Thermae

For other uses, seeThermae (disambiguation).

"Roman baths" redirects here. For other uses, seeRoman Baths (disambiguation).

This article is about buildings used for Roman recreation and cleaning. For the activity in general, seeAncient Roman bathing.

Roman public bathsinBath,England. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is a later reconstruction.

Bulla Regia, inside the thermal baths

Inancient Rome,thermae(from Greekθερμόςthermos,"hot" ) andbalneae(from Greekβαλανεῖονbalaneion) were facilities for bathing.Thermaeusually refers to the largeimperialbath complexes,whilebalneaewere smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout Rome.

Most Roman cities had at least one – if not many – such buildings, which were centers not only for bathing, but socializing and reading as well. Bathhouses were also provided for wealthy privatevillas,town houses,andforts.They were supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or within cities byaqueduct.The water would be heated by fire then channelled into thecaldarium(hot bathing room). The design of baths is discussed byVitruviusinDe architectura(V.10).

Terminology

Mosaic bath sign fromSabratha,Libya,showing bathing sandals, threestrigils,and the slogan SALVOM LAVISSE, "A bath is good for you"

Thermae,balneae,balineae,balneumandbalineummay all be translated as 'bath' or 'baths', though Latin sources distinguish among these terms.

Balneumorbalineum,derived from theGreekβαλανεῖονsignifies, in its primary sense, a bath or bathing-vessel, such as most persons of any consequence among the Romans possessed in their own houses,and hence the chamber which contained the bath,which is also the proper translation of the wordbalnearium.The diminutivebalneolumis adopted bySenecato designate the bathroom ofScipioin the villa atLiternum,and is expressly used to characterize the modesty of republican manners as compared with the luxury of his own times. But when the baths of private individuals became more sumptuous and comprised many rooms, instead of the one small chamber described by Seneca, the pluralbalneaorbalineawas adopted, which still, in correct language, had reference only to the baths of private persons. Thus,Ciceroterms the baths at the villa of his brotherQuintusbalnearia.

Balneaeandbalineae,which according toVarrohave no singular number, were the public baths, but this accuracy of diction is neglected by many of the subsequent writers, and particularly by the poets, amongst whombalneais not uncommonly used in the plural number to signify the public baths, since the wordbalneaecould not be introduced in ahexameterverse.Plinyalso, in the same sentence, makes use of the neuter pluralbalneafor public, and ofbalneumfor a private bath.

Thermae(Greek:Θέρμαι,Thermai,'hot springs, hot baths',from the Greek adjectivethermos,'hot') meant properly warm springs, or baths of warm water; but came to be applied to those magnificent edifices which grew up under theempire,in place of the simplebalneaeof therepublic,and which comprised within their range of buildings all the appurtenances belonging to the Greekgymnasia,as well as a regular establishment appropriated for bathing.Writers, however, use these terms without distinction. Thus the baths erected byClaudius Etruscus,the freedman of the EmperorClaudius,are styled byStatiusbalnea,and byMartialEtrusci thermulae.In an epigram byMartial—subice balneum thermis—the terms are not applied to the whole building, but to two different chambers in the same edifice.

Building layout

Plan of the Old Baths (Forum Baths) atPompeii

A public bath was built around three principal rooms: thetepidarium(warm room), thecaldarium(hot room), and thefrigidarium(cold room). Somethermaealso featured steam baths: thesudatorium,a moist steam bath, and thelaconicum,a dry hot room.

By way of illustration, this article will describe the layout ofPompeii's Old Baths, otherwise known as the Forum Baths, which are among the best-preserved Roman baths. These baths were connected to the forum at Pompeii, hence the name. The references are to the floor plan pictured to the right.

This specific complex consists of a double set of baths, one for men and one for women. It has six different entrances from the street, one of which (b) gives admission to the smaller women's set only. Five other entrances lead to the men's department, of which two (candc2), communicate directly with the furnaces, and the other three (a3, a2, a) with the bathing apartments.

Palaestra

Passing through the principal entrance,a(barely visible, right side, one third of the total length from above), which is removed from the street by a narrow footway surrounding the building and after descending three steps, the bather would find a small chamber on his left (x) with a toilet (latrina), and proceed into a coveredportico(g, g), which ran round three sides of an open court (palaestra,A). These together formed thevestibuleof the baths (vestibulum balnearum),in which the servants waited.

Use of the palaestra

This palaestra was the exercise ground for the young men, or perhaps served as a promenade for visitors to the baths. Within this court the keeper of the baths (balneator), who exacted thequadranspaid by each visitor, was also stationed. The room (f)which runs back from the portico, might have been appropriated to him; but most probably it was anoecusorexedra,for the convenience of the better classes while awaiting the return of their acquaintances from the interior. In this court, advertisements for the theatre or other announcements of general interest were posted, one of which, announcing agladiatorialshow, still remains. At the sides of the entrance were seats (scholae).

