paideia, -eias f. education

Ancient education began with learning to read and write and later progressed to the reading of Greek and Latin authors, grammar, literary criticism, arithmetic, geometry and algebra. It also included music, rhetoric, philosophy and astronomy. From the Hellenistic period onwards, the whole collection commonly went under the name enkyklios paideia, whence we derive our English word, encyclopaedia.

pater, -eros m. father; kleos, -ou n. fame

In the ninth book of Homer's Iliad, Phoenix tells a story to Achilles about Meleager and his wife, Kleopatra. The tale is an attempt to lure Achilles back into the fighting. As it is he goes on to lose his closest companion, Patroklos, before he overcomes his pride. There is no myth surrounding Achilles' mentor, and Homer might have made up the story of Meleager and Cleopatra to compensate for this. After all Kleopatra and Patroklos are exactly the same name!

elementa, -orum n. (pl) alphabet

This is a little rhyme which fifth century Greek children used to recite when learning the alphabet.