Introduction

The chief elements of ancient Greek education were music and gymnastics. But just as the word music was much more comprehensive in the language of that time than in modern usage, so also the term gymnastics was used to express another and much wider concept than in our day. Gymnastics attempt to produce a strong, muscular body by means of artificial, invented or constructed, comparatively simple exercises of definite form, and further seek to develop the same moral qualities as athletics. In contrast with athletic exercises, the individual gymnastic exercise is devoid of independent value, but by variety in the forms of the exercises and by the systematic application of these, gymnastics attempt to make up for the greater simplicity of their movements. Localised gymnastic exercises of definite form are ill-suited to the child’s stage of development. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.