.D., they became formally codified by the pagan writer Martianus Capella. In the Middle Ages, the arts were divided into the Trivium ("three roads") and the more important Quadrivium ("four roads").

The Trivium consisted of:

	Grammar
	Rhetoric
	Logic

The Quadrivium involved mathematical subjects and consisted of:

	Arithmetic -- Number in itself
	Geometry -- Number in space
	Music, Harmonics, or Tuning Theory -- Number in time
	Astronomy or Cosmology -- Number in space and time

Liberal Arts