The palaestra (/pəˈliːstrə/ or /-ˈlaɪ-/; also (chiefly British) palestra; Greek: παλαίστρα) was the ancient Greek wrestling school. The events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing and wrestling, were practised there. The palaestra functioned both independently and as a part of public gymnasia; a palaestra could exist without a gymnasium, but no gymnasium could exist without a palaestra.