Greek Philosophy and Gymnasium: Healthy Bodies and Minds

For the Greeks, thinking and training were inseparable.

Illustration from "Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals," 1910, by Norman E. Gardiner. The legacy of Greek athletics is intertwined with the development of philosophy. Public Domain

When we say “philosophy,” we usually think of aloof students, brooding hermits, or long-winded conversationalists. Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) may have had the first two in mind when he sculpted “The Thinker”: a crouched figure with a fixed downward gaze who has become an emblem for those who relish thinking for thinking’s sake.

Though partially justified, these caricatures of philosophy are quintessentially modern. During its inception in Ancient Greece, and for centuries afterwards, philosophy was always paired with physical activity. Without an active body, thinking, for the Greeks, was unthinkable.

The Olympics

The Greeks were fiercely competitive. In sports, their obsession with contests gave birth to the Olympics, which remain the most important global athletic event. The Olympic Games were “panhellenic.” Virtually every Greek city-state sent representatives to compete in one of 23 sports, including boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, long-distance running, and many more.