Baths Flashcards
What could they do in the public baths?
Bathe, exercise, meet with friends and eat
The exercise area was called the…
Palaestra
Could the Romans enter the baths for free?
No, an admission fee had to be paid
Describe the palaestra
An open space surrounded by a colonnade
Give some examples of popular exercises
Throwing a large ball, wrestling and fencing
Changing room =
Apodyterium
What happened in the changing room?
The slaves took the Romans’ clothes after they changed and put them in recesses arranged in rows along the wall
Warm room =
Tepidarium
What happened in the warm room?
The Romans would sit in a warm, steamy atmosphere
Hot room =
Caldarium
Where did the Romans bathe?
In the Caldarium. At one end was a large rectangular marble bath stretching across the width of the room. It was filled with hot water and the Romans bathed here.
What did they use as a substitute for soap?
Olive oil
What happens after the romans finish bathing in the Caldarium?
The roman summons a slave to run him down with oil. For this, he lies on a marble slab while the slave runs the oil into the skin and then removes the dirt with a strigil. Then a masseur massaged the skin and muscles
What is a strigil
A blunt metal scraper
What does the roman do after his massage?
Goes to a large stone basin at the other end of the Caldarium for a rinse down with cold water
Frigidarium =
Cold room
What is in the Frigidarium?
After the Caldarium, the roman sits in a circular pool of unheated water
Order of visit to the baths
Palaestra > apodyterium > tepidarium > Caldarium > Frigidarium
What was the visit to the baths like?
Noisy and relaxed
What had been the Greeks method of heating the water?
They heated water in tanks over a furnace and stood braziers in the tepidarium and the Caldarium to keep up the air temperature. The braziers weren’t efficient and they failed to heat the floor
What were braziers
Portable metal containers in which wood was burnt
When did the Romans invent the first central heating system
In the first century BC
Describe the use of the first central heating system
The furnace was out below floor level; the floor was supported on small piles of bricks which left space for the hot air to circulate. This way, the floor was warmed from below. The hot bath was also placed near the furnace and so a steady temperature was maintained as hot air passed below.
What were flues?
After the central heating system, channels were built into the walls and warm air from beneath the floor was drawn up through them
What was the use of the flues also known as?
A hypocaust
Where was the hypocaust used?
In both baths and private houses; particularly in colder parts of Rome.
What was the fuel most commonly burnt in furnaces?
Wood
Did Pompeians have their own baths?
Most did not, so they went to public baths
Martial Epigrams: patrons and clients
“He will pick up and bring back from the dust the loose punch-ball, even though he has already bathed, and already put on his slippers”
Seneca the younger letters
“I am living right above a public bath”
“On all sides noises of every sort resound around me”
“I hear the slap of a hand laid on his shoulders”
“I hear groans”
“If the scorer turns up and begins to count the balls, I am done for”
“Add those who jump into the pool with an enormous splash”
“Different shouts of drinks-seller and the sausage-seller and the pastry-seller”
