The palaestra at Delphi is part of a gymnasium at the sanctuary. It is the oldest existing gymnasium from the Greek world, dating to the second half of the fourth century B.C. It was built on two terraces, with the palaestra and baths on the lower terrace. The frequent earthquakes and landslides at Delphi have damaged the palaestra the most seriously of all of the gymnasium areas.
The palaestra is small, measuring thirty-two metres square. The central court is 14 metres square with an Ionicperistyle in blue limestone. The eastern wall of the palaestra is formed by the retaining wall for the terrace above. Several rooms open onto the north and west sides of the court. There are three rooms of identical dimensions (8 X 5.80 meters) along the north side of the palaestra. The middle of the three rooms was faced with two columns in antis and divided by a wall pierced with a door. Along the west side of the building there are also three rooms. The large room in the northwest corner measures 11 by 6.80 metres. Moving south, the two other rooms measure 7 by 10.70 and 11.50 by 10.70 meters, respectively.
For the most part, the uses of these rooms cannot be determined. Inscriptions have been found indicating that among these rooms were an apodyterion (undressing room) and two sphairisteria (ball play courts or rooms). The other rooms would certainly have included an elaiothesion (oiling room) and konisterion (dusting room), as dust (i.e. powder in the form of fine sand) and oil were essential parts of the athletic regime (the wrestlers anointed themselves with oil and sprinkled themselves with fine sand).
The palaestra itself did not include any bathing rooms because a bathing facility was built directly to the north along the same terrace. A corridor in the north side of the palaestra leads to the baths. The bathhouse or loutrón had eleven animal head spouts, through which water flowed from a nearby spring into ten basins and a large plunge bath 9.70 metres in diameter and 1.904 metres deep.
Sentō (銭湯) is a type of Japanese communal bathhouse where customers pay for entrance. Traditionally these bathhouses have been quite utilitarian, with a tall barrier separating the sexes within one large room, a minimum of lined up faucets on both sides, and a single large bath for the already washed bathers to sit in among others. Since the second half of the 20th century, these communal bathhouses have been decreasing in numbers as more and more Japanese residences now have baths. Some Japanese find social importance in going to public baths, out of the theory that physical proximity/intimacy brings emotional intimacy, which is termed skinship in pseudo-English Japanese. Others go to a sentō because they live in a small housing facility without a private bath or to enjoy bathing in a spacious room and to relax in saunas or jet baths that often accompany new or renovated sentōs.
In ancient Rome, thermae and balneae were facilities for bathing. Thermae usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while balneae were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout Rome.
The Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Roman public baths, or thermae. The baths were likely built between AD 212 and 216/217, during the reigns of emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla. They were in operation until the 530s and then fell into disuse and ruin.
A palaestra 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 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, 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 Baths of Diocletian were public baths in ancient Rome, in what is now Italy. Named after emperor Diocletian and built from 298 AD to 306 AD, they were the largest of the imperial baths. The project was originally commissioned by Maximian upon his return to Rome in the autumn of 298 and was continued after his and Diocletian's abdication under Constantius, father of Constantine.
The Baths of Titus or Thermae Titi were public baths (Thermae) built in 81 AD at Rome, by Roman emperor Titus. The baths sat at the base of the Esquiline Hill, an area of parkland and luxury estates which had been taken over by Nero for his Golden House or Domus Aurea. Titus' baths were built in haste, possibly by converting an existing or partly built bathing complex belonging to the reviled Domus Aurea. They were not particularly extensive, and the much larger Baths of Trajan were built immediately adjacent to them at the start of the next century.
The Baths of Trajan were a massive thermae, a bathing and leisure complex, built in ancient Rome starting from 104 AD and dedicated during the Kalends of July in 109. Commissioned by Emperor Trajan, the complex of baths occupied space on the southern side of the Oppian Hill on the outskirts of what was then the main developed area of the city, although still inside the boundary of the Servian Wall. The architect of the complex is said to be Apollodorus of Damascus. The baths were being utilized mainly as a recreational and social center by Roman citizens, both men and women, as late as the early 5th century. The complex seems to have been deserted soon afterwards as a cemetery dated to the 5th century has been found in front of the northeastern exedra. The baths were thus no longer in use at the time of the siege of Rome by the Ostrogoths in 537; with the destruction of the Roman aqueducts, all thermae were abandoned, as was the whole of the now-waterless Mons Oppius. Early Christian writers misnamed the remains the 'Baths of Domitian'.
Tlos is an ancient ruined Lycian hilltop citadel near the resort town of Seydikemer in the Mugla Province of southern Turkey, some 4 kilometres northwest of Saklikent Gorge. Tlos is believed to be one of the most important religious Lycian sites and settlement on the site is said to have begun more than 4,000 years ago.
The Baths of Agrippa was a structure of ancient Rome, in what is now Italy, built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. It was the first of the great thermae constructed in the city, and also the first public bath.
Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities and was practiced across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity conducted in the home, bathing in Rome was a communal activity. While the extremely wealthy could afford bathing facilities in their homes, most people bathed in the communal baths (thermae). In some ways, these resembled modern-day destination spas. The Romans raised bathing to high art as they socialized in these communal baths. Courtship was conducted and sealing business deals, as they built lavish baths on natural hot springs.
The Suburban Baths are a building in Pompeii, Italy, a town in the Italian region of Campania that was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which consequently preserved it.
Bathhouse Row is a collection of bathhouses, associated buildings, and gardens located at Hot Springs National Park in the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The bathhouses were included in 1832 when the Federal Government took over four parcels of land to preserve 47 natural hot springs, their mineral waters which lack the sulphur odor of most hot springs, and their area of origin on the lower slopes of Hot Springs Mountain.
A diaulos, in ancient Greek architecture, was a peristyle round the great court of the palaestra, described by Vitruvius, which measured two stadia in length, on the south side this peristyle had two rows of columns, so that in stormy weather the rain might not be driven into the inner part.
A conisterium was an apartment in Greek and Roman gymnasiums. It was where sand or dust was stored, for use by wrestlers after they had been anointed with oil. They would either sprinkle it on themselves, or a slave would do it. The purpose of this was so that during a fight, the oil or sweat would not prevent a wrestler from having a good grip on his opponent. After a fight, or exercise, the powder was rubbed off with strigils, before the wrestler had a bath.
The Roman Baths of Ankara are the ruined remains of an ancient Roman bath complex in Ankara, Turkey, which were uncovered by excavations carried out in 1937-1944, and have subsequently been opened to the public as an open-air museum.
Idebessos or Idebessus, also known as Edebessus or Edebessos or, was an ancient city in Lycia. It was located at the foot of the Bey Mountains to the west of the Alakır river valley. Today its ruins are found a short distance to the west of the small village of Kozağacı in the Kumluca district of Antalya Province, Turkey. The site, 21 kilometres north-northwest of Kumluca, is overgrown with forest and hard to reach.
Kitanaura was an ancient city in Lycia. Its ruins are located near Saraycık, a small village in the Kumluca district of Antalya Province, Turkey.
Greek baths were bath complexes suitable for bathing and cleaning in ancient Greece, similar in concept to that of the Roman baths. Greek baths are a feature of some Hellenized countries.
The Gymnasium at Delphi is a building complex of the 4th century BC at Delphi, Greece, which comprised the xystus and the palaestra, along with its auxiliary buildings such as the changing rooms and baths. It was situated between the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia and the fountain Castalia. Some remains of archaic buildings, discovered under the xystus, were possibly related to a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter and indicate the sanctity of the area from earlier times.
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