Transcript Roman Baths

Roman Baths
By Arthur and Raymond
Introduction
•Romans don’t have their own baths in their house
•Most will go to public bath houses or Thermae as they
are called
•Many activities were done in the bath houses
•Wrestling
•Gambling
•Ball games
•Entry was not a problem it was either free or very low prices
affordable by rich or poor people
•Bath houses was a social gathering, equivalent to today’s
movies.
•There were no soap so they cover themselves with olive oil
and then scrape the oil and the dirt off.
•Soap was a foreign delicacy
•Women and men bath separately
•Heated by slaves from the outside with fire, through series
tunnels and hollow walls
Bath Layouts
Most thermae (Roman bath houses) have a similar layout (see Fig. 1) and the
process of bathing follows a set routine. The Romans did not use soap to get
clean (it was the Germanic tribes who used soap!), but oils which they rubbed
on and then scraped off, taking the layers of dirt and sweat with them.
Key to Bath House Plan:
1. Frigidarium (cold room).
2. Tepidarium (warm room).
3. Caldarium (hot room).
4. Praefurnium (Furnace room).
a. Cold plunge bath.
b. Hot steam bath.
c. Hot water tank.
1) Entrance 2)Toilets 3)Palaestra 4)Apodyterium
5)Tepiderium 6)Colidarium 7)Fridgidarium 8)Entertainment
9) Art 10)Food and Alcohol
Entertainment
While the baths would have stimulated your body, they also could stimulate your mind.
A half-stadium at the baths probably served as a place Romans could sit and watch their favorite
entertainment. Some Romans might have chosen to watch a display of juggling or gymnastics, or to
listen to the sounds of jesters or musicians.