The Roman Baths

A majority of the population were not rich enough to have specific rooms in their houses with a fully operating tub. They had to regularly go the public baths in order to keep themselves clean. A Roman bath is equivalent to modern health spas or gyms. It was a relaxation center, a city pool, and gossip haven all rolled into one.

Roman baths are not necessarily what you would expect. It was not necessarily about bathing but socializing, exercising, and even reading. Think of the bath as the Roman hub of relaxed conversations and gatherings of friends. While the forum was about business, the bath was about relaxation.

Bathhouses were far from tiny. Most had to be large enough to house not only pools (hot, warm, and cold for both genders) but also exercise grounds, gymnastic equipment, courts for games, hair salons and sometimes libraries and rooms for meetings with friends. Because it was an important part of their daily schedule, many architects and artists did their best to create amazing places for them to go.

Most Roman cities had at least one public bathhouse. Pompeii had at least four public baths and a number of private bathhouses. Water was supplied by adjacent rivers and streams or by an aqueduct. Why did the Roman population rely on public baths when private baths were an option? Imperial (and large) baths were known as Thermae. The smaller private baths were known as balneae

While it was public, the baths were not free. You had to pay a small fee to an ostiarius in order to enter. The first part they would come to would be the palaestra.

A palaestra looks similar to the peristylium – a large colonnaded arena. It was mainly used for training, exercise, and sports. They enjoyed playing catch, fencing, and throwing the discus.

Once they were finished with the palaestra, they would follow a walkway into the apodyterium or changing room. They would hand their togas and garb to a public slave who would place it into a cubby.

The first place they would enter after the apodyterium is the tepidarium, or the warm room. There were benches all along the walls and usually caused a light sweat. It was to help with the transition into the next room.

After the tepidarium, they would enter the caldarium, or hot room. There was a large rectangular bath that stretched the full width of the room. It was heated using a hypocaust.

The Frigidarium

Soap? Ancient Romans didn’t use soap but used olive oil as a way to clean their skin. They would have to scrap it off using a strigil, a type of blunt scraper. It both cleaned and moisturized the skin.

The Hypocaust The Romans were not the first to build baths, but they did improve on the design. One way was in the heating system. Originally, water was heated in tanks by a furnace. It was fueled by wood. It didn’t quite work. In the 1 st cent. BCE, the Romans developed a central heating system with a furnace below the first level. The floor was supported by bricks and flues were built into the walls to allow air to move.

The Rooms: A typical bathhouse had at least the basics, which includes five separate areas. The Apodyterium The changing room Both genders had their own changing rooms The Frigidarium The cold roomQuick dip and then off to dress! Always after the caldarium The Tepidarium The warm roomVery much like a sauna w/ dry heat Usually the first room visitedAll about sweating A place to chat with friendsThe most decorated area The Caldarium The hot room Usually visited after the tepidarium Romans covered themselves in oil before entering Exceptionally hot (100 degrees F) Romans wore wooden sandals to protect their feet You would scrape yourself clean with a strigil The Palaestra The exercise area A large colonnaded open space