On arriving at the chosen palaistra with his paidagogos the boy would find a class assembling. He would first go into the undressing-room[366] and strip. For all the exercises were performed naked. This no doubt gave the trainer a good opportunity of watching which muscles most required development, and what constitutional weaknesses, if any, must be treated circumspectly. Passing into the palaistra proper, the boy would find an enclosure surrounded, in the case of the more expensive schools, with pillars. There would be no roof. Hellenic custom maintained that it was healthy to expose the naked body to the open air and the mid-day sun: a white skin was regarded as a sign of effeminacy.[367] If the sun became dangerously hot, little caps were worn, which at other times hung on the walls of the palaistra. The floor was sand. Before wrestling or practising the pankration or jumping, the boys had to break up the soil with pickaxes[368] in order to make it soft: these pickaxes were also suspended on the walls. Beside them would be also kôrukoi or punch-balls, haltêres (a sort of dumb-bell, used for jumping and other exercises), the scrapers with which the dirt and sweat were removed, bags to hold the cords which were used as boxing-gloves, and spare javelins. Grown-up men were not allowed to enter during the lessons, but could apparently, if they wished, watch “from outside,” that is, probably, from the dressing-room, where we often find Sokrates conversing with the pupils, boys and lads: he could not, probably, penetrate further.
The symbol of office which marked the paidotribes was a long forked stick depicted in the vases.[369] This was probably derived from the branch which the umpires at the games held in their hands. The two symbols are so much alike when represented on the vases[370] that it is often hard to distinguish them. There were generally several under-masters in the palaistra. The more proficient boys also were employed in teaching backward schoolfellows; these “pupil-teachers” appear on vases,[371] holding the stick of office like the grown-up masters. No doubt, poor boys managed to get instruction in this manner from their richer friends in the public gymnasia and palaistrai, without attending a school at all.
The staff of a palaistra also included professional flute-players, for most of the exercises[372] were performed to the sound of a flute, in order that good time might be preserved in the various movements. The player in these cases wore the φορβεία or mouth-band.[373]
As I have pointed out in Chapter II., although the literary authorities make gymnastic training of a sort
begin with the seventh year, it is not at all probable that the more recognised exercises, such as boxing and wrestling, began till a good many years later. The vases suggest that these subjects were taught some years after letters and music had begun, for they represent only older boys as learning them. Aristotle seems to vouch for a graduated course of gymnastic exercises during boyhood.[374]
PLATE VI. A.
IN THE PALAISTRA: WRESTLERS, PAIDOTRIBES, BOY PREPARING GROUND
Gerhard’s Auserlesene Vasenbilder, cclxxi. Fig. 2.
PLATE VI. B.
