Rizal in Ateneo

Ateneo de Manila University

I. Etymology

* The word “Ateneo” came from the Spanish word “Athenaeum” which was described by the Dictionary of Classical Antiquities as: II.
* The name of the first educational institution at Rome, built by Hadrian about 135 A.D. There rhetoricians and poets held their recitations, and salaried professors gave their lectures in the various branches of general liberal education, philosophy and rhetoric, as well as grammar and jurisprudence.

* The word “academy” would be the best English substitute for "Athenaeum" were it not for the fact that in Philippine and American usage "academy" connotes an institution   merely for secondary education, a High School. 

* But so well known in the Philippines "Ateneo" as the official title of Jesuit institutions of learning, that it needs no further translation. It is reminiscent of Graeco-Roman civilization, of Spanish culture, of the traditions of liberal education, of men devoted to Divine Wisdom.

III. Establishment

* The Ateneo de Manila University began in 1859 when Spanish Jesuits established the Escuela Municipal de Manila, a public primary school established in Intramuros for the city of Manila. However, the educational tradition of the Ateneo embraces the much older history of the Jesuits as a teaching order in the Philippines.

* On October 1, 1859, under the Jesuits, the Escuela eventually became the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865 when it was elevated to an institution of secondary education. The Ateneo Municipal offered the bachillerato as well as technical courses leading to certificates in agriculture, surveying, and business.

* Ateneo was a bitter rival of the Dominican-owned College of San Juan de Letran.

IV. Rizal in Ateneo

A. Rizal’s Enter the Ateneo

* June 10, 1872 Jose, accompanied by Paciano, went to Manila to take the entrance examination on Christian doctrine, arithmetic, and reading at the College of San Juan de Letran and...
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