Palaestra

West of the Commercial Market and the narthex of the Basilica B were discovered the ruins of the Palaestra, where the young men of Philippi gathered to exercise. This is a large rectangular building measuring 75 x 58 m. The north side of the complex was taken up by a large portico that was open towards the commercial street and led through three openings to a central rectangular colonnaded courtyard, the area for sports. The Palaestra building complex was built in the mid-2nd century AD and is contemporary with the buildings of the Forum and the Commercial Market. It must have been destroyed before the middle of the 6th century, since Basilica B, which was built at that time (550 AD), rested on its foundations and employed many of its marble members as building material.