Role of the Gymnasium and the Academy in the Ancient Greek City - Term Paper Example

Role of the Gymnasium and the Academy in the ancient Greek city Name Institution Date Question 4 Role of the Gymnasium and the Academy in the ancient Greek city Introduction The gymnasium has been among the most distinctive of landmarks in the Greek city. It has been reported that the gymnasium was found in every city that the Greeks lived and one barbarian traveller named Anacharsis stated that the Greek went to the gymnasium and get mad at the place on daily basis. The gymnasium was cherished so much by the Greek and in fact, it was constructed in the same magnitude as temples. This was because they found it a place that made life happier than it was. For instance, one tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysus I., erected a lot of gymnasia that were great besides river Anapus along with constructing temples of gods and other edifices that contributed to the glory and magnification of the city.1 A city that had no gymnasium would be quoted as lacking some of the basic facilities in a town. One such city was the Phocis city called Panopeus which was said to have had no gymnasium, no water, no theatre and no government offices2. One declaration was made by Plutarch who said that it was not possible to find a city with no walls, no houses, no culture, no theater and no gymnasia. Such was the importance of the gymnasium in the ancient Greek city that it had to be included in every city. This paper shall discuss the role of the Gymnasium and the Academy in the ancient Greek city. One of the uses of the gymnasium was the palaestra. This was a place for wrestling. It would be used as part of the gymnasium or as separate institution that was either public or private. The building was a small square that was made in the manner of a peristyle having rooms used for several activities that were built around a central sandy place. This was the place where the Greeks practiced in preparation for heavy events. In addition, it was a social center where people met and made comparisons with their counterparts about the lives they had. This place would help the people in understanding any current affairs in the society and make discussions on how to handle some matters that arose in the society. (Hays, J. 20083) A gymnasium in the ancient Greek was a place where aristocratic men went and spent a lot of hours. They did this so as to keep fit between the stints in the military. The places served as social places where men would discuss politics as well make business deals. For instance, a good father in the ancient Greek would arrange for the son to obtain membership in a gymnasium. This was considered as a great platform for the son to make very influential friends. This is because it was believed that the great people in ancient Greek went to the gymnasium and they would therefore spread the positive influence to the sons. The interaction between the sons and the fathers would make them share a great deal of experience with life to the young ones4. In addition, it would be a place where the young ones get advice on how to go about some matters in life. The gymnasium was not just a place for the young ones to go and keep fit physically; they would keep fit mentally since they would get renewal of their energy after their interaction with the great people they met at the gymnasium. A combination of the lessons learnt by the young sons from the gymnasium would make them great people in the society since they would have the advice of the great people they meet at the gymnasiums as well as what they think would be the right way of handling issues faced.5 (Forbes, 19456) Since the Greek society was among the first society to realize the importance of sport as a general culture, the gymnasium was used as a place for sport. This was used as a training area. International festivals that were mostly scheduled in Greek for top athletes required that they get sufficient training and preparation for the events. One of the most famous events was the Olympics. In fact, the Olympic Games were first established in the 6th century B.C. the athletes who participated in the event were individuals who were very famous in their home towns. Whenever they had successful stints in the games, they would receive showers of gifts and hymns for visitors that were written by great personalities in the country. Since this was such a great event for the country and for the individuals, the athletes would spend most of their time at the gymnasia as they practiced as well as making other healthy discussions.7 The gymnasium was originally the school where individuals competing in public games would go and train. This was a public place and the people who went to train there received their training in physical education. Athletic contests whose training and practice was formed by the gymnasium formed a part of the life among the Greek since the early days. The events and athletic contests that were held by the Greek were held in honour of great heroes as well as gods. At times, this formed part of the periodic festivals that happened in the ancient Greek. The Greek therefore had a strong passion for sports and they used it as a free active life. They also spent a lot of money in the activities. The winner of such a great event would not gain a prize in terms of money but would be recognized and rewarded with a lot of respect and honour by fellow citizens. In addition, a victory in those great religious events that were held would be counted as a great honor for the whole Greek state. Since the circumstances of such victories were treated with high stakes by the whole nation, the training for the events was also regarded as a major part of the public concern. The state would provide special buildings that were used for training and their management was placed in the hands of public officials. For instance, t Athens, the regulation of gymnasia was handled by Pausanias. Several laws were made to the subject of managing gymnasia by Solon. Further, a title was set aside for each representative of a tribe in managing of the gymnasia. The title was known as gymnasiarch and each tribe was represented. Their role