The palaestra was the ancient Greek wrestling school. The events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing and wrestling, were practiced there. The palaestra functioned both independently and as a part of public gymnasia. A palaestra could exist without a gymnasium, but no gymnasium could exist without a palaestra. For the Greek and Roman sports arenas, see Palaestra The Palestra is a historic arena and the home gym of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers mens and womens basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 mens basketball. ... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... For other meanings of these words, see boxing (disambiguation) or boxer. ... FILA Greatest Wrestler of 20th Century (Greco-Roman) Alexander Karelin throws Olympian Jeff Blatnick with his Karelin Lift. Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. ... Pompeii gymnasium, seen from the top of the stadium wall. ...

Architecture of the palaestra

The architecture of the palaestra, although allowing for some variation, followed a distinct, standard plan. The palaestra essentially consisted of a rectangular court surrounded by colonnades with adjoining rooms. These rooms might house a variety of functions: bathing, ball playing, undressing and storage of clothes, seating for socializing, observation, or instruction, and storage of oil, dust or athletic equipment. Vitruvius, through his text On Architecture, is an important ancient source about this building type and provides many details about what he calls ?palaistra, Greek-style?. Although the specifics of his descriptions do not always correspond to the architectural evidence, probably because he was writing around 27 BC, his account provides insight into the general design and uses of this type of space. As Vitruvius describes, the palaestra was square or rectangular in shape with colonnades along all four sides creating porticoes. The portico on the northern side of the palaestra was of double depth to protect against the weather. Spacious halls (exedrae) were built along the single depth sides of the palaestra with seats for those enjoying intellectual pursuits, and the double depth side was divided into an area for youth activities (ephebeum), a punching bag area (coryceum), a room for applying powders (conisterium), a room for cold bathing, and an oil storeroom (elaeothesium). The restored Stoa of Attalus, Athens Architecture, executed to considered design, was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period (about 1200 BC) to the 7th century BC, when urban life and prosperity recovered to a point where public building could be undertaken. ... Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c. ... ojuooiuououoieerwerwerwerwerwwe Year 27 BC was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Categories: Architectural elements | Stub ... Categories: Stub | Exercise equipment | Boxing ...

Good examples of this building type come from two major Greek sites: Olympia and Delphi. Olympia among the principal Greek sanctuaries Olympia (Greek: Olympía or Olýmpia, older transliterations, Olimpia, Olimbia), a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. ... For other uses, see Delphi (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Palaestra at Olympia
• Palaestra at Delphi

The palaestra at Olympia is part of the gymnasium at the sanctuary. ... The palaestra at Delphi is part of a gymnasium at the sanctuary. ...

External links

• Perseus Digital Library, Olympia
• Perseus Digital Library, Delphi