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The Roman standards of hygiene were far higher<br />
than other nations of that time, but public baths<br />
in <strong>Rome</strong> provided much more than washing facilities<br />
to satisfy the Roman concern for cleanliness. At first,<br />
public baths were small rooms with slaves filling and<br />
emptying the water by hand, but the invention of the<br />
hypocaust heating system enabled much bigger<br />
rooms to be built. Aqueducts delivered millions of<br />
litres of water and sewers built of stone or occasionally<br />
wood were built under the streets to carry away<br />
overflow water and waste from the baths and their<br />
public toilets. Rich Romans often had private baths<br />
in their homes, but in later years both poor and rich<br />
citizens could be seen at the public baths, which had<br />
become very popular as meeting places. By the second<br />
century AD <strong>Rome</strong> had over 1 000 public baths where<br />
hot water was cheap or free to the poor, who were<br />
given financial aid by the State.<br />
Activity Box<br />
Roman Life – Public Baths<br />
The most appealing were<br />
the ‘Thermae’.These<br />
contained a recreation<br />
room where bathers<br />
would exercise or loosen<br />
up with a ball game.<br />
They would then undress<br />
and perspire in a hot<br />
room where sometimes<br />
the floor was so hot<br />
because of the hypocaust<br />
system they wore wooden<br />
clogs called ‘patterns’.<br />
Then the bathers would<br />
clean their skin with oil,<br />
Using a strigil.<br />
or soap made from<br />
animal fats, as soap which lathered was still<br />
unknown. Bone, bronze or iron instruments called<br />
‘strigils’ were then used to scrape the oil, sweat<br />
and dead skin from the body. Rich men usually<br />
had slaves to perform this task. A hot bath<br />
followed, before taking a final plunge into a<br />
large cold bath. The outside walls of many<br />
thermae were often plain and devoid of any<br />
decoration, but inside were marble columns,<br />
vaulted ceilings, fountains, mosaic floors and<br />
fine, sculptured statues. They also contained<br />
bars, wine shops, cafes, gardens, toilets and even<br />
libraries and theatres.<br />
List the similarities and differences between modern swimming pool/fitness centres and the public<br />
baths of ancient <strong>Rome</strong>.<br />
Viewing Sample<br />
Prim-Ed Publishing www.prim-ed.com <strong>Ancient</strong> <strong>Rome</strong> – 45 –
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