Gymnasium (Ancient Greece)

Gymnasium of Pompeii, seen from the top of the stadium wall. Depression to the center-left was filled with water and used for swimming practices. On the right (partially obscured by a tree) there is a line of trunks of charred trees, remnants of the trees that took part in the palestra and were burned in the volcanic eruption of the year 79.

In Ancient Greece, the gymnasium (γυμνάσιον) was an institution dedicated to physical and spiritual instruction. It also functioned as a training facility for competitors in public games. It was also a place to socialize and find groups with which to share ideas. The name comes from the Greek gymnos, which means nakedness. The athletes competed naked, a practice to enhance the beauty of the male and female figure, as well as as a tribute to the gods. Some tyrants feared that the gymnasium facilities would become a place of pedophilia among those who came to it. The gymnastics and the arena were under the protection of Heracles, Hermes and, in Athens, Theseus.

Etymology of gymnasium

Gimnasium is a Latin word derived from the original Greek word gymnasion. Gymnasion derives from the Common Greek gymnos (γυμνός), which means nakedness and is related to the verb gymnazein, whose special meaning was " do physical exercise". This verb had that meaning because the exercise was done without clothes. Historically, the gym was used for exercise, a communal bathroom, as well as a study center and a meeting point for philosophers. In Spanish, the noun gymnast is a deformation of the Greek gymnastēs, which originally meant trainer.

Organization of gymnastics in Ancient Greece

The gymnasium was a public institution (and a private school) where children and youth received training in physical exercises. Its organization and construction were designed to meet that need, although the gym was also used for other purposes.

Some of the exercises that were carried out in the gym were: running, discus throwing, long jump, wrestling, pankration and boxing.

Sources, rules and helpers

An old man's hermadic figure, from which he thought he could represent a gym coach; he held a long bar on his right hand.

Athletic events, for which the gymnasium was intended for instruction, had been part of the social and spiritual customs of the Greeks for many centuries. The tests were held in honor of their heroes and gods, sometimes forming part of a periodic festival (such as the Olympic Games) or a funeral ritual.

The hectic life of the free Greeks (which was spent in outdoor activities) prompted them to compete in these jousts, which were an important element in the culture of Greece. The champion in sports competitions in honor of a god, although he was not awarded a material trophy, was rewarded with the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Training for major competitions was the responsibility of the entire public, so special buildings were designed for that use. Victory in the big religious games counted as a triumph for the entire city-state.

The protection of the Athenian gymnasiums was vested in Theseus. Solon created an important number of laws on this subject, which were limited to the regulation of the enclosures in the time of Cleisthenes (between the years 400 BC and 500 BC. The practice of exercising in nudity had its beginnings in the seventh century BC It is believed that the custom began in Sparta and was due to the eroticization of the male anatomy.The same purpose is attributed to the tradition of oiling the body, a rather expensive custom for the gym (and in the that most of the funds that were invested in it were invested).

The fascination for the masculine body structure, reflected in the aforementioned customs, is linked to the introduction of pedophilia as an institution. This athletics-pederasty complex had its beginnings in the traditions of Sparta, at the dawn of the 7th century B.C. C. and quickly spread to all the city-states.

Organization in Athens

In the beginning, the gym only consisted of a fenced or enclosed area, the interior of which was divided into zones for the different exercises. This is how the old one of Elis was as described by Pausanias, constituting a simple agora due to its shape.

As the architecture developed, these premises were transformed. They were built with elegance, the doors and walls were covered with paintings and then they began to serve, in addition to physical exercises, for intellectuals, since philosophers, rhetoricians and writers met there, quoting their disciples and giving them lectures on literary topics. and scientists. Gymnasiums included covered rooms, shaded walkways, columned porticoes, bathrooms, and whatever refinement of taste could demand for that gathering.

All cities of some importance in Greece had their gymnasium located on the outskirts and usually next to a forest. Athens had three gymnasiums:

• La Academywhich in its origin was a scenic terrain of the Ceramic;
• The Liceothe one who arrived after crossing the river Iliso;
• The Cinosargo, located on the hill of equal name.

In Athens, ten gymnastic arches were recognized annually, one from each family. These officials alternated in a series of jobs, being responsible for training individuals for competitions, coordinating the games in Athens, morally motivating athletes, and decorating and maintaining the gym. Being a gymnastics archer was a well-recognized public service in the community.

The paedotribae (pedotribas) and the gymnastae were responsible for teaching technique methods in various exercises, as well as choosing the appropriate exercises according to age. The gymnastae were also responsible for monitoring the wards and supplying remedies if they were not feeling well. The aleiptae oiled the bodies of the young, acted as their physicians, and administered all prescribed medicines.

Edification

Gyms were large architectural spaces distributed in specific areas for each type of exercise. They were commonly made up of exedras, porticoes and various rooms, such as a arena, public baths and areas for practicing in adverse weather. The gymnasiums in Athens were built outside the city walls by virtue of the large amount of space required for them.

In classical times, gymnasiums could have the following facilities:

• portico simple that surrounded the whole building; they used to be double in the southern part to better protect themselves from the sun and rain;
• exedras columns; they could be in the porticos and there was a greater in the main portico

and several smaller stays (oikoi, akroatéria), such as:

• the epistasion or vigilante room,
• the apodytérion or wardrobe,
• the loutron or room for washing,
• the konisteion and alipterionwhere the body was filled with dust, oils or essences,
• the sphairisterionwhere the ball game and pugilism were practiced,
• the korykeionTo train with a heavy sack of sand,
• the pyraterionfor the bathroom with hot water and steam,
• the propnigeion, room to heat the water,
• the xustós, covered track, porticos under which athletes exercised in winter,
• the paradromisor uncovered track;

and other areas, such as:

• the Palestra proper, where they exercised in struggle and pugilato,
• Big Alamedas with natural terrain for racing,
• the gramate or place where the athletic files were preserved,
• the efebowhere the young people went in the morning to exercise under the eyes of the public.

Historical development and cultural contributions

Historical development

The gymnasiums of ancient Greece soon became more than places where exercises were performed. This development occurred due to the close relationship that the Greeks established between athletics, education and health. Physical training and the maintenance of health and strength were substantial parts of the education of infants. Except for the time dedicated to letters and music, the instruction of the children was given mostly in the gym, where they were also instilled in morals and ethics. Philosophers and sophists frequently held discussions and gave speeches in these halls.

Plato considered the exercises performed in gymnasiums as an important part of education (see Plato's The Republic).

There are medical texts from the time that prescribed special exercises for specific ailments. This is also the case today in medical practice, where exercise is recommended by physicians.