Gymnasium (ancient Greece)

The gymnasium in Ancient Greece functioned as a training facility for male competitors in public games. It was also a place for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits. The name comes from the Ancient Greek term gymnós meaning "naked". Athletes competed nude, a practice said to encourage aesthetic appreciation of the male body, and to be a tribute to the gods. Gymnasia and palestrae (wrestling schools) were under the protection and patronage of Heracles, Hermes and, in Athens, Theseus.

Many relationships between Greek "boylovers" and their beloveds were either begun, or fostered by, contacts between adult males and peri-pubescent or pubescent youths meeting at the gymnasiums.