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IN TURKEY ‘ SPORTS CENTER GYMNASIUMS ‘ THE RICH ANCIENT HISTORY
Sport occupies an important place in our lives in some way today. We have somehow internalized this concept in our lives, whether as a viewer at the beginning of television or directly through sports. Although the pandemic process caused us to decamp to some of our routine habits, under normal circumstances, at this time, many people would have made a great effort to run to the gyms and get fit for the summer. Sport, which is of great importance for human health as well as for the economy, was also a vital issue for the security of the city thousands of years ago.In the ancient world, where city-states were an important reality, sport was a vital issue in the training of a solid body and therefore a strong soldier. In order to maintain community continuity and protect the city from attacks from outside, boys were subjected to an education process within a certain system from an early age.
Initially, such training and competitions for these young men took place in the Agora of the city, and then with increasing need and interest, gymnasium and stadiums began to be built in the cities.
These activities, such as wrestling, boxing, discus throw and long jump, were taught to young men in gymnastics. These sports were also present at the Olympics, which took place in Olimpia, which is believed to be the mountain where the gods lived in Greece, and were repeated every four years.
The words gymnasium and stadium, which are mainly used today, are actually the Romanized state of gymnasium and stadium, which has been historically sung in Anatolia for centuries.
Built in Anatolian cities, especially in the Aegean and Mediterranean, these gymnasions and stadiums have gained functions far beyond meeting the future needs of the cities for soldiers. These structures, each of which is an admirable architectural work today, have also provided the opportunity for the development of athletics activities and training in different fields.
When we look at the opposite side of the sea, that is, the coast of Greece, we encounter a similar situation. We know that in antiquity there were three gymnasions in Athens. Their names are Lykeion, Akademia and Kynsarges. Over time, these schools became important institutions where young people studied philosophy.
During this period, we see that there are no gymnasions in Sparta, the biggest rival of Athens. The reason for this was that all the boys in Sparta were taken from their families from the age of seven and raised as soldiers.
In gymnasions, which derive from the Greek word “gymnos”, which means naked, these places are so named because young men perform their exercises naked in order to become physically ready for war. Assos Gymnasium, taught by Aristotle
In the ancient peoples of Anatolia, such as the Hittites and Phrygians, there were also sportive activities organized to highlight and develop the ability to use War and weapons. But in the establishment and continuation of Greek colonies in the region, especially since the fourth century BC, the Hellenistic era, which prevailed in the region, has the characteristic of being the period when many gymnasiums and stadiums were built in Anatolian cities.
During this period, the gymnasions built in Anatolia also had the characteristic of being the most important cities in the ancient lands. In addition to the gymnasium in Assos, where Aristotle taught, Pergamon (Pergamon), Priene (Gulbahçe) and Miletus hosted sports events in Anatolian geography during this period.
Considering the geography and period in which the gymnasions and stadion were built in the ancient city of Termessos, the admiration it evokes is growing exponentially. Since 30 BC, when Anatolia came under Roman rule, sports activities in the region continued to be important.
In these settlements, where the city state lost its identity and turned into cities of a huge empire, sports activities were no longer for defensive purposes, but for entertainment and pleasing the gods.
In Ephesus, the presence of a bathhouse next to the gymnasium built in the Roman period also brought about an important change in architecture.
Just as the Olympics were used to determine the date in antiquity, the stadions that were sports were also a unit of distance measurement. The information we have shows that the Olympics, which have been a sports activity since the eighth century BC, were held.
One of the most exciting events of these sports festivals, which had a military identity and had different branches such as wrestling, boxing, discus throw, jumping, was running. The stadiums where the runs were held were packed with spectators during the Olympics.
600 feet, that is, approximately 200 meters long, these stadions were also used to express distances over time. For example, if a place was 10 stadion away, it would mean a distance of approximately two kilometers. For centuries, the phrase stadion was also used for this purpose on road signs in Anatolia in antikchag.
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