Note 803 — Chapter XXII · THE GYMNASIUM AND THE PALAESTRA
Reading edition
M. Fougères (Dar.-Sagl., s.v. “Gymnasium”) considers the earliest gymnasium to be that of Messene, which he identifies with the colonnade surrounding the sphendone of what is usually considered to be the stadium. The identification and the date of the building must be regarded as very doubtful in the absence of more systematic excavation.