The 1898 edition ofHarper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquitiesprovided illustrations envisioning the rooms of the Old Baths atPompeii:

• 
  Apodyterium
• 
  Tepidarium
• 
  Caldarium
• 
  Frigidarium

Apodyterium and frigidarium

Main articles:ApodyteriumandFrigidarium

A passage (c) leads into theapodyterium(B), a room for undressing in which all visitors must have met before entering the baths proper. Here, the bathers removed their clothing, which was taken in charge by slaves known ascapsarii,notorious in ancient times for their dishonesty.Theapodyteriumwas a spacious chamber, with stone seats along three sides of the wall (h). Holes are still visible on the walls, and probably mark the places where the pegs for the bathers' clothes were set. The chamber was lighted by a glass window, and had six doors. One of these led to thetepidarium(D) and another to thefrigidarium(C), with its cold plunge-bath referred to asbaptisterium(more commonly callednatatoriumorpiscina),loutron,natatio,orputeus;the termsnatatioandnatatoriumsuggest that some of those baths were alsoswimming pools.The bath in this chamber is of white marble, surrounded by two marble steps.

Tepidarium

Main article:Tepidarium

Pompeian interior, The Thermae by Forumby Joseph Theodor Hansen (1848–1912)

From theapodyteriumthe bather who wished to go through the warm bath and sweating process entered thetepidarium(D). It did not contain water either at Pompeii nor at the Baths of Hippias, but was merely heated with warm air of an agreeable temperature, in order to prepare the body for the great heat of the vapour and warm baths, and, upon returning, to prevent a too-sudden transition to the open air. In the baths at Pompeii this chamber also served as anapodyteriumfor those who took the warm bath. The walls feature a number of separate compartments or recesses for receiving the garments when taken off. The compartments are divided from each other by figures of the kind calledatlantesortelamones,which project from the walls and support a rich cornice above them in a wide arch.

Three bronze benches were also found in the room, which was heated as well by its contiguity to thehypocaustof the adjoining chamber, as by abrazierof bronze (foculus), in which the charcoal ashes were still remaining when the excavation was made. Sitting and perspiring beside such a brazier was calledad flammam sudare.

Thetepidariumis generally the most highly ornamented room in baths. It was merely a room to sit and be anointed in. In the Forum Baths at Pompeii the floor is mosaic, the arched ceiling adorned with stucco and painting on a coloured ground, the walls red.

Anointing was performed by slaves calledunctoresandaliptae.It sometimes took place before going to the hot bath, and sometimes after the cold bath, before putting on the clothes, in order to check the perspiration.Some baths had a special room (destrictariumorunctorium) for this purpose.

Caldarium

Main article:Caldarium

From thetepidariuma door opened into thecaldarium(E), whosemosaicfloor was directly above the furnace orhypocaust.Its walls also were hollow, behind the decorated plaster one part of the wall was made from interconnected hollow bricks calledtubuli lateraci,forming a great flue filled with heated air. At one end was a round basin (labrum), and at the other a quadrangular bathing place (puelos,alveus,solium,calida piscina), approached from the platform by steps. Thelabrumheld cold water, for pouring upon the bather's head before he left the room. These basins are of marble in the Old Baths, but we hear ofalveiof solid silver.Because of the great heat of the room, thecaldariumwas but slightly ornamented.

Laconicum

Main article:Laconicum

The Old Baths have nolaconicum,which was a chamber still hotter than thecaldarium,and used simply as a sweating-room, having no bath. It was said to have been introduced at Rome byAgrippaand was also calledsudatoriumandassa.

Service areas

A three-tiered water boiler (miliarium)

Theapodyteriumhas a passage (q) communicating with the mouth of the furnace (i), calledpraefurniumorpropigneumand, passing down that passage, we reach the chamber M, into which thepraefurniumprojects, and which is entered from the street atc.It was assigned to thefornacatores,or persons in charge of the fires. Of its two staircases, one leads to the roof of the baths, and one to theboilerscontaining the water.

