Cynosarges

Kynosarges was one of the three public gymnasia of ancient Athens alongside the Academy and the Lyceum, situated south of the city in the deme of Diomeia outside the walls. The site is first mentioned in 490 BC as a sanctuary of Herakles, to which the athletic facility was later attached. The gymnasium became famous as the haunt of Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates and teacher of Diogenes; historians derive the name of the Cynic philosophical school from Kynosarges. Unlike the Academy and Lyceum, Kynosarges admitted the sons of non-citizens, making it socially distinctive. Today only sparse remains lie buried under modern Athenian buildings; only the name of the Kynosargous neighbourhood still recalls the ancient site.