Palaestra
The word Palästra ( plural Palästren ; Greek παλαίστρα palaístra "ring court", Latin palaestra ) is derived from the Greek pale ( πάλη " wrestling ") and originally referred to an area covered with sand for training the wrestling matches or for the corresponding competitions . The fistfight also took place here. Together with the dromos , the palaestra formed the Greek gymnasium .
In the 6th century BC The palaestra was a purely sporting training facility with the function of securing military training, as was the case with the palaces attested in Athens and Sikyon .
In the 5th century BC In the 4th century BC the palaestra became a humanistic educational institution, in which both physical and spiritual education took place. Architecturally, the palaestra was transformed into a sophisticated complex: a large courtyard ( peristyle ) surrounded by columns with adjoining lounges and training rooms, of which Vitruvius names the following:
- ephebeum : changing room (originally the Ephebe ), also: Apodyterion .
- conisterium : practice room for wrestlers, "dust place", from Greek κόνις , "dust"
- coryceum : Exercise room for pugilists, from Greek corycus , a large leather sack filled with figs, flour and sand, which also served as a strength machine
- sphaeristerium : practice room for ball games, from Greek σφαῖρα sphaera "ball", "play ball"
- elaeothesium : massage and ointment room, also: ἀλειπτήριον aleiptérion , from ἄλειμμα aleimma "ointment".
Furthermore, there were already various bath rooms (lutron) in the Greek palaestra .
Palaces of this kind are the Pompeion in Athens and the complexes in Epidaurus , Olympia , Priene and Delos . Originally located on the periphery, the palaestra moved closer to the center of the city (as in Corinth , Pergamon and Miletus ) after it had become a public institution. Apodyteries and baths were financed by the state, although the palaestra was reserved exclusively for the upper class as a training facility until the imperial era.
From the Romans, the palaestra finally became part of the complex of larger thermal baths . In Pompeii alone there were several plants, e.g. B. the Great Palaestra or the Palaestra in the Stabian thermal baths . In addition to wrestling matches, outdoor ball games were held here ( pila harpasta, pila paganica or pila follis , a type of beach volleyball with different types of ball), ludere expulsim , a type of tennis without a racket, where you hit the ball with your open hand, ludere datatim , similar to the Chinese fireball, and trine : three players stand at the corners of a triangle painted on the floor and throw balls at each other without prior notice, which should be knocked back but not caught. There was also strength training, also for women, with lead or stone weights in the form of dumbbells . Children practiced driving tires .
The god of the palaestra was Hermes , who was also worshiped there ( Hermaea ).
literature
- Jean Delorme: Gymnasion. Étude sur les monuments consacrés a l'éducation en Grèce. Bibliothèque des Écoles Françaises d'Athènes et de Rome Vol. 196. de Boccard, Paris 1960.
- Almut von Gladiß : Palaistra. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 4, Stuttgart 1972, Col. 417 f.
- Stephen Lloyd Glass: Palaistra and gymnasium in Greek architecture. Pennsylvania 1968
- Christoph Höcker : Metzler Lexicon of Ancient Architecture. 2nd edition Metzler, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-476-02294-3 . P. 183
- William Smith : A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. John Murray, London 1875. p. 849. Online: [2] (Lacus Curtius, Engl.)
- Willy Zschietzschmann : Competition and practice sites in Greece. Vol. 2: Palaestra - Gymnasion. Contributions to teaching and research in physical education, Vol. 8. Hofmann, Schorndorf 1961
Web links
- Vitruv de architectura 5.11 - Perseus Project (English and Latin)