What I can see

During the construction works of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the foundations of the Paleastra (arena) of the Lyceum of Aristotle were discovered. As shown by the building’s remains, it had a patio, surrounded by 3.5- 4m wide arcades on its three sides. Behind them, spacious symmetrical rectangular rooms were developed.

What I can't see

The main entrance of the Palaestra was probably on its south side, which has not yet been excavated. The building sustained structural alterations over the following centuries. It was one of three big gymnasiums of ancient Athens. The gymnasiums were areas for spiritual growth and physical education areas and later evolved into an early form of today’s universities. Aristotle’s Lyceum is one of the most important monuments of the intellectual history of the Western world. The name “Lyceum” comes from the sanctuary of the Lyceum of Apollo, which existed in the area. Apollo Lyceus was worshiped, probably, as a god of shepherds and protected their flocks from wolves. The School of Aristotle was also named “Peripatetic (=Walking) School” as the teacher used to teach his disciples while walking. In antiquity, the area was a lush suburb, which was often visited by Socrates and his students. Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Stageira, Halkidiki (Kingdom of Macedonia – Northern Greece) and studied in Athens. A student of Plato and a teacher of Alexander the Great, he was a prolific writer and is considered one of the leading philosophers in the world.

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Bibliography