Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

Pleasure and Leisure 259
ing and the hoplitodromos, a foot race in armor. As soon as they
began school at about the age of seven, well-to-do Athenian boys
were entrusted to a professional trainer known as a paidotribês, who
worked in a palaistra or wrestling school. (Paidotribês means literally
“boy-rubber,” an allusion to the fact that he used oil to massage
his charges.) Athens contained many palaistrai, but none has been
fully excavated. Their general layout was similar to that of a Greek
house. The training ground was probably enclosed by a wall with
a verandah to provide shelter from the rain and sun. Most palaistrai
possessed a changing room, a bathroom, and a place to store
equipment.
Older athletes exercised naked in the gymnasium, a Greek word
whose root is the adjective gymnos (meaning naked or lightly clad).
Although many gymnasia were equipped with changing rooms and
other facilities, the basic requisite was a piece of level, open terrain
where athletes could practice javelin and discus throwing as well
as running. Gymnasia tended to be located near a river, enabling
athletes to refresh themselves and bathe after exercising. Although
only their foundations have survived, they were probably verdant
Athletes training: discus, long jump, javelin, and
wrestling. Courtesy akg-images, London.