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

184 GYMNOPAEDIA. GCiYNAE CONNOM I.
chief remedies. As for the other more coimmon! al d also imitatcd the wild gestures ofthe worship of
exercises, they were daily practised, as is manifest Dionysus. (Athen. xiv. p. 631.) MiUller (ITist. ofC'G.
from Celsus, Caelius Aurelianus, Theodorus Prisci- Lii. vol. i. p. 16 1 ) supposes, with great probability,
anus, and the rest of the Latin physicians. And we that the dances of the gymnopaedia partly consistdo not want instances of cures wrought by these ed of mimic representations, as the establishment
means. Slletonius (Ctalg. c. 3) tells us that Ger- of the dances and musical entertainments at this
manicus was cured of a " crurum gracilitas," as he festival was ascribed to the musiciana at the h ad
expresses it (by which he probably means an Atto- of whom was Thaletas. (Plut. de lleIs. c. 9.) The
play), by ridingg; and Plutarch, in his life of Cicero, whole season of the gymnopaedia, during wvhich
gives us an account of his weakness, and that he re- Sparta was visited by great numbers of strainers,
covered his health by travelling, and excessive dili- was one cf great merrilment and rejoicigis (Xen.
-gence in rubbing and chafing his body. (Compare Mlenmor. i. 2.. 61; Plut. Agesil. 29; Pollux, iv.
Cic. Berut. c. 91.) Pliny (IH. N. xxxi. 33) tells 14. 104), and old bachelors alone seem to have
us Annaeus Gailio, who had been consul, was cured been excluded from the festivities. (Osann, ce
of a consumption by a sea voyage: and Galen giv s Coe/in2m71 apud Veteres Populos Coeditione Conzus such accounts of the good effects of particular ementatt. p. 7, &c.) The introduction of the gynmnloexercises, and they were practised so universally paedia, which subsequently became of such importby all classes, that it cannot be supposed but they ance as an institution for gymnastic and olchestic
must have been able to produce great antd good performances, and for the cultivation of the pi)etic
effects. However, from an attentive perusal of and musical arts at Sparta, is generally assignecd to
what we find on this sublject in the classical ari- the year 665 B. c. (Compare MiAeursius, Orchestra,
thors, the reader can hardly fifil of being convinced. p. 12, &c.; Creuzer, Comalillentat. Hlerod. i. p 230;
that the aicients esteemed gymnastics too highly, MUiller, Der. vol. ii. p. 350, &c.) [L. S.]
just as the moderns too much neglect them; aind GYNAECONI'TIS. [DoMus, pp. 423that in this, as in many other matters, both in 425.]
medicine and philosophy, truth lies between the GYNAECOINOMTI or GYNAECOCOSMI.two extremes. L[Y. A. G.] (yvicalcsdOiuot or yvvaLurocrcrcoeot), were magistrates
GYMNASTES. [GYIMNASIUTjM, p. 581, b.] at Athens, who superintended the conduct of AtheGYMNE'SII or GYMNE'TES (yv7/ji"reol, or nian women. (Pollux, viii. 112.) We know little
ryuvMYTes), were a class of bond-slaves at Argos, of the duties of these offcers, and even the time
who may be compared with the Helots at Sparta. when they were instituted is inot quite certain.
(Steph. Byz. s. v. Xios: Pollux, iii. 83.) Their BMckh (de Philoch. p. 24) has endeavoured to
name shows that they attended their masters on show that they did not exist until the time of Demilitary service in the capacity of light-armled metrius Phalereus, whereas, according to others,
troops. Miiller (Dor. iii. 4. ~ 2) remarlks that it they were instituted by Solon, whose regulations
is to these gymnesii that the accomnt of Herodotus concerning the female sex certainly rendered some
(vi. 83) refers, that 6000 of the citizens of Argos special officers necessary for their maintenance.
having been slain in battle by Cleomenes, king of (Plut. Sol. 21; comp. Thirlwall, Hist. of Greeee,
Sparta (Id. vii. 148), the slaves got the govern- vol. ii. p. 51.) Their name is also mentioned by
ment into their own hands, and retained possession Aristotle (Pol. iv. 12. p. 144, and vi. 5. p. 214.
of it until the sons of those who had fallen had ed. Gottling) as something which he supposes
grown to manhood. Afterwards, when the young to be well known to his readers. These circumcitizens had grown up, the slaves were compelled stances induce us to think that the yvvazucor,aov,
by them to retire to Tiryns, and then after a long as the superintendents of the conduct of women,
war, as it appears, were either driven from the existed ever since the time of Solon, but that their
territory, or again subdued. power was afterwards extended in such a manner
GYMNOPAE'DIA (?yvtvowrasila), the festil that they became a kinsd of police for the purpose
val of " naked youths," was celebrated at Sparta of preventing any excesses or indecencies, whether
every year in honour of Apollo Pythaeus, Artemis, committed by men or by women. (See the Fragm.
and Leto. The statues of these deities stood in a of Timocles and Mlenander, ap. Athen. vi. p. 245,
part of the Agora called yoops, and it was around where a Kavbs vo'/coS is mentioned as the source
these statues that, at the gymnopaedia, Spartan from which they derived their increased power;
youths performed their choruses and dances in compare Pinut. Sol. 21. infin.) In their first and
honour of Apollo. (Pans. iii. 11. ~ 7.) The festival original capacity, therefore, they had to see that
lasted for several, perhaps for ten, days, and on the regulations concerning the conduct of Athethe last day men also performed choruses and nian women were observed, and to punish any'dances in the theatre; and dulring these gymnastic transgressions of them (Harpocrat. s. v."OrT XLilats:
exhibitions they sang the songs of Thaletas and Hesych. s. v. IlATraTsos); in the latter capacity
Aleman, and the paeans of Dionysodotus. The they seem to have acted as ministers of the areoleader of the chorus (7rpoodrCTs or Xopsoroids) plgus, and as such had to take care that decency
wore a kind of chaplet, called orE'qsavoe avpeaTeolf, and moderation were observed in private as welli
in commemoration of the victory of the Spartans as in public. Hence they superintended even the
at Thyrea. This event seems to have been closely meetings of friends in their private houses, e. g. at
connected with the gymnopaedia, for those Spartans weddings, and on other festive occasions. (Philoch.
who had fallen on that occasion were alvays ap. At/en. vi. p. 245.) Meetings of this kind were
praised in songs at this festival. (Athen. xv. not allowed to consist of more than thirty persons,
p. 678; Plut. Aqesil. 29; Xen. Hell/ez. vi. 4. ~ 16; and the'yvvanuo4tnote had the right to enter any
Hesych. Suid. Etym. Mag. and Timaeus, Glossar. house and send away all the guests above that
s. v. rvPueoratlia.) The boys in their dances per- number; and that they might be able, previous to
formed such rhythmical movements as resembled entering a house, to form an estimate of the num-,he exercises of the palaestra and the pancration, her of persons assembled in it, the cooks who were