Gymnasium is a Greek building, originally used for sports activities, but with the passage of time, it has become and been used as a place for learning and philosophical discussion. During the Hellenistic period, gymnasiums became highly standardized in terms of architecture and function, and continued to play an important role in physical education and general education for young people. They became the common features of the whole Greek world, and were adopted and adapted by the later Romans, and eventually evolved into a huge multi-functional building complex, namely the Roman baths.

The origin of gymnasium

The name gymnasion comes from Greek gymnos, because all sports and events are played by naked members who are only men. The earliest records of gymnasiums can be traced back to the 6th century BC. They are simple things, piled up by soil covered with trees near rivers or springs. They are especially common in shelters such as Delphi, Olympia and Nimia.

Gym may be developed out of the need for a special space, where young Greek men (Ephesus) can train and improve their physical fitness and prepare for the war. In battle, they will fight like heavy infantry, so they must wear heavy bronze armor and carry huge bronze shields. Another view is that gymnasiums are reserved only for aristocrats, so they become a place for men to show their physical and social advantages.

Typical sports are wrestling, running, jumping, discus and gymnastics. Many will be accompanied by rhythmic music.

Typical sports are wrestling, running, boxing, jumping, discus and gymnastics. Many people will be accompanied by rhythmic music. Sports useful for war include archery, javelin throwing, armed combat and slingshot. Sports are supervised by coaches or paid tribes, and may be elderly athletes who have gained experience in the Greek Universiade. An aleiptes is responsible for cheering for members. It is also possible to hold a competition once a year. Hermia, a member of the gymnasium, participated in the torch competition and participated in three events: euexia, eutaxia and philoponia.

Evolution of Gymnasium

Gymnasium has not only become a common feature of shelters and places famous for sports competitions, but also a common feature of ordinary cities. For example, Athens has gymnasiums at Plato College and Aristotle College. These examples show that the gymnasium has become not only a place for sports and young people, but also a place for men of all ages and a place for citizens to discuss the topic of the day in their leisure time. Therefore, they become the center of intellectual activities, even surpassing but never completely replacing their functions as exercise places. In classical Athens, the gymnasium is actually like our modern university, where members can listen to lectures and speeches. During the Hellenistic period, they changed again and became more like middle schools, but they never lost the physical goal of young people's daily training.

Gymnasium is often mentioned in literary materials, especially in Plato's dialogues. The famous philosopher described them as one of the key relations in the development of Greek society. This is a story between a little boy (eromenos) and a young man (erastes). They will become lovers, and the younger one will learn from the guidance and life experience of the elders.

In the Hellenistic period, the gymnasium has become a well-developed and frequently used institution. One of the reasons is that the Greek rulers conquered new territories and built new cities, hoping to print the Greek identity on the newly acquired land and win the reputation for their cities by sending athletes to achieve good results in various pan-Greek games.

Hellenistic gymnasiums are managed by the city and by a special official-the sports curator. The stone tablet from Beroa in the 2nd century BC describes his function in more detail. He is responsible for the general management and accounting of the gym and has the right to impose fines or even flogging on members who violate indoor rules. The stone tablet continues to describe who can participate in the gymnasium-free people under the age of 30-who can't-slaves, free people, businessmen, male prostitutes, drunkards, lunatics and insane people. It is too obvious to mention that women are excluded from the list.

The building of the gymnasium

By the 3rd century BC, the director of the Gymnasium was in charge of the main buildings now. The original sports area was surrounded by stoas, providing a place to sit down and chat. So a colonnade was formed, and its name came from Parra Istrad, which was specially used for wrestling. Therefore, with the passage of time, the terms gym and Parra Istrad have become synonymous. Toilets, bathtubs, oil painting rooms, fountains, shrines and study rooms providing flowing cold water are now typical parts of this complex.

Additional sports facilities, such as a runway, have been added nearby. Sometimes there is a covered running area and an xystos to protect athletes from natural disasters. In cities like Pegamon and Preil, and even in stadiums like Olympia, there are even complete stadiums for running. Pegamon Gymnasium will become one of the largest gymnasiums in history, covering an area of about 30,000 square meters. These later gymnasiums will also have decorative sculptures and statues dedicated to the patrons of gymnasiums (for example, Hercules or Hermes), outstanding members and rulers of the city.

Gymnasium in Roman period

The Romans continued and developed the idea of gymnasiums. While keeping some of them as learning centers, they continued to build huge bathrooms, whose functions were still the same as those in Greece, as places for exercise, bathing and study. These baths are bigger and become the focus of urban life, benefiting from hot baths, swimming pools, libraries and decorative arts. Nevertheless, the gym still exists separately from the bathroom, and in many ways, it has become the focus of Greek cities to maintain their status in the Roman world. Hadrian and other people-friendly emperors also actively encouraged the gymnasium and Anthony. Of course, this institution still exists today. Intellectual elements have long since ceased to exist, but this is their origin-a dedicated space purely for physical purposes in the olive grove of ancient Greece.