For the mythological characters, see Palaestra (mythology). For the sports arena in Philadelphia, see Palestra. For the Japanese mixed martial arts and grappling team, see Paraestra.
A palaestra (/pəˈliːstrə/ or /-ˈlaɪ-/;[1] also (chiefly British) palestra; Greek: παλαίστρα)[2] was any site of an ancient Greekwrestling school. Events requiring little space, such as boxing and wrestling, took place there. Palaestrae functioned both independently and as a part of public gymnasia; a palaestra could exist without a gymnasium, but no gymnasium existed without a palaestra.
Look up palaestra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Compare Ancient Greekpalaiein - "to wrestle" and palē - "wrestling".
Palaestrophylax or palaistrophylax (Greek: παλαιστροφύλαξ), meaning “palaestra guard”, was the guardian or the director of a Palaestra.[3]
Architecture
Greek
Plan of the palaestra at Olympia (left) and reconstruction of Vitruvius' description of the palaestra (right), from a 1914 translation of Vitruvius. The plan on the left incorporates guesswork, as the west side has been eroded by a river (the oblique angle is forced by the wider layout of the sanctuary). The xysta are also guesswork. On the right, the letters indicate: Exedrae (A), ephebeum (B), punching-bag room (C), conisterium (D), cold washing room (E), oil storeroom (F), cold bath room (G), furnace room (H), sauna (I), Laconicum (K), hot bath (L).
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. Good examples of this building type come from two major Greek sites: Olympia and Delphi.
Vitruvius, through his text De architectura, is an important ancient source about this building type and provides a description of the Palaestra, "as constructed by the Greeks" in Book 5, chapter 11. Although the specifics of his descriptions do not always correspond to the architectural evidence, probably because he was a Roman author primarily interested in Italian architecture, his account provides insight into the general design and uses of this type of space. As Vitruvius describes it, the palaestra was square or rectangular in shape with colonnades along all four sides creating porticoes, with a total internal perimeter of two stadia (the length of the diaulos race, thus modern scholars sometimes refer to this whole structure as a diaulos). The portico on the northern side of the palaestra was of double depth to protect against the weather. Rounded halls with seats (exedrae, ἐξέδραι) were built along the single depth sides of the palaestra for the use of philosophers, orators, and other scholars. The double-depth side was divided into three sections. In the centre was a larger exedra (ephebeum) for use by the ephebes (young adult men undergoing state-run education/military training). On the left there was a punching bag room (coryceum, κωρυκεῖον), a storeroom for sand/powder used to improve wrestlers' grip (conisterium, κονιστἠριον), and a room for cold bathing (loutrón, λουτρόν). On the right there was an oil storeroom (elaeothesium, ἐλαιοθέσιον), a cold pool (frigidarium), a furnace (propnigeum, προπνίγειον), a vaulted sauna (sudatio), a dry sweating-room (laconicum), and a hot bath. To the north of the palaestra was a second courtyard, surrounded by porticoes on three sides, but open on the north. One of these porticoes was double-width and contained a covered wrestling arena (ξυστός, Romanised as "xystus") for use during inclement weather. The space between the three porticoes contained walkways lined with trees (xysta to the Romans, παραδρομίδες, "paradromides" to the Greeks).[4]
^Nuttall, P. Austin (1840). A Classical and Archaeological Dictionary of the Manners, Customs, Laws, Institutions, Arts, Etc. of the Celebrated Nations of Antiquity, and of the Middle Ages: To which is Prefixed A Synoptical and Chronological View of Ancient History. Whittaker and Company. p. 358.