was executed in duties and they were meant to pay and to maintain the people who trained for any public contests. This included providing for every training facility that would be used by the trainee and ensuring that the trainees were comfortable8. Such was the importance of the public competition to the state that the gymnasium had to be well managed; all with the intention of ensuring that the athletes obtained the required amount of training that they required. Practical teachings and selection of suitable exercises were selected for the trainees as well as the youth in the society was handled by the gymnastae. They also superintended the effect of the constitution that was made for pupils. Based on this, they would prescribe to the pupils if they were unwell. Large buildings of the required gymnasia were built so as to suit the various purposes. Each place had its own kind of training. In addition, there was a stadium, porticos for use in practicing when the weather was bad and places for baths. Outside the gymnasia were porticos where men of letters and philosophers read public letters and carried out disputations. This implies that the gymnasia were not only used for training but were also used for carrying out disputations.9 Among the Greek, the gymnasia grew as a place that would also be used for other purposes other than practicing for major events. The Greek realized that this place would be used for both physical education as well as for educations of individuals. The relation between health and exercise meant that after the individuals trained, they were healthy enough to take in more in terms of education. For this reason, the gymnasium was connected to health on one end and to education on the other end.10 Training the body and maintaining strength and health of children was the key intention of early education among the Greek. Except when the time was dedicated to reading letters and listening to music, boys received education in the gymnasia. In this place, there was provision for both their physical education and their moral training. As the boys grew up, they would converse and interrelate socially in manners that followed a more systematic discipline. Philosophers as well as sophists gathered to administer talks and to give lectures to individuals in gymnasia. The three great public gymnasia in Athens included Academy, Cynosarges and Lyceum.11 Originally, the Academy was a grove that was located near Athens and it had a gymnasium. In the same place, Plato delivered his lectures and in fact, the school in which he taught was later called Academy. Large cities did not fail to have a gymnasium which was a public institution where athletes trained. The Academy was one of these gymnasiums.12 A Greek gymnasium was mostly located in a shady and park like place besides a stream that was away from the center of the city and was a large and open sports ground. It also contained running tracks and other buildings that included a palaestra, a place for wrestling. The gymnasium started as a place where the middle class trained for warfare. More festivals came into existence for athletes in the sixth century as the number of gymnasia grew. This gradually increased the component of military and while athletics came to an end on its own. The Greek practiced much in sport and also in worked to get a balance between the body and mind. The gymnasium also had lecture halls and libraries in addition to facilities in athletics.13 The discovery that the gymnasium could be used as a place for developing good health was made by the sophist Prodicus. He used his own health which was weak to discover that there existed a connection between the health and gymnastics. He therefore found out a method that would be adopted generally and be used in developing the health as well as the physical fitness of individuals.14 In fact, Galen stated that the greatest stress should be laid on using the gymnasium. Most medical writers have always added the prescription of special exercises so as to cure some special diseases. This place therefore became a place of general resort where there was pursuit of intellectual interests together with physical exercises. Additionally, other than physical training, the gymnasium was used as a place that would engage young boys and keep them from idleness. As a result, it would reduce immorality in the society.15 Conclusion The gymnasium was initially used by the Greek for purposes of training. This was because of their great culture of sports. With time, it was discovered that the place could be used for other activities that would help the society. Therefore, the gymnasium was used for educating individuals on morality and providing knowledge. This further developed into a place where individuals went to improve their health so as to live a good and healthy life. With time, the place became a place that helped the society reduce the levels of immorality. References Crowther, N. (2007). Sport in Ancient Times. Greenwood Publishing Group. USA. Erskine, A. (1995). “Culture and Power in Ptolemaic Egypt: The Museum and Library of Alexandria.” Greece & Rome, 2nd Ser., Vol. 42, No. 1. pp. 38-48. Forbes, C. (1945). “Expanded Uses of the Greek Gymnasium.” Classical Philosophy. Vol. 40, No. 1. pp. 32-42. Gill, N. (2013). Academy - The School of Philosophy Where Plato Taught. Retrieved on April 13, 2013 from: http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/philosophy/g/academy.htm. Hansen, M. (1995). Sources for the Ancient Greek City-State: Symposium August, 24-27 1994, Acts of the Copenhagen Polis Centre. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen. Hansen, M. (1993). The Ancient Greek City-State: symposium on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters July, 1-14 199. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen. NATO ASI Series, Volume 2, pp 1-8. Hesperia, J. (1981). “Athens after the Liberation: Planning the New City and Exploring the Old" Greek Towns and Cities: A Symposium (Oct. - Dec., 1981). Vol. 50. No. 4. pp. 391-407. Howatson, M. and Chilver I. (1996). Academy The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Ed.Oxford University Press. 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