Physical beauty, paired with a well - developed mind, was the epitome of masculine virtue in classical Greece. "From the love of the beautiful." Plato counselled in the Republic, "come every goo thing in heaven and earth." To culminate the Hellenic ideal of Kalok agathia - the combination of beauty and goodness - Greek boys from the age of seven studied literature, music and art and increased their grace and strength through athletic exercises. Older teenage boys, the ephoboi, spent time in the palaestra and gymnasium - public athletic complexes established throughout Greece. These, strict instructors, called paidotribai, drilled them in running, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing, boxing, jumping and ball sports, to the accompaniment of music. The Greek preoccupation with physical training had its roots in the constant warfare between small city-states. Each state needed a supremely fit and battle ready corps of warriors, kept in peak condition during peacetime through rigorous athletics.