Ikalto Academy - an important cultural-scholastic center in Georgia

Ikalto is located 7 km away from the city of Telavi. It is an ancient village that is mentioned in the 6th century for the first time. This place became famous because of the academy that was one of the most important cultural-scholastic centers in Georgia. In this article, I am going to tell you about the Ikalto Academy, since it played an important role in the history of education in Georgia.

Ikalto Academy

W9QJ+2HC, Ikalto, Georgia

History

In the 6th century, Zenon Ikaltoeli, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, arrived in Ikalto and started the construction of the first church.

Zenon was a monk who spent the rest of his life there. A church that was built by Zenon has not survived, however, another church was built there later. The new church was named Deity Church. From the 8th century, two more churches were built, and that is how the monastery complex was created. The Ikalto Academy was founded in the 11-12th centuries by a teacher of King David the Builder - a Georgian philosopher, Arsen Ikaltoeli. However, the scientists think that the academy started functioning even before that, as the building is dated back to the 9th century.

A description of the Academy

In 1114-20 years, Arsen Ikaltoeli started the reconstruction of the Academy. Students were attending the religion, rhetoric, astronomy, philosophy and geometry classes in this academy. Workshop rooms, a wine cellar and other rooms were also discovered after the excavations. From these facts, we can conclude that the ceramics, viticulture and wine-making were also taught in the Academy. The Ikalto Academy was one of the most important cultural and educational centers in Georgia.

Apparently, Georgian kings were paying close attention to the development of Georgian science, both inside and outside the country. The Ikalto Academy is a good example of this. People say that a great poet Shota Rustaveli has studied there as well. Several years ago, they made a full rehabilitation of this complex. The graves of Zenon and Arsen Ikaltoeli were also found here. This Academy stopped functioning and was almost destroyed in 1616, due to the invasions of the enemies. However, you can still see several fragments from the 6th century that survived.

Ikalto Academy today

Nowadays, a complex including the Ikalto Academy is reconstructed, and there is no danger of its destruction anymore. It is one of the most famous places for the visitors. You will love to listen to the local guides telling you very interesting stories and historical facts about Ikalto and the Academy while visiting this place. They are proud that they come from this place, where you can see one of the most important cultural-scholastic centers in Georgia.