Baron Pierre de Coubertin did not always idealize Ancient Greece or the Ancient Olympic Games, but when he was appealing to the people of Athens for support for the modern Olympics, he emphasized all the best points of their glorious history.  It is true, of course, that the gymnasium served as both the classroom and athletic center in the ancient world.  Socrates and his heirs often lectured students between their sprints or wrestling matches—so intellectual and physical development were in harmony if not contention. 

“(In Ancient Greece), the life of the gymnasium was an admirable compromise between the two types of strength over which men fight, and that it is so difficult to bring back into balance once the equilibrium has been upset. Muscles and ideas rubbed shoulders congenially in this system. It seems that this harmony was perfect, to the point of uniting youth and old age, as well.”

This passage is drawn from ‘The Neo-Olympism: Appeal to the People of Athens,’ which appeared in Le Messager d’Athènes in 1894.