There were three boilers, one of which (caldarium) held the hot water; a second, the tepid (tepidarium); and the third, the cold (frigidarium). The warm water was filled into the warm bath by a pipe through the wall, marked on the plan. Underneath the hot chamber was set the circular furnaced,of more than 2 m (6 ft 7 in). in diameter, which heated the water and poured hot air into the hollow cells of the hypocaustum. It passed from the furnace under the first and last of the caldrons by two flues, which are marked on the plan. The boiler containing hot water was placed immediately over the furnace; as the water was drawn out from there, it was supplied from the next, thetepidarium,which was raised a little higher and stood a little way off from the furnace. It was already considerably heated from its contiguity to the furnace and the hypocaust below it, so that it supplied the deficiency of the former without materially diminishing its temperature; and the vacuum in this last was again filled up from the farthest removed, which contained the cold water received directly from the square reservoir seen behind them. The boilers themselves no longer remain, but the impressions which they have left in the mortar in which they were embedded are clearly visible, and enable us to determine their respective positions and dimensions. Such coppers or boilers appear to have been calledmiliaria,from their similarity of shape to amilestone.

Behind the boilers, another corridor leads into the court or palaestra (K), appropriated to the servants of the bath.

Women's bath

The adjoining, smaller set of baths were assigned to the women. The entrance is by the doorb,which conducts into a small vestibule (m) and from there into theapodyterium(H), which, like the one in the men's bath, has a seat (pulvinus,gradus) on either side built up against the wall. This opens upon a cold bath (J), answering to thenatatioof the men's set, but of much smaller dimensions. There are four steps on the inside to descend into it.

Opposite to the door of entrance into theapodyteriumis another doorway which leads to thetepidarium(G), which also communicates with the thermal chamber (F), on one side of which is a warm bath in a square recess, and at the farther extremity thelabrum.The floor of this chamber is suspended, and its walls perforated for flues, like the corresponding one in the men's baths. Thetepidariumin the women's baths had no brazier, but it had a hanging or suspended floor.

Purpose

Ruins of the enormousBaths of Caracalla,completed in 216 on a 25hectare(33 acre) site

The baths often included, aside from the three main rooms listed above, apalaestra,or outdoor gymnasium where men would engage in various ball games and exercises. There, among other things, weights were lifted and the discus thrown. Men would oil themselves (assoapwas still a luxury good and thus not widely available),shower,and remove the excess with astrigil(cf. the well knownApoxyomenusofLysippusfrom theVatican Museum). Often wealthy bathers would bring acapsarius,a slave that carried his master's towels, oils, and strigils to the baths and then watched over them once in the baths, as thieves and pickpockets were known to frequent the baths.

The changing room was known as theapodyterium(from Greekapodyterionfromapoduein'to take off').

Cultural significance

In many ways, baths were the ancient Roman equivalent of community centres. Because the bathing process took so long, conversation was necessary. Many Romans would use the baths as a place to invite their friends to dinner parties, and many politicians would go to the baths to convince fellow Romans to join their causes. Thethermaehad many attributes in addition to the baths. There were libraries, rooms for poetry readings, and places to buy and eat food. The modern equivalent would be a combination of a library, art gallery, mall, restaurant, gym, and spa.

One important function of the baths in Roman society was their role as what we would consider a "branch library" today. Many in the general public did not have access to the grand libraries in Rome and so as a cultural institution the baths served as an important resource where the more common citizen could enjoy the luxury of books. TheBaths of Trajan,ofCaracalla,andDiocletianall contained rooms determined to be libraries. They have been identified through the architecture of the baths themselves. The presence of niches in the walls are assumed to have been bookcases and have been shown to be sufficiently deep to have contained ancient scrolls. There is little documentation from the writers of the time that there did exist definitive public libraries maintained in the baths, but records have been found that indicated a slave from the imperial household was labelledvilicus thermarum bybliothecae Graecae('maintenance man of the Greek library of the baths'). However, this may only indicate that the same slave held two positions in succession: "maintenance man of the baths" (vilicus thermarum) and "employee in the Greek library" (abybliothecae Graecae). The reason for this debate is that, althoughJulius CaesarandAsinius Pollioadvocated for public access to books and that libraries be open to all readers, there is little evidence that public libraries existed in the modern sense as we know it. It is more likely that these reserves were maintained for the wealthy elite.

Baths were a site for important sculpture; among the well-known pieces recovered from theBaths of Caracallaare theFarnese BullandFarnese Herculesand over life-size early 3rd century patriotic figures, (now in theMuseo di Capodimonte,Naples).

The Romans believed that good health came from bathing, eating, massages, and exercise. The baths, therefore, had all of these things in abundance. Since some citizens would be bathing multiple times a week, Roman society was surprisingly clean.When asked by a foreigner why he bathed once a day, a Roman emperor is said to have replied "Because I do not have the time to bathe twice a day."Emperors often built baths to gain favour for themselves and to create a lasting monument of their generosity. If a rich Roman wished to gain the favour of the people, he might arrange for a free admission day in his name. For example, a senator hoping to become aTribunemight pay all admission fees at a particular bath on his birthday to become well known to the people of the area.

