Roman Baths

Question 1

how many roman baths were in service in Rome?

Answer 1

nearly 1000

Question 2

Which emperor constructed baths which could hold 1600 people?

Answer 2

Caracalla

Question 3

Who were bathing facilities available to?

Answer 3

free romans of all classes

Question 4

Why were public baths vital to keeping away disease and keeping the population healthy?

Answer 4

because most people did not have bathing facilites at home

Question 5

Why were public baths very cheap to visit?

Answer 5

baths were subsided by the state

Question 6

when would men tend to go to the baths?

Answer 6

after working in the morning they would visit the baths in the afternoon

Question 7

What did many baths have for people to work out?

Answer 7

an exercise ground where people might work out or play games

Question 8

Why was the baths a focal point of Roman social life?

Answer 8

because it was place where people went to see and be seen

Question 9

How would wealthy men show up to the baths and why?

Answer 9

Wealthy men would arrive at the baths accompanied by a following of freed men and slaves in a show of power and status

Question 10

How were the baths used by less affluent men?

Answer 10

used by the less affluent as a place to latch onto their social superiors, hoping to get an invitation to dinner that day

Question 11

At it’s simplest form what were baths used for?

Answer 11

a place to meet up with friends and relax

Question 12

What would normally be attached onto baths complexes?

Answer 12

shops attached to them where people could buy snacks

Question 13

\What would happen in a public bath if there were not specific facilities for men and women?

Answer 13

if there were no such separate facilities,
men and women would typic ally bathe at different times of the day, with women bathing in the morning and men in the after noon

Question 14

how much did it usually cost to use a roman bath?

Answer 14

a few quadrans the smallest coin in roman currency

Question 15

What is the latin name for the changing room?

Answer 15

apodyterium

Question 16

What is the latin name for the exercise ground?

Answer 16

palaestra

Question 17

What is the latin name for the warm room?

Answer 17

tepidarium

Question 18

What is the latin name for the hot room?

Answer 18

caldarium

Question 19

What is the latin name for the cold room

Answer 19

frigidarium

Question 20

what games were played in the palaestra? (what were their latin names)

Answer 20

snatch-ball- ‘harpastum’ -similar to piggy in the middle

Question 21

What are other things that men in the palaestra would play?

Answer 21

-men fencing against a post,
-others of men wrestling with one another
-while there even seems to have been a form of tennis played with the hand

Question 22

What would more extensive baths houses include?

Answer 22

-sweat room, similar to a sauna
-a swimming pool

Question 23

What is the order of rooms a person visiting the baths would follow?

Answer 23

tepidarium or caldarium then frigidarium

Question 24

What would happen to a person visiting the baths after going through the tepidarium and caldarium?

Answer 24

he would have oil rubbed all over his body

Question 25

Why was oil rubbed over the body after sweat built up?

Answer 25

Soap was unknown to the Romans, and so olive oil was used to wash the body

Question 26

What was the purpose of the warmer rooms?

Answer 26

The hot atmosphere of the room opened up the pores of his skin, allowing the oil to penetrate thoroughly

Question 27

What would be done to the oil on the body after oil had been rubbed all over it?

Answer 27

it was scraped off with dirt picked up using a strigil (a curved blade)

Question 28

what was the purpose of the colder rooms in the baths?

Answer 28

He would then head to the cold plunge- pool of the frigidarium, where the cold water closed the pores of his skin, so
completing the cleansing process

Question 29

How were warm rooms heated?

Answer 29

design process that blasted hot air into gaps under the floor and behind the walls
the floor was raised above the ground by pillars and spaces were left inside the walls so that hot air and smoke from a nearby could pass through these enclosed areas

Question 30

What was the system of artificial heating in roman baths known as?

Answer 30

hypocaust

Question 31

What room was located closest to the furnace and why?

Answer 31

The caldarium would be located
nearest to the furnace, since it required the most heat

Question 32

when were The Central Baths of Herculaneum built?

Answer 32

late 1st century BC

Question 33

What else were The Central Baths of Herculaneum known as?

Answer 33

forum baths

Question 34

What are some key features of the The Central Baths of Herculaneum?

Answer 34

a separate suite of baths for men and women

Question 35

What is the significance of The Central Baths of Herculaneum?

Answer 35

a very good example of a bath house with separate bathing areas for men and women, as well as a palaestra

Question 36

what was the general difference between the men’s and women’s sections in the central baths of Herculaneum?

Answer 36

the men’s sections of the baths are bigger and more extensive than the women’s section

Question 37

How was the women’s section similar to the men’s in The Central Baths of Herculaneum?

Answer 37

It had a similar structure, including an apodyterium and a tepidarium with a Triton mosaic.

Question 38

What feature ran along three sides of the men’s apodyterium in The Central Baths of Herculaneum ?

Answer 38

a marble bench

Question 39

What were the two basins in the apodyterium used for in The Central Baths of Herculaneum ?

Answer 39

One for washing feet (lower one) and the marble one for washing hands (larger basin).

Question 40

What image was depicted in the mosaic of the tepidarium in The Central Baths of Herculaneum?

Answer 40

A Triton with sea serpent legs surrounded by four dolphins

Question 41

What was the large round marble basin in the caldarium at the Central Baths at Herculaneum used for?

Answer 41

For bathers to splash cold water on their faces or bodies if they became too hot.

Question 42

Why did the women not have a frigidarium at the Central Baths at Herculaneum?

Answer 42

women cooled down by leaving the baths and heading into the open air