The large open square on your right a few hundred metres after the entrance gate was originally built by the Greeks in the 2nd century BC as a gymnasium. As the major sporting building of Cyrene's upper terrace, it was surrounded on four sides by Doric columns and the open palaestra (exercise area) was the scene of races and other sporting contests.
In the second half of the 1st century AD, it was converted by the Romans into a Forum , where political meetings were held. In its Roman manifestation, the compound contained a civil basilica and a temple. Access was through two monumental gateways with four Doric columns. Now stripped of their main adornments, the open spaces wear a decidedly abandoned air.
