Burkhard Emme The Emergence and Significance of the Palaestra Type in Greek Architecture Summary This paper explores the significance of palaestrae as a character- Seit ihrem Aufkommen im 4. Jh. v.Chr. bildeten Palästren die istic architectural feature of Greek gymnasia. First, the identifi- typische Bauform griechischer Gymnasien. Der Beitrag dis- cation of palaestrae from the archaeological evidence is exam- kutiert Funktion und Bedeutung dieser Architekturform aus ined. While gymnasia were identified based on the existence zwei Perspektiven. Einerseits wird die Identifikation mehrerer of a peristyle courtyard alone in earlier research, I argue that Bauten kritisch hinterfragt (Argos, Epidauros, Milet, Paestum, only the combination of peristyle, exedra and loutron is suf- Sikyon). Davon ausgehend wird die Kombination von Peristyl- ficient evidence for the secure identification of a building as hof, Exedra und Waschraum (Lutron) als ein Kriterienkatalog a palaestra. Second, the interrelation of gymnasia and general definiert, mit dessen Hilfe sich in aller Regel die typologische developments of Greek architecture and urban design are dis- Deutung eines Baus als Palästra begründen lässt. Andererseits cussed. Since gymnasia were a vital part of urban landscapes wird die Bedeutung des Peristylmotivs vor dem weiteren Hin- from the 4th century BC onwards, the architectural shape of tergrund des zeitgenössischen Städtebaus erörtert. Dabei wird palaestrae is closely related to contemporaneous concepts of deutlich, dass das Peristyl auch im Fall der Gymnasia zur Schaf- diversification of urban space, and social exclusiveness. fung funktional sowie sozial exklusiver Räume genutzt wurde. Keywords: gymnasia; palaestra; Greek architecture; loutron; Keywords: Gymnasion; Palästra; Griechische Architektur; exedra; peristyle Lutron; Exedra; Peristyl Ulrich Mania and Monika Trümper (eds.) | Development of Gymnasia and Graeco-Roman Cityscapes | Berlin Studies of the Ancient World 58 (ISBN 978-3-9819685-0-7; ISSN (Print) 2366-6641; ISSN (Online) 2366-665X; DOI 10.17171/3-58) | www.edition-topoi.org 143 burkhard emme The interrelation of gymnasia and Graeco-Roman terms of Greek epigraphy, one might say that the palaes- cityscapes is reciprocal. On the one hand, the develop- tra usually was the epiphanestatos topos of each gymna- ment of the institution of the Greek gymnasium took sium. In addition, the obvious importance of the palaes- place within the framework of the Greek and Roman trae buildings is further emphasized by the chronologi- city, its physical shape and the political and religious in- cal development of many gymnasia. As Christian Wacker stitutions of the polis. On the other hand, gymnasia had pointed out in his study of the palaestra at Olympia, an impact on the city as a whole. As architecturally de- palaestra buildings were usually the earliest architectural fined spaces, gymnasia were part of the urban landscape structures that were constructed within a gymnasial en- from the 4th century BC onwards; as a vital place of in- semble.3 The apparent ubiquity of this building type teraction, the gymnasium usually formed a crucial part regularly led scholars to the assumption that, in turn, of the social life of the polis. Therefore, in order to arrive a building with a peristyle is often likely to be a gymna- at a better understanding of the meaning of gymnasia sium. and their architectural form it is inevitable to consider The reason for this equation lies in the history of both, the architectural development of Greek cityscapes modern archaeology and in the excavation of Olympia in general as well as that of Greek gymnasia in partic- in particular. It was as early as 1876 that excavations un- ular. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is twofold: in der the auspices of the German archaeological institute the first part, I will discuss palaestrae as the most typical led to the rediscovery of a building that was immediately architectural feature of Greek gymnasia. In the second identified as the palaestra mentioned by Pausanias.4 Fur- part, I will focus on the significance of the peristyle as thermore, the palaestra at Olympia was considered to be an architectural type in general. in accordance with the description of the ideal Greek gymnasium by Vitruvius.5 Due to its correspondence with these literary sources, the palaestra at Olympia soon 1 Peristyles and (false) Palaestrae became an important model for the interpretation of other peristyle buildings and was regularly referred to as In terms of architecture, probably the most characteris- such. Therefore, the impact of the palaestra at Olympia tic feature of many Greek gymnasia was the palaestra. on the interpretation of allegedly similar buildings espe- It is commonly accepted that Greek gymnasia usually cially in the late 19th and early 20th century can hardly comprised a number of separate architectural structures. be underestimated. This is easily illustrated