Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

GYMNASIUM. Y MINASI UM-,'S83
~ 35. p. 626.) Herodicus, who is sometimes called regular chafing: lie has written a little tract,
Prodicus (Pliu. HI. N. xxix. 2), lived at Athens flepl Tov aL, McKpds ai'par rPvuvafariov, wherea short time before the Peloponnesian war. Plato in he recommends an exercise, by which the
says that he was not only a sophist (Pliat. body and mind are both at the same time
1'Potagt. 1. c.), but also a rmaster of the gymnasium affected. In his discourse to Thrasybulus, I6d(Id. Rep. iii. p. 406), and physician (Id. Gorg. TEpos'IaCrpcK7s 7 rItvhU,ap Tc1 E'oL T' b'T7r El yV,
~ 2. p. 448), and in fact he united in his own he inveighs against the athletic and other violent
person these three qualities. He was troubled, practices of the gylzn2asium, but approves of the
-says the same author, with very weak health, more moderate exercises, as subservient to the
and tried if gymnastic exercises would not help ends of a physician, and consequently part of that
to improve it; and having perfectly succeeded, art. T'he other Greek writers express a similar
he imparted his method to others. Before him opinion; and the sense of most of them in this
mledical dietetics had been entirely neglected, espe- matter is collected in Oribasius's " Collecta Medicially by the Asclepiadae. (Id. Reu. iii. p. 406.) cinalia." In those remains which are preserved
If Plato's account may be taken literally (Id. of the writings of Antyllus, we read of some sorts
Phaedr. p. 228), he much abused the exercise of of exercises that are not mentioned by Galen or
gymnastics, as he recommended his patients to any former author; among the rest the Cr'iciasia
wavlk from Athens to Megara and to return as as the translators by mistake call it, instead of'
soon as they had reached the walls of the latter (.rico'lasica. This, as it had for many ages been
town.* The author of the sixth book De Alorb. disused, Mercirlialis himself, wsho had made the
Vulgazs. (Hippocr. Edpideim. vi. c. 3. vol. iii. most judicious inquiries into this subject (De Aite
p. 599) agrees with Plato: "; I-erodicus," says Gyinzetstica, 4to. Anmstel. 1672), does not pretend
he, " caused people, attacked with ifeer, to die to explain; and I believe, says Freind (t=fist. of'
from nwalking and too hard exercise, and many PAysic, ol. i.), though we have the description of
of his patients suffered much from dry rubbing." it set doewn in Oribasius (Coll. liedic. vi. 26), it
A short time after we find, says Fuller (lAteadi- will be. hard to forin any idea of what it was.
cina n GyncasSica, &c. Lolnd. 1718, 8vo), that lip- The ancient pllysicians reliedt much on exercise
pocrates (De Yist. l(at. iii. vol. i. p. l16), with in the cure of the cu t dropsy (compare Her. Epist. i.
some sort of glory, assumes to himself thle i:- 2. 34. " Si noles sanus, curres hydropicus"),
nour of brin ging th at method to a perfection, so whereas we alhost totally neglect it. (Alexander
as to be able to distingulish n7r(T-pocv -V otTioy Tr1allianus, i e ilcdic. icx. 3. p. 524, ed. Basil.)IpPUTEEL yroevs rcovs,' i Oi ir:oiL vr OTCiz, Il Hippocrates (De Interais A/(ct/ion. sect. 28. vol.
eI'pi[WS EXfEL wpbes &Aslsa, as lie expresses it. ii. p1. 518) prescribes for one that has a dropsy
Pursuant to this, we find him in several places of -'aXari-ciptat, orx /fi hli;q-ercises, and he makes
his works recommending several sorts of exercises use of the same -word in is lEpidemics, and almost
upon proper occasions; as first, friction or chlafing, alwaysR when he speaks of the regimen of a dropsi.
theeffects Of which he explains (De Vict. IRat. ii. cal persou, implyis, thlat though it be a labour
p. 701), and tells us, that in some cases it wAill for such people to inove, yet they must undergo
bring down the bloatedness of the solid parts, iii it;,, nd this is so imuotl the sense of Hippocrates,
others it will incarn and catuse an increase of th at Spon has collected it into one of the new Aphoflesh, and make the part thrive. Ile advises fislcs, which he has drawvn out of his works. Celsus
(ibid. p. 700) walking, of which they had two say s of this case (De Al-edic. iii. 21. p. 152, ed. Arsorts, their round and straight courses. Ile gives gent.), " Concutiendumn multa gestatione corpus est."
his opinion (ibid. p. 701) of the'AYaKlvucitara, or The ilomans placed great reliance upon exercise
preparatory exercises, whlliclL served to warnl and for the cnre of diseases; and Asclepiades, who
fit the wrestlers for the more vehement ones. In lived in the time of l'ompey the Great, brought
some cases he advises the Ilaxh., or comnloln wrest- this mode of treatmaent into great request. IHe
ling (ibid.), and the'AtcpoXEtpia, or wrestling by the called exercises t/ze common aids of physic, and
hands olly, without comini close, and also the, wrote a treatise on the subject, which is mentioned
KwpvrconaXlea, or tile exercise of the Corycuis, or by Celsts in his chapter "De Frictione" (De
the langieng ball (see Antyllus, apuld Mercur. (le ledlie. ii. 14. p. 82.), but the book is lost. He carried
AlrteGyian. p. 123); the XElpoocUta, a sort of dex- these notions so far, that he invented the Lecti
terous and regular motion of the hllands, and upper Pensiles (Plin. H-1. N. xxvi. 8) or hanging beds,
parts of the body, somethilng after a smilitary ilman- that the sick might be rocked to sleep; which took
ner; the'AX[';qsots, or roiiing in sand; and once so much at that time, that theycamlleafterwards to be
(ibid. p. 700) wve find mentioned, witn somle ap- malde of silver, and were a great part of the luxury
probation, the'Hiretpoi'"Iraro, ]'cuoi Izdefiili, by of that people; lie had so maniy particular wsays to
which is probably meant gallopill, loin coirses in I siake ph'ysic agreeable, and was so exquisite in thle
the open field. i iention of.exercises to supply the place of mediAs for Galen, he follows tIippocrates in this, as ille, that perhaps no man in any age ever had the
closely as in other things, and declares his opinion happiness to obtain so general an applause; aind
of the benefit of exercises in several places; his Plinsy says (ibid. c. 7) by these means he made himsecond book " De Sa.llitate Tluenda," is Vwholly selflthe delight ofmnankind. About this time the Ruupon the use of the slrts/'l, or the advanttage ot' iman physicians sent their consumptive patients to
Alexandlia, and svith very good success, as we filnd
* "The distance from Atlhclns to MIegara was 210 by both the Plinys; this was done partly for the
stadia, as wve learn i'onl Procopius. (Bell. Vanl. chaisge of air, but chiefly for the sake of the exeri. 1.) Dion Chrysostom calls it a day's journey. cise by the motion of the ship; and therefore Celsus
(Orat. vi.) Modern travellers reckon eight hours. says (De 4leedic. iii. 22. p. 156), " Si vera Phthisis
(Dodsvell, Class. Tour, vol. ii. p. 177.)" Cranler, est, opus est lonan navigatione;" and a little after
dnoc. Greece, vol. ii. sect. 13, p. 430. hie Inmakes Jehicis2cnz and Nalis to be two bf tth
P 4