Palaestra at Olympia

For Graeco-Roman palaestrae in general, see Palaestra.
Palaestra at Olympia
παλαίστρα ἐν Όλυμπία
View of the palaestra from outside the southeast corner
From outside the southeast corner
Plan of the Olympic site at ancient Olympia, Greece
On the northwest side, beside the Kladeos River, item 21 shows the square palaistra adjoining the archaeological gymnasium at item 20 on the north. Across the ancient/modern access road is the prytanion at item 2.[note 1]
Alternative nameGymnasium at Olympia
LocationElis
RegionPeloponnesus
Altitude37 m (121 ft)
Typeperistyle building
Part ofarchaeological site of ancient Olympia
Length66.35 m (217.7 ft)
Width66.75 m (219.0 ft)
Area4,428.86 m2 (1.09440 acres)
History
MaterialStone foundations, brick upper walls covered with mortar probably decorated, wooden entablature
Founded3rd century BC
Satellite ofThe gymnasion
EventsTraining for wrestling, boxing, and the pankration
Site notes
ArchaeologistsGerman Archaeological Institute at Athens
ConditionFoundations, partial columns, some restored columns.
OwnershipMinistry of Culture and Sports (Greece)
Public accessyes with ticket to the park
Architecture
Architectural stylesMainly Doric porticos, but also Ionian and Corinthian for doorways
Architectural detailsPeristyle building, nearly square, stoas on the peribolos, rooms outside of them all the way around, adjoins and connects to gymnasion
Grandiose (Corinthian) entrance building to the gymnasion, palaestra on left, dromoi on right.
North end of dromoi in the gymnasion. The portico here is believed by some to have been a covered alternative to the uncovered running track for use when it rains. If not that then it shelters spectators or anyone: athletes or trainers, from the sun. North entrance to park seen on upper right. On the far left are modern walls delineating the excavation from private land.

The palaestra at Olympia (Greek παλαίστρ-α, -αι, "wrestling ground or grounds," Latin palaestr-a, -ae, with Greek ἐν Όλυμπία, Latin in Olympia) is the ground or grounds in ancient Olympia where πάλη, Doric πάλα, "wrestling," was taught and performed for training purposes; i.e., "wrestling-school." Two other martial arts were taught there: Greek πυγμή (pygme), Latin pugnus, "fist, boxing," and Greek παγκράτιον, Latin pancration or pancratium, "any method," which was free-style, or hand-to-hand, including grappling, kicking, punching, or any unarmed method whatever, no holds barred. The latter was sometimes deadly, or disfiguring (with permission), which indicates that the arts were ephebic, or "soldier" training for prospective citizens of the city-state sponsoring the school, such as Elis, but here combined with prospective candidacy for contention in the games. Be that as it may, none of the games were conducted without rules, umpires, and judges, who did not hesitate to stop contests, fine contenders with in some cases amounts prohibiting future participation, or bar flagrant violators.

The architecture of the martial arts school was standard in the Graeco-Roman world: a hollow square bordered all around by a peribolos ("border"), here a roofed portico, which in turn was bordered by rooms looking inward, and another border outside of it consisting of rooms facing outward, back-to-back with the inner rooms. The outer rooms possibly housed the resident population of athletes-in-training. The layout is standard military similar to that of a camp hospital, which placed patients in the outer rooms and grew medicinal herbs in the quadrangle.
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