The Palaistra at Olympia was built in the late 3rd century BC during the reign of Hellenistic king Ptolemy II. The substantial square building covered over 4400 m2, and enclosed a large peristyle courtyard. Although nothing remains of the brick superstructure and tiled roof of the building, its general layout can be deduced from the surviving columns of the peristyle. The courtyard itself was large, and mostly unpaved. However, a small strip of pavement composed of smooth and fluted tiles was found in the north corner of the courtyard. The purpose of the strip is unknown, although it has been suggested that the patch was used as an ancient bowling alley (J. Swaddling). Nineteen rooms have been identified around the courtyard, the uses of which are detailed by the Roman architect Vitruvius: among the 19 chambers were rooms for oiling, powdering, changing, bathing and storage. However, the most important use the Palaistra was to provide indoor training rooms for athletes during bad weather. Because of this, nearly all the rooms were equipped with stone benches for spectators. The largest room, located on the north side of the Palaistra, contained nine Ionic columns on the façade and had benches around all the sides. This was possibly a changing room, although it may have served as a common room for use by athletes and philosophers during their stay at Olympia (P Valavanis). Athletes stayed at Olympia only during the games. The month prior to the games, they trained at the gymnasia of Elis (P Valavanis).

References

Biers, William R. The Archaeology of Greece. Cornell University Press, Ithica; 1996

Gardiner, E. Norman. Olympia: Its History and Remains. Clarendon Press, London; 1925

Schobel, Heinz. The Ancient Olympic Games. D. Van Nostrand Compay, Princeton; 1965

Swaddling, Judith. The Ancient Olympic Games. British Museum Press, London; 2004

Valavanis, Panos. Games and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece. Getty Publications, Los Angeles; 2004

Vitruvius. The Ten Books on Architecture (translation by M. H. Morgan) Harvard University Press, Cambridge; 1914

Yalouris, Nikolaos. Olympia: Altis and Museum. Verlag Schnell & Steiner Munchen, Zurich; 1976