THE PTOLEMAION

The Ptolemaïon (of "Ptolemy", name of the Lagides sovereigns of Egypt in the Hellenistic era who founded it), Greek gymnasium for the physical and military exercises of cyrénéenne youth, date of the second century B.C. Its esplanade, surrounded by a colonnade, measure 96 m out of 85. It was transformed into a forum in Roman times and took the name Caseareum. At the centre, a collapsed temple was dedicated to Dionysus, whose statue is now in the British Museum. The Romans replaced the buildings on the north side by a judicial basilica where the major trials were held.

By leaving the large southern gate of the ptolémaïon, the road leads to the right, which was the great road that was the original heart of the Greek city and served as Decumanus (main axis) in Roman times, going to the acropolis through the agora. From the ptolémaïon to the agora, the portico at the Hermès (one will notice several busts of Hermès and Ruins), a long gallery which served as a race track, then in the second century, a covered passage between the forum and the agora. In front of the ptolémaïon, a small Roman theatre (262 th century) replaced the historiography after the earthquake in. Adjoining the façade is the ptolémaïon, the historiography dates from Roman times.