Such were the buildings which Athens appropriated to the exercises of its youth; and if we consider the conveniences which they contained, the large spaces they enclosed, and the taste and magnificence which they exhibited, we shall probably conclude that no country in the world ever bestowed on the physical training of its citizens so much enlightened care. The first step in gymnastics was to accustom the youth to endure, naked, the fiercest rays of the sun and the cold of winter, to which they were exposed during their initiatory exercises.[658] This is illustrated in a very lively manner by Lucian, where he introduces the Scythian Anacharsis anxious to escape from the scorching rays of noon to the shade of the plane-trees; while Solon, who had been educated according to the Hellenic system, stands without inconvenience bareheaded in the sun. The step next in order was wrestling, always regarded as the principal among gymnastic contests, both from its superior utility and the great art and skill which the proper practice of it required. To the acquisition of excellence in this exercise the palæstra and the instructions of the pædotribæ were almost entirely devoted; while nearly every other branch of gymnastics was performed in the gymnasium. These, according to Lucian, were divided into two classes, one of which required for their performance a soft or muddy area, the other one of sand, or an arena properly so called.[659] In all these exercises the youth were naked, and had their bodies anointed with oil. Footnote 658: Lucian, Amor. § 45. seq. Footnote 659: Lucian, Anach. § § 1–3. 28. To render, however our account of the exercises more complete, it may be proper to give a separate though brief description of each. The first or most simple was the Dromos or Course,[660] performed, as has been above observed, in the area of the stadium, which, in order to present the greater difficulty to the racers, was deeply covered with soft and yielding sand. Still further to enhance the labour, the youth sometimes ran in armour, which admirably prepared them for the vicissitudes of war, for pursuit after victory, or the rapid movements of retreat. The high value which the Greeks set upon swiftness may be learned from the poems of Homer, where likewise are found the most graphic and brilliant descriptions of the several exercises. Some of these we shall here introduce from Pope’s version, which in this part is peculiarly sustained and nervous. Speaking of the race between Oilean Ajax, Odysseus, and Antilochos, he says:—[661]