Gymnasium

Gymnasiums are an essential part of any Oronai city, and they are a vital part of everyday life for the Oronai. They work as a place for doing exercise (always naked) and keep yourself fit as well as for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits.

Origins

The origins of these buildings, and indeed of the tradition of doing exercise and athetic competitions in Oronia goes probably back to the 8th or 7th century BP., most likely in Phagias or Demetrias, and then, this tradition expanded to the rest of Oronia. At first, gymnasiums were open spaces and not enclosered buildings where military training, daily physical exercises, sports as well as athletic contests were held.   Over the course of time they became enclosered buildings made of stone with roofs covered by tiles. Soon the Oronai began to see gymnasiums and gymnastics as a way of keeping the youth healthy both physically and mentally, as way of educating them not only for war, but also for social life as well as intellectually, and such, they became essential parts of the daily live for the Oronai, youngs and adults alike. Many of these buildings were financed by local communities or sometimes as donatives from wealthy citizens or even the kings themselves.   Gymnasiums are not only an educational institution but also a social and political hub. Here citizens also gathered to discuss things like politics or other kind of public affairs, share news and spend time with their friends telling stories or having a laugh at something. Participation in the gymnasium is a marker of social status. While all free male citizens are encouraged to engage in physical training, the wealthier classes have greater access to education and can afford to spend more time in the gymnasium.  

Description

A typical gymnasium was a large, open area surrounded by colonnades, with spaces dedicated to different types of physical training, such as running, wrestling, and discus throwing. Adjacent to the athletic facilities were rooms for bathing, socializing, and study, including a palaestra (a wrestling school) and often a library or spaces for lectures. Sometimes teachers and philosophers would deliver their classes in the porticos of the gymnasiums, and these porticos would also became places where people exercise when the weather is bad.  

A strong and healthy body is a reflection of a strong and healthy mind.

— Oronai saying

  Sometimes the interior as well as the exterior of these buildings would be decorated with frescoes depicting people doing exercise like wrestling, doing discus throwing, javeling throwing ... etc.  

Gymnasiums outside Oronia

  With the conquest of Magas the Great and Boros The Conqueror the Oronai world expanded considerably. So, in the new conquered territories, either in the former Sephenian Empire or in the lands of the Southern Elves, and specially in the new Oronai colonies founded there gymnasiums and the activities held inside them were an essential part of the identity of the Oronai settlers, who normally meet in the gymnasium to create bonds between them, and also to celebrate their common culture, such as organizing poetry recitals, dance, music or even readings of works such as The Siege of Dorstulon, the city of the Ten Walls or accounts about the wars and battles against the Sephenians or other enemies. For them this is a way of conecting with their roots and keeping their identity alive in this new and foreign land (although they're at the same time open to some "indigenous" influence).   Gymnasiums were also popular in the Ikarian Empire for a while, but their use began to decline in the last two centuries of the Empire and nowadays such an institution is gone, despite some attempts to reintroduce them to the Blatian population. Today some gymnasiums can be found in cities with a sizable Oronai community.