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TEACHERS<br />
N OTE<br />
Roman Life – Public Baths<br />
Hot air or steam baths were in use in Greece in the fifth century BC and gradually spread to <strong>Rome</strong>.<br />
During the Imperial years, Roman emperors built bathhouses, which became bigger and more<br />
opulent as the years passed. Rich citizens would often pay the bath fees of the poor in return for their<br />
votes.<br />
Steam and hot water were provided from boilers made of lead or copper like those found in excavations at<br />
Pompeii. The boilers were situated above the furnaces in the hypocaust system and were supported by large iron<br />
beams.<br />
Bathhouses were usually built around a line of symmetry, with important rooms around the centre and less<br />
important areas round the outside. For many years, mixed bathing was allowed in public baths, but many<br />
bathers were often drunk after imbibing too much wine and their scandalous behaviour was criticised frequently.<br />
Mixed bathing was eventually banned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Roman writer and philosopher, Lucius<br />
Seneca, wrote about the incessant noise from drunken bathers, food and drink sellers, and the pained yells of<br />
bathers having the hair under their armpits pulled out by hair-pluckers!<br />
Viewing Sample<br />
– 44 – <strong>Ancient</strong> <strong>Rome</strong> Prim-Ed Publishing www.prim-ed.com
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