The ancient Greeks are best known for their
piercing ideas; not so much for pumping iron.
Yet for them, a sharp mind was nothing without
a strong body, and indeed they rigorously
developed both.
Now, the first Greek gyms were little more
than open areas beside a river, perhaps with
a few shaded trees here and there; more of
a field than a gym, really, but hey, you’ve
got to start somewhere.
One notable difference compared to today is
that the Greeks didn’t have exercise machines,
or conveniently-denominated weights.
They just used whatever they had at hand:
a simple stone or rock, or, for the more advanced
lifters, a fully-grown bull (we’ll get back
to that, don’t worry).
Of course, weights weren’t the only thing
the Greeks were missing.
There was also a noticeable lack of branded
sportswear – or any sportswear at all for
that matter.
The Greeks did all their training in the nude,
just as the Gods intended.
In fact, the word gym – or gymnasium – comes
from the Greek word for naked – gymnos.
It sort of makes sense: originally, the Ancient
Greek gym was intended as a place to develop
one’s fighting skills, things like wrestling,
racing and throwing things, which didn’t
exactly require fancy outfits.
Since Ancient Greece at the time was a hodgepodge
of independent city-states, it’s natural
that every community would have a training
ground, even a simple one.
Now, these first primitive gyms did evolve
throughout the Ancient era, and their development
ran hand in hand with the rise of sporting
events, where Greek hulks could show off their
skills.
These athletes would also compete naked, but
with the added touch of having oil rubbed
all over them.
Supposedly, this would protect them from the
sun, but we all know who the oil was really
meant for.
And yes, married women were expressly forbidden
from attending these events.
In any case, these sporting festivals were
big hits, sometimes drawing crowds of up to
fifty thousand.
The Olympics were by far the most famous such
event, but there were three others as well,
cycling every four years.
Collectively, these Panhellenic Games gave
rise to a sporting elite - athletes who trained
non-stop to participate.
The rewards, of course, were great.
Well, actually the winner only got a crown
made of leaves, but that was only the symbolic
prize.
The winner would be showered with gifts by
their hometown: things like statues and political
positions were on the table, so naturally
the athletes went to extremes in their training.
One particular athlete called Milo of Croton
found a calf and decided to carry it on his
shoulders.
As one does.
Maybe it was a bet or something.
In any case, he continued carrying it every
day until the calf was a 4-year-old bull,
at which point he slaughtered it and then
ate it … in one day.
Milo won the “grand slam” title of the
Panhellenic Games five times; this was an
honor awarded only to those who managed to
win all four festivals in the same cycle and
Milo did it five times!
He was pretty much the greatest athlete in
Ancient Greece for over twenty years.
Now, professional athletes like Milo bulked
out by eating lots of meat and focusing on
one skill exclusively, but your average Greek
followed a different approach.
Most of the young men at the Greek gyms didn’t
want to over-specialize.
After all, they were there to train as warriors
and so needed to demonstrate not only strength,
but also speed and agility.
This meant that being only halfway decent
in any one particular aspect wasn’t an immediate
career-ender.
Of course, some Greeks took this lenience
to its extreme and didn’t bother with anything.
This drew the ire of many philosophers, including
Socrates.
As he was idling outside a gym one day, Socrates
berated a young man strolling past him for
being out of shape.
The young man protested that he wasn’t an
athlete, but Socrates replied that it was
his duty to train and be ready for war.
But this begs the question: why was Socrates
hanging about outside a gym?
Well, the Greek gymnasiums were state-run
institutions - and so among other things they
also became a hub for public life.
The Greeks recognised the link between athletics,
health and education, so gyms eventually grew
into centres of learning.
They became complexes of magnificent buildings,
with each city trying to outshine the next.
Indeed, one of Socrates’ students, Plato,
founded his school at a gymnasium, as did
Plato’s student Aristotle.
So the gym became a place to develop not only
one’s body, but also one’s mind.
And from that came the explosion of thought
and philosophy the Greeks are now famous for.
All because some men started lifting rocks
in a field by some river.
So you want to lift like the ancient Greeks?
Well, don’t forget to bring your philosophy
books along with you … oh and you better
not be allergic to oil if you want to make
a career out of it.
Thank you for watching, my friends.
I hope I’ve inspired you to make dramatic
changes in your fitness routines.
Do like and subscribe if you enjoyed our little
hands-on tutorial of lifting in Antiquity
and also consider supporting me on Patreon:
these gym memberships don’t pay themselves,
you know!
Anyhow, we’ll see each other again in two
weeks for another sparklingly fabulous episode
of SideQuest.
