Training at athlete's hometown

An athlete started training during childhood at his hometown. Training intended to develop physical abilities as well as improving technique and style. The trainers belonged to one of the following categories: Paidotribes (physical trainers), gymnastes (trainers for athletic exercises, commanding high fees) and aleiptes (anointers). The latter's job was to anoint with oil the athletes' bodies, in order to massage the muscles.

Training was a highly developed specialty in ancient times. Aristotle notes that Greeks argue more about the navigation of ships than about training, because navigation is less organized as a science as compared to training! If an athlete could not afford the training expenses in order to participate in the Olympic games, his city would undertake the responsibility to hire a trainer to accompany him.