After the death of Alexander the Great, his general Ptolemy became the ruler of Egypt and took the country into the
Hellenistic world. As his empire grew, more and more Greek-speaking settlers
moved to the newly founded city of Alexandria
and generally to the entire Nile delta.
These newcomers mingled with the natives, and
soon Greek sanctuaries arose next to existing Egyptian temples. Besides they
also built monuments for their own comfort, like baths and gymnasiums. In the
delta villages, these buildings were generally financed by wealthy Greek
inhabitants and the men governing the institutions.
In one such village, Watfa, situated five kilometers east of Qasr Qaroun in the Fayum area, the very first Hellenistic gymnasium
in Egypt
has been discovered. Well, this is what the media tell us. However, we should not forget that Egypt
was much larger in antiquity since it also included modern Libya . Over there, the city of Cyrene proudly shows its Hellenistic Gymnasium, also called Ptolemaion, in honor of Ptolemy
VIII, who built it in the 2nd century BC. When the Romans arrived
in the 1st century BC, they paved the vast grounds and turned it into a Forum that was eventually called Ceasarion.
(see: Cyrene , founded by the Greeks).
Watfa is the modern name for Philoteris,
founded in the 3rd century BC by Ptolemy
II Philadelphus, who named the town after his sister/wife, Philotera. It is estimated that Philoteris counted approximately 1200 inhabitants in those early years, one-third of which were Greek-speaking.
The gymnasium of Philoteris is composed of the main building arranged around a courtyard, a large hall for meetings adorned with statues, and a dining hall. The running track met the standard racing distance of a stadium, i.e., about
In those days, such a grand building was a
matter of prestige, for here, the young Greek upper class would meet not only to
be trained in sports but also to learn to read and write and to enjoy
philosophical discussions as was customary in their homeland.
Until now, the existence of gymnasia in the
Egyptian countryside was known from inscriptions and papyrus documents only, but
the find at Watfa is the icing on
the cake. It also shows the considerable impact the Greeks had in the Egyptian
countryside.
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