Greek Gymnasia for non-Greek People. Assessment of the Archaeological and Epigraphic Evidence in Italy

Literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources testify to the presence of Greek gymnasia in pre-Roman Italy. This paper investigates the political and cultural reasons that led to the adoption of a Greek lifestyle in ‘non Greek’ contexts, most notably the embracing of the gymnasial ideology. Examining several case studies in two different cultural contexts, namely the Brettian city of Petelia and the Samnite cities of Abella, Pompeii, and Cuma, it is comparatively assessed how the elite of these cities negotiated Greek gymnasial ideology. It is argued that strategies ranged from fully embracing the gymnasium as both an institution and building type to selective emulation of only certain features.