^"Vitruvius on Architecture: Book V, chapter 11". LacusCurtius. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
palaestra, mythological, characters, mythology, sports, arena, philadelphia, palestra, japanese, mixed, martial, arts, grappling, team, paraestra, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citation. For the mythological characters see Palaestra mythology For the sports arena in Philadelphia see Palestra For the Japanese mixed martial arts and grappling team see Paraestra This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Palaestra news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message A palaestra p e ˈ l iː s t r e or ˈ l aɪ 1 also chiefly British palestra Greek palaistra 2 was any site of an ancient Greek wrestling school Events requiring little space such as boxing and wrestling took place there Palaestrae functioned both independently and as a part of public gymnasia a palaestra could exist without a gymnasium but no gymnasium existed without a palaestra The palaestra at Olympia Greece Contents 1 Etymology 2 Architecture 2 1 Greek 2 2 Roman baths 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEtymology Edit Look up palaestra in Wiktionary the free dictionary Compare Ancient Greek palaiein to wrestle and pale wrestling Palaestrophylax or palaistrophylax Greek palaistrofyla3 meaning palaestra guard was the guardian or the director of a Palaestra 3 Architecture EditGreek Edit Plan of the palaestra at Olympia left and reconstruction of Vitruvius description of the palaestra right from a 1914 translation of Vitruvius The plan on the left incorporates guesswork as the west side has been eroded by a river the oblique angle is forced by the wider layout of the sanctuary The xysta are also guesswork On the right the letters indicate Exedrae A ephebeum B punching bag room C conisterium D cold washing room E oil storeroom F cold bath room G furnace room H sauna I Laconicum K hot bath L 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 Good examples of this building type come from two major Greek sites Olympia and Delphi Vitruvius through his text De architectura is an important ancient source about this building type and provides a description of the Palaestra as constructed by the Greeks in Book 5 chapter 11 Although the specifics of his descriptions do not always correspond to the architectural evidence probably because he was a Roman author primarily interested in Italian architecture his account provides insight into the general design and uses of this type of space As Vitruvius describes it the palaestra was square or rectangular in shape with colonnades along all four sides creating porticoes with a total internal perimeter of two stadia the length of the diaulos race thus modern scholars sometimes refer to this whole structure as a diaulos The portico on the northern side of the palaestra was of double depth to protect against the weather Rounded halls with seats exedrae ἐ3edrai were built along the single depth sides of the palaestra for the use of philosophers orators and other scholars The double depth side was divided into three sections In the centre was a larger exedra ephebeum for use by the ephebes young adult men undergoing state run education military training On the left there was a punching bag room coryceum kwrykeῖon a storeroom for sand powder used to improve wrestlers grip conisterium konistἠrion and a room for cold bathing loutron loytron On the right there was an oil storeroom elaeothesium ἐlaio8esion a cold pool frigidarium a furnace propnigeum propnigeion a vaulted sauna sudatio a dry sweating room laconicum and a hot bath To the north of the palaestra was a second courtyard surrounded by porticoes on three sides but open on the north One of these porticoes was double width and contained a covered wrestling arena 3ystos Romanised as xystus for use during inclement weather The space between the three porticoes contained walkways lined with trees xysta to the Romans paradromides paradromides to the Greeks 4 Roman baths Edit During the Roman Imperial period the palaestra was often combined with or joined to a full bathing complex citation needed When the Arabs and the Turks adopted the tradition of Roman baths as the hammam they did not continue the tradition of the attached palaestra citation needed See also EditPalaestra at Olympia Palaestra at DelphiReferences Edit Article title palaistra Liddell Henry George Scott Robert A Greek English Lexicon at the Perseus Project Nuttall P Austin 1840 A Classical and Archaeological Dictionary of the Manners Customs Laws Institutions Arts Etc of the Celebrated Nations of Antiquity and of the Middle Ages To which is Prefixed A Synoptical and Chronological View of Ancient History Whittaker and Company p 358 Vitruvius on Architecture Book V chapter 11 LacusCurtius Retrieved 3 January 2022 External links Edit Palaestra Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Perseus Digital Library Olympia Perseus Digital Library Delphi Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Palaestra amp oldid 1138752467, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
