The ancient Gymnasium of
Kos, also known as Xisto is located in the capital
Kos town and is not far from some of the other historical sites including the
Roman Odeon and
Casa Romana.
Dating back nearly 2500 years the remains of the gymnasium covers an area of around 6000 square meters and contains some fantastic historical elements including columns, archways, buildings and mosaic tiles. Obviously, due to the passage of time and the numerous earthquakes that the island has suffered in that time a lot of the buildings and columns have been destroyed but there’s still loads to see.
In ancient Greece, these type of gymnasiums were used as a place for men to train for the games and contests that was part of the entertainment of the time. The training was usually done in the nude and only adult males participated. It would also have been somewhere for men to socialise.
Unfortunately there aren’t any signposts to tell you what the different buildings and sections were used for or guide you round the site. Given the fact that entrance is free it’s probably understandable that there’s not too much information or maintenance going on.
