Palaístra in Galen

Abstract

The term palaístra appears 52 times in Galen. The doctor gives us a lot of information. I will highlight some essential points: 1. Galen tells us about the only emperor (Marcus Aurelius) who was fond of the palaestra, indicating when he went to it and what he did there; 2. He censorships how athletes exhibited their strength in the palaestra, and also highlights the excess weight in some of them due to their unbalanced diet based on a lot of meat; 3. He notes that the athletes' fights could be carried out well in the palaestra or in a place where there was fairly deep dust. He stops at several of the holds that the fighters made with their arms and legs. He adds different considerations about how he treated several seriously injured people in the palaestra. He mentions the “specialists in the foreground” as well as the risks to which excessive physical exercises led; 4. He stops at the frictions given in the palaestra; 5. He tells us about halteres and their relevance in some gymnastic exercises typical of the palaestra. 6. He alludes to various actions of meirákioi, “boys” (the singular refers to an age between 18 and 25 years) and neanískoi, “young men” (the singular refers to those between 25 and 35 years old) in relation to the palaestra; 7. He talks about the presence of paîdes ("children", whose age ranges from newborn to 18 years old) in the aforementioned, mentioning various accidents suffered. He stops at how children were trained to climb a rope to gain strength; 8. Regarding an epileptic child, he recommends the drug that should be taken every day before going to the palaestra; 9. The sweat from those who do physical exercises mixed with the dirt of the palaestra was effective for the dispersion of tumors contrary to nature.