Baths

Home Daily Life the empire =**Roman Baths** =

Most Roman cities had at least one bath. Baths were the most important for Romans. Large public baths were called Thermae. They stayed there for many hours, and some went daily. They were usually went to the baths with one or more slaves. When they paid the fee, they would strip their clothes and put on sandals to protect their feet from heated floors. The slaves carried around their master’s towels and got drinks for them**5**. A bathing, they exercised. They did things such as running, mild weight-lifting, wrestling, and swimming. After exercising, oil and dirt got scraped off by servants**.1**You probably would have felt uncomfortable going to the bathroom at a Roman bath. Romans were far less shy about using the bathroom than we are. In general, the Roman Empire was a much more communal world than ours. Things that people in the present day world do in private, such as taking a bath and using the toilet, were done by the Romans in public and without shame. The seats in the bathroom of a Roman bath, we also know there was no evidence that the men and women had separate bathing and toilet facilities.**2** .The Apodyterium was the changing room at the baths. It contained shelves, which acted like storage. The bather’s belongings were usually at risk, though, because lots of thieves often came to the baths. To protect property, Romans that could afford it often brought along slaves or hired one at the bath, and there were called a "capsarius". The number more slaves of slaves a person had, the greater their social status would appear to be. The really wealthy had slaves who: carried bathing and exercise garments, sandals, linen towels, and a toilet kit for their masters. They also may have washed their masters or given them massages.**3**The first room entered was the //frigidarium//, or cold room, referring to the cold plunge bath housed here. This is the place where you would leave your wooden sandals before going to the next room. The //tepidarium// was pleasant dry heat room, similar to a sauna. This is where you could store clothes with no fear of getting wet. In this room you would exercise, and them rub oil on your body, and get ready for the next room. The //caldarium// could get to temperatures of gotten to 100 degrees Fahrenheit and was very humid due to a tank over the furnace as well as the hot plunge bath. The walls and floor were very hot too, which is why you would have needed the wooden sandals on your feet. “There was a //labrum//, or fountain of cold water to refresh yourself with. In this room you really work up a sweat and then get scraped clean with a //strigil//, which was a scraper used to wipe sweat, dirt, and oil of your body before washing off in the hot bath”.**4**


 * 1** "Thermae." 2003-05. Nation Master. 2 Dec 2008 http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Thermae


 * 2** "A Day at The Baths." __Secrets of Lost empire__. November 2000. NOVA Online. 1 Dec 2008 .


 * 3** "Apodyterium." __Roman Baths__. 3 Dec 2008 < http://traumwerk.stanford.edu:3455/60/1656>.
 * 4** __ Roman Baths and Bathing __ . FalcoPhiles. 2 Dec 2008 < http://www.falcophiles.co.uk/facts/romanbathing.html>.

"Roman Baths." __Roman Baths__. July 2003. Vroma. 4 Dec 2008 <[|http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/baths.html]>. "Roman Baths." __Roman Baths__. July 2003. Vroma. 4 Dec 2008 <[|http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/baths.html]>.
 * 5** Stobart, J.C.. __The Grandeur That Was Rome__. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987
 * Picture Citations**