Taucheira, Gymnasium

Taucheira: Greek port in the Cyrenaica, also known as Arsinoe.

The gymnasium

To the southwest of the main road (sometimes called "decumanus") of Taucheira, the ancient Gymnasium can be found, where the male inhabitants of the city went if they wanted to exercise. However, the Gymnasium was more than just a gym in our sense of the word. Sport was recognized as a very Greek custom; visiting the Gymnasium was stressing one's Greekness.

On one of the walls, the victors in the Panhellenic games were commemorated. These men were not just great athletes, but had shown to the Greek world (as assembled in Olympia, Nemea, Delphi, and Corinth, and later other places as well) that the people of Taucheira, although living across the Mediterranean, were strong and truly Greek.