The palaestra consisted of a square or rectangular yard open to the sky. This yard was used for training and practice. The yard was surrounded by colonnades. During rainy weather, wrestling and the pankration were practiced under the colonnades. Rooms adjoining the colonnades were used for lectures, bathing, dressing and undressing, game playing, socializing, and the storage of equipment and olive oil. Gay sex was rampant in the palaestra, despite official efforts to curb it. 