Roman+Baths

=Roman Baths= toc In Ancient Rome, bathing complexes were built for public recreation and hygiene. It was typical of Roman homes to lack personal baths, so complexes and smaller sites similar in style were built across Rome and other cities for public use. Often times, the baths were called “Thermae,” which translates to heat in Greek, referring to private or smaller bathing sites. The larger complexes for public use were called “Balnea.” Both names were commonly used, as bathing became an essential characteristic of Roman life.

Origin
Public baths date back to the Egyptians, however there is little evidence remaining to tell historians the use or purpose of Egyptian use of such buildings. The Ancients Greeks also used a similar idea, where giant bath houses were built for personal uses by Kings and the rich. The Romans developed this idea, and created huge public centers accessible to most people living in the city. The first Thermae built focused on a main room with a cool bath. As more people came and the popularity increased to the bathing sites, bigger and more elaborate Thermaes and Balneas were built to cater the social and cultural phenomenom.

Bath House Layout
Thermaes and Balneas shared characteristics thoughout the their construction in the Roman Empire. Orignally, the buildings featured a single main pool, the frigidarium, which is a cold pool. The Romans created a more complex ritual, with hot baths, cold baths, and sweat rooms. Bathers start by stripping naked in a big changing room, the apodyterium, which would resemble a modern day locker room. Next, it was common to workout before entering the baths, so Romans lifted weights and worked out prior to entering any of the pools. The three main baths were the caldarium, tepidarium and the frigidarium. After working a sweat, slaves would rub oil on bathers, as a type of cleanser like soap. The Caldarium was the hottest bath, and the most elaborately designed room, often with mosaic floors and painted ceilings. The warm bath was next, the tepidarium, for cooling down before entering the frigidarium, the cold bath. Other Thermaes often featured a dry bath, a sudatorium, like a sauna which was said to rid the dirt off the skin surface. Pompeii’s Old Baths features all of these characteristics, including two dry baths, one like a steam room, the other like a sauna.

Technology
Romans were aqueduct specialists, and used this skill to draw large amounts of fresh water to public complexes like the bath house. While the Romans copied the Greek idea of bath houses, they perfected the idea by using fire to heat the water, instead of drawing cold baths. This process was called hypocaust, letting the Romans manipulate the use of water to several uses.

Women
While Thermaes and Balneas were daily stops for men, they were segregated, but still available to women. Men and women were given separate bathing times, and women’s were much shorter than men’s. Women had the opportunity to access the same type of pools as men, but served as a mean hygiene, unlike men who used the bath houses for social purposes as well. The women used a separate entrance from the men as well, but in some cases these entrances were even difficult to find, due to the overwhelming amount of street entrances just for men.

Social Influence
Romans used the bath houses daily not only to clean the sweat and dirt, but to socialize, workout, and relax. Balneas have been compared to large shopping malls with a workout facility. Roman athletics was a prominent part of culture, so men excercised before entering the pool. The idea was men needed to work a sweat before they could cleanse it off their skin. Thermaes and Balneas were used everyday, and became gathering spots to socialize and talk. Bathers had the opportunity to talk to friends or anyone there in public, as well as private. Bath houses were accessible to anyone so they became spots of great social and cultural influence. Ideas were trading in the bath, people could scheme, and the influential could use this to their advantage. Because common people could afford the cheap baths, Senators ad other officials could sponsor the baths, or buy free admission to gain support from a large number of people. The bath house offered services equivalent to a shopping mall, with barbers, masseuses, libraries and reading rooms.