conisterions

Noun

conisterion (plural conisterions)

1. A room in ancient Greek and Roman gymnasiums where athletes, particularly wrestlers, applied sand or dust to their bodies after being anointed with oil. This practice enhanced grip during matches by counteracting the slipperiness caused by oil and sweat.
   • Prodigious ruins of walls, which formerly were all coated with marble, still point out the two temples, the two ephebea, the places where youths exercised themselves in the gymnastic games, the place for the wrestlers, the piscina, or the pool for the swimmers, different divisions for the houses of...1796, FREDERIC LEOPOLD COUNT STOLBERG, translated by THOMAS HOLCROFT, TRAVELS through GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, ITALY, and SICILY., translation of original in German, page 421