Public baths, "Palestra". It functioned as a training school and also as a place for male social interaction, where conversations about literature, philosophy and music were so well received. Generally, but not necessarily, they were attached to the gymnasium, closed for training.

Although with slight variations, the architecture of a lecture followed a standard design. It consisted of an uncovered rectangular patio where the training sessions took place, surrounded by colonnades with adjacent rooms, which had several functions: baths, dressing room, deposits of clothes and oils, resting places. Vitrúvio, in his book About Architecture, is an important historical source about these buildings, describing it as a rectangular courtyard with colonnades on its four sides. The one on the north side was double, for greater protection against the climate, creating a portico, with rooms for various activities (efebeu, coriceu, conisterio and eleotésio). Spacious terraces (exedras) were built along the other sides, serving to accommodate the spectators and socialize.