WTF are Roman Baths?

What are Roman Baths?

Did the Ancient Romans really get buck naked and bathe in public? Heck yeah, they did! Here’s the skinny on what went down in Roman baths.

Roman baths were establishments for public bathing, socialization, business, and pleasure. Baths were an everyday feature of Roman life, with both men and women participating. In some complexes, the sexes bathed separately in different areas. Other baths had only one set of facilities, so either everyone got naked and mingled together (yeah, baby!) or men and women bathed at different times.

Everyone in Roman society used public baths. Yes, everyone. Ancient Roman writers Cicero, Plutarch, and Petronius tell us that social classes mixed in baths, from the upper class to slaves.¹ While the uber-rich certainly had their private baths, they made appearances at public facilities to flaunt their wealth. It was all about showing off to other rich people and the lesser classes.

Roman emperors, who considered themselves benefactors of the people, sponsored many of the public baths in Rome. The practice started with Augustus building the Baths of Agrippa and continued with others like Nero, Titus, and Trajan. Let’s be real, though. Many of these emperors used public works projects as propaganda and to impress both the rich and the plebs.

Private baths existed as well. They were built and run by businessmen rather than emperors. Examples include the Republican Baths, Suburban Baths, and Sarno Baths in Pompeii.

Roman Baths Were Not Just for Bathing

Roman baths were huge, with areas intended for activities other than bathing, such as exercise in the gymnasium and athletic fields. Lounging rooms and gardens provided spaces for social interaction and entertainment. Lecture halls and libraries were also available for more scholarly pursuits.

Roman literature tells us pleasure was definitely on the menu in bathing facilities.² Attendants in the apodyterium (changing room) often sold sexual services to bathers. The apodyterium of the Suburban Baths of Pompeii is particularly interesting because it contains eight erotic frescoes depicting explicit sexual intercourse. I believe the frescoes advertised services offered in a brothel on the upper level of the complex. The Suburban Baths are unique, however, in that they seem to be the only bath associated with a brothel.

Rooms and Mechanics of Roman Baths

Most Roman baths followed a building template that included the following essential rooms:

1. Frigidarium – bathing room with cold water
2. Caldarium – circular bathing room with hot water
3. Tepidarium – bathing room with warm water
4. Natatio – a large swimming pool
5. Apodyterium – changing room
6. Palaestra – exercise area

The layout was pretty standard by the early 200s CE, with the bathing rooms forming a central block in the complex. Exercise areas typically surrounded the bathing rooms, along with other entertainment spaces.

How Did Romans Heat the Baths?

Before the 1^st century BCE, Romans used braziers to heat their baths. Braziers were portable metal heaters in the shape of a box or bowl with feet. They held fire or lit coals to produce heat.

Later on, Romans moved on to the hypocaust system to heat the bathing rooms. The floors were raised on brick pillars, leaving a hollow space between the floor and the ground. Hot air funneled through the open space from a furnace, heating the room. Eventually, Romans created hollow areas in the walls with flues (like a chimney). Large tiles with cone-shaped projections pressed against the wall, leaving an open space for air to circulate. Nifty.

Roman Bath Complexes

The following is a list of well-known Roman baths dating from the 2^nd century BCE to the 3^rd century CE.

Stabian Baths

The Stabian Baths are the oldest bath complex in Pompeii, dating to the 2^nd century BCE. Men and women bathed in separate facilities. There were also latrines, so no one had to pee in the pools.

Baths of Trajan

Dedicated by Emperor Trajan in 190 CE, the baths are located on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. They are the first of the great imperial baths in the city.

Baths of Caracalla

The baths were sponsored by the emperor Caracalla, who was a real piece of work. He was a cruel tyrant who did a lot of fucked up stuff. For example, he killed his younger brother Geta. He also exiled his wife and later killed her. What an asshole.

Whatever, we plebians are supposed to love him because he built the most luxurious and extensive bath complex.

The baths were built between 211 and 216 CE in Rome. The natatio was open to the sky while the frigidarium had vaulted ceilings. The rooms were decorated with marble, mosaics, paintings, and sculptures. There was a library and gardens as well. Okay, Caracalla, you’re forgiven for killing a ton of people as long as we have our books and art. 🙄

Baths of Diocletian

Constructed between 298 and 306 CE in Rome, the Baths of Diocletian were the brainchild of none other than Emperor Diocletian. They’re massive at 1168 x 1307 feet. The roofs were impressive, with domes, half-domes, and vaults. According to Roman literature, the baths held up to 3,000 people at one time. Imagine all those naked people bathing at once? No, thank you.

The central hall survives today all because of our favorite Italian Renaissance artist, Michelangelo, who converted it into the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in 1563. As art historian William E. Wallace puts it, “…it was left to Michelangelo to give it [the ruins] form and coherence, and most remarkably to change a pagan institution of pleasure into a holy sanctuary.”³ Given that Emperor Diocletian persecuted Christians during his reign, I think it’s cosmic karma for his bath complex to now be a Catholic church.

Roman baths were spaces for many functions, from hygiene to exercise to socialization. While getting buck naked and bathing in public may seem weird to us, to the Romans, it was part of everyday life.

If you’re interested in reading about the Suburban Baths of Pompeii and their possible connection to a brothel on the upper level, check out the article, Was There a Brothel in the Suburban Baths of Pompeii?

Footnotes

1. Tuck, A History, 279. ↩︎
2. Guzzo and Ussani, Veneris Figurae, 21-23; Fagan, Bathing in Public, 34-35. ↩︎
3. Wallace, Michelangelo, 261. ↩︎

Bibliography & Further Reading

*The following links are Amazon affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no cost to you.

Davies, Penelope J.E., et. al. Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition. 7^th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2007.

Fagan, Garrett G. Bathing in Public in the Roman World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999.

Guzzo, Pietro Giovanni, and Vincenzo Scarano Ussani. Veneris Figurae: Immagini di Prostituzione e Sfruttamento a Pompeii. Napoli: Electa Napoli, 2000.

Koloski-Ostrow, Ann Olga. “The City Baths of Pompeii and Herculaneum.” In The World of Pompeii, edited by John J. Dobbins and Pedar W. Foss, 224-56. New York: Routledge, 2007.

Ramage, Nancy H., and Andrew Ramage. Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.

Tuck, Steven L. A History of Roman Art. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2015.

Wallace, William E. Michelangelo: The Complete Sculpture, Painting, Architecture. New York: Universe Publishing, 2009.