Location

Virtual historical reconstruction of the Roman Baths in Weißenburg, Germany, using data fromlaser scantechnology

Baths sprang up all over the empire. Where naturalhot springsexisted (as inBath, England;Băile Herculane,RomaniaorAquae CalidaenearBurgasandSerdica,Bulgaria)thermaewere built around them. Alternatively, a system ofhypocausta(fromhypo'below' andkaio'to burn') were utilised to heat the piped water from a furnace (praefurnium).

Remains of Roman public baths

Main article:List of remains of Roman public baths

A number of Roman public baths survive, either as ruins or in varying degrees of conservation. Among the more notable are theRoman baths of Bathand theRavenglass Roman Bath HouseinEnglandas well as theBaths of Caracalla,of Diocletian,of Titus,of TrajaninRomeand the baths ofSofia,SerdicaandVarna.Probably the most complete are various public and private baths inPompeiiand nearby sites. TheHammam Essalihineis still in use today.

In 1910,Pennsylvania Stationwas opened in New York City, with a Main Waiting Room that borrowed heavily from the frigidarium of the Baths of Diocletian, especially with the use of repeatedgroin vaultsin the ceiling. The success of the design of Pennsylvania Station in turn was copied in other railroad stations around the world.

See also

• Ancient Roman bathing
• Diocletian window(thermal window)
• Greek baths
• History of sanitation
• Roman architecture
• Roman culture
• Roman engineering
• Roman technology
• Spa town
• Thermae Romae(mangaand film)
• Victorian Turkish baths
• Ancient Baths of Alauna
• Bliesbruck Baths

References

Sources

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William,ed. (1890)."Balneae".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities(3rd ed.). London: John Murray. p. 183 et seq.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Peck, Harry Thurston,ed. (1898). "Balneae".Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities.New York: Harper & Brothers.
• Aaland, Mikkel (May 15, 1998)."Mass Bathing: The Roman Balnea and Thermae".Cyber-Bohemia.Archived fromthe originalon June 26, 2016.RetrievedAugust 2,2006.

Further reading

• Bruun, Christer. 1991.The water supply of ancient Rome: A study of Roman imperial administration.Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica.
• DeLaine, Janet.1997.The Baths of Caracalla: A Study In the Design, Construction, and Economics of Large-Scale Building Projects In Imperial Rome.Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman Archaeology.
• DeLaine, Janet, and David E Johnston. 1999.Roman Baths and Bathing: Proceedings of the First International Conference On Roman Baths Held At Bath, England, 30 March-4 April 1992.Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman Archaeology.
• Fagan, Garrett G. 2001. "The genesis of the Roman public bath: Recent approaches and future directions".American Journal of Archaeology105, no. 3: 403–26.
• Manderscheid, Hubertus. 2004.Ancient Baths and Bathing: A Bibliography for the Years 1988-2001.Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman Archaeology.
• Marvin, M. 1983. "Freestanding sculptures from the Baths of Caracalla".American Journal of Archaeology87: 347–84.
• Nielsen, Inge. 1993.Thermae Et Balnea: The Architecture and Cultural History of Roman Public Baths.2nd ed. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press.
• Ring, James W. 1996. "Windows, baths and solar energy in the Roman Empire".American Journal of Archaeology100: 717–24.
• Rotherham, Ian D. 2012.Roman Baths In Britain.Stroud: Amberley.
• Roupas, N. 2012. "Roman bath tiles".Archaeology65, no. 2: 12.
• Yegül, Fikret K. 1992.Baths and bathing in classical antiquity.New York: Architectural History Foundation.
• --. 2010.Bathing In the Roman World.New York: Cambridge University Press.

External links

• William SmithRoman Baths (Balneae)from "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities", pub. John Murray, London, 1875.
• ThermeMuseum (Museum of the Thermae) in HeerlenArchived2008-03-16 at theWayback Machine
• Traianus– Technical investigation of Roman public works
• Roman Bath: a day at the bathsAn interactive site using the Baths of Caracalla as an example
• Barbara F. McManusRoman baths and bathing
• 3d reconstruction of a Roman bathsLimes in AustriaArchived2011-05-31 at theWayback Machine
• Roman Baths of Weissenburg Digital Media ArchiveArchived2011-12-02 at theWayback Machine(creative commons-licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas) with data from a City of Weissenburg/CyArkresearch partnership
• Victorian Turkish bathInformation regarding a 19th-century version of the Roman or "Turkish" bath
• "The Roman Baths and Solar Heating".solarhousehistory. 20 January 2014.