by looking This was the case in Amphipolis, Olympia, Priene, and at a number of comparable structures at other sites, that many other places (Pl. 1). Typical buildings that could be have originally, though wrongly, been identified as gym- part of a gymnasial compound include facilities for run- nasia mostly with explicit reference to the building in ning like xystoi and stadia as well as bathing facilities and Olympia (Pl. 2). sanctuaries.1 The presence or absence of all these struc- For instance a major building in the sanctuary of tures within an architectural ensemble seems to differ Asklepios at Epidauros was identified as a gymnasium by according to local conditions. However, nearly all gym- its excavator Panagiotis Kavvadias in 1900 (Pl. 2).6 How- nasia had a peristyle building that is referred to typolog- ever, further research conducted by August Frickenhaus ically as palaestra.2 With regard to their function, palaes- and successively by Richard Tomlinson proved that this trae can be considered the focal unit of each gymnasium. building served as a dining establishment due to the in- It is usually within the palaestrae where the majority of stallation of klinai within the major rooms.7 Similarly, a imagery was set up, where prestigious donations of spe- building in the extraurban sanctuary of Hera near Argos cific parts of the architecture can be observed, etc. In the was considered a gymnasium by the excavators due to 1 For these components see Delorme 1960, 253–260; Wacker 1996, 61–66. 6 Kavvadias 1901, 143–154; Kavvadias 1901, 48–51: συμφωνεῖ τὸ οἰκοδό- 2 For the term palaestra see Delorme 1960, 260–271. μημα τῇ τοῦ Βιτρουβίου περιγραφῇ, […] συμφωνεῖ πλειότερον καὶ του ἐν 3 Wacker 1996, 61–66. Ὀλυμπίᾳ ἀποκαλυφθέντος μικροῦ Γυμνασίου ἢ παλαίστρα. 4 Paus. 6.21.2; Adler, Borrmann, and Dörpfeld 1892, 113–121. 7 Frickenhaus 1917, 131–133; Tomlinson 1969, 106–117; Tomlinson 1983, 5 Vitr. 5.11.1. 78–84; Leypold 2008, 60–68. 144 the emergence and significance of the palaestra type in greek architecture the existence of a peristyle courtyard.8 It was once again a central courtyard include a building in Aï Khanoum as Frickenhaus who could prove that the building was used well as the so-called ‘Asclepieion’ at Paestum.17 Whereas as a setting for symposia due to the evidence of klinai in the identification of the first building has been chal- the three rooms that open onto the peristyle courtyard.9 lenged by Inge Nielsen, who interpreted it as part of the Similarly, a building at Miletus has been identified as a extensive palatial quarters of Aï Khanoum,18 the exam- ‘Hellenistic Gymnasium’ by its excavator Theodor Wie- ple in Paestum is likely to be another example of a lavish gand.10 This interpretation was based mainly on the al- dining hall from the early Hellenistic period.19 leged similarity to the lower gymnasium at Priene that These examples illustrate that the general assump- had been excavated about 10 years earlier by Wiegand, tion that a building with a peristyle court must be in- as well.11 In addition, the excavators considered the ad- terpreted as a gymnasium became something like a self- jacent thermae of Capito a later addition to the original fulfilling prophecy within the archaeology of the early gymnasial structure.12 However, whereas the secondary 20th century. Contrarily, the problem of the identifica- addition of bathing facilities to pre-existing gymnasia is tion of palaestrae shows that the most conspicuous fea- generally a common phenomenon in Asia minor in the ture of this building type, i.e. the peristyle, was used for Roman Imperial era, this rule does not apply to the case structures with a variety of other functions, as well. This of Miletus. In this case, no attempt was made to connect observation leads to two implications. 1.) Since a peri- the thermae by adding a door to the northern back wall style courtyard alone is not sufficient evidence for the of the Hellenistic building (Pl. 3). identification of a palaestra or gymnasium, more spe- Since washing facilities have not been safely identi- cific criteria need to be defined in order to securely iden- fied in the original structure, it seems very unlikely that tify these buildings from the archaeological evidence. 2.) this building functioned as a gymnasium at any point of Since the peristyle as an architectural feature is not re- its history. Due to its position at the center of the city as stricted to gymnasia, the significance of this architectural well as its spatial and chronological relationship to the type must lie beyond the concrete function of the indi- neighboring bouleuterion the alleged Hellenistic gym- vidual building. Therefore, in order to arrive at a proper nasium of Miletus might have housed a political or ad- understanding of the phenomenon of Greek palaestrae ministrative institution of the city, instead.13 Yet another it is inevitable to consider some general developments of example is the case of the gymnasium at Sikyon.