If you’re like me, you probably can’t escape seeing and hearing about the exercise program called Pilates. Every gym and health club you see has a sign for it; bookstores have entire tables dedicated to it; and the main character in a book I recently read was such a devotee that she even sought out places to practice when she visited Russia. And if you’re like me, you’ve probably been wondering where the whole rage came from. So I decided to do some research, and this is what I found.

The following is a synopsis of the work done by Italian classical scholars Emilio Mario Stronzo and his wife Strega Stronzo. While working in the Vatican Library they discovered a long neglected manuscript that had been stuck into the writings of Pliny the Elder. What at first appeared to be some gladiator workout routine and schedule turned out upon more careful examination to be quite a lot more; in fact, it was the start of a modern exercise phenomenon.

Here is what the document revealed. As you might guess from the name of the exercise program itself, it derives from none other than Pontius Pilate, the Procurator of Judea of the New Testament.

It seems that Pilate was quite big on discipline and morale among the troops under him. However, when he arrived in Judea, he found both extremely lacking in the Roman soldiers garrisoned there. The wonderful Judean climate, the excellent nearby beaches, and the beautiful women from all over the world who passed through Jerusalem had made them soft. Uniforms were worn sloppily, armor was never polished, and curfews were ignored.

Pilate was at first shocked at the state of affairs, then depressed that the representatives of Rome, the army that had conquered Gaul, Greece, Egypt, etc., had come to such a state as this. He determined to turn things around. He spent a month gathering information. He went out late at night disguised as a merchant to the pubs and other places the soldiers frequented. He took a long weekend at the beach disguised as a sweet seller. (By the way, Pilate records in the document found by the Stronzo’s that he had a very successful weekend; he made enough to buy his wife a new gold necklace and himself a signet ring.)

When Pilate returned to Jerusalem, he decided on a plan of action. He called in all the Roman officers and centurions and told them what it was going to be. It was an exercise program designed to strengthen the soldiers both physically and mentally. It was to restore discipline to the ranks. It was to make the soldiers proud of their uniforms and return them to the lean, mean fighting machines they had been when they arrived in Judea.

The officers and centurions embraced the plan immediately and set about to implement it. An unused warehouse near the soldiers’ barracks was taken over and converted to a gymnasium. Workout teams were formed and team leaders were assigned. Pilate himself observed the workouts of the centurions and the enlisted men. He himself took part in a program with the most senior officers. This observation and participation allowed him to see what was working and what was not.

After about two months of this, according to the Stronzo articles, Pilate finalized the exercise routines and had them codified into a manual for the troops. It was Pilate’s personal copy of the manual that the Stronzo’s had discovered. It contained the details of how the program came about, written as a preface in the first person.

The program was a complete success. Within six months of its inception, the old spit and polish was back. The troops were sharp, disciplined, and ready. Pilate received a personal letter of commendation from Caesar himself.

Eventually Pilate returned to Rome. In an appendix to the manual discovered by the Stronzo’s Pilate writes how he tried to bring introduce his program to Rome. Things started out well, but then interest waned, although after he left Judea it remained the standard of training for Roman troops stationed there. The gymnasium was even named for Pilate himself.

And the rest, as they say, is history. The Stronzo’s published their findings in articles that appeared in various international journals of antiquity as well as in health and fitness magazines. They opened a gym and health club in an abandoned building near the Vatican, calling it the Pontius Pilate AC. Several more of these gyms have opened up in the larger Italian cities, such as Naples, Florence, and Venice, which added a swimming component to the program. They traveled to Jerusalem and believe they have located the site of Pilate’s original gym in the Old City and are currently negotiating with the Israeli government on opening a branch of their chain there. In fact, the health club business has been so time consuming for the Stronzo’s that they have given up their jobs as classical scholars to devote themselves full time to the management of their exercise program, which they dubbed Pilates, in honor of the man who founded it. And as you can see, they have been quite successful with their program.

So, the next time you see or hear about the Pilates program, know that you have Emilio and Strega Stronzo to thank for reviving this ancient practice.

Copyright © 2006 Kevin Brady