Thermae

For other uses, see Thermae (disambiguation).
"Roman baths" redirects here. For other uses, see Roman Baths (disambiguation).
This article is about buildings used for Roman recreation and cleaning. For the activity in general, see Ancient Roman bathing.

Photograph of the Baths showing a rectangular area of greenish water surrounded by yellow stone buildings with pillars. In the background is the tower of the abbey.
Roman public baths in Bath, England. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is a later reconstruction.
Bulla Regia, inside the thermal baths

In ancient Rome, thermae (from Greek θερμός thermos, "hot") and balneae (from Greek βαλανεῖον balaneion) were facilities for bathing. Thermae usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while balneae were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout Rome.[1]

Most Roman cities had at least one – if not many – such buildings, which were centers not only for bathing, but socializing and reading as well. Bathhouses were also provided for wealthy private villas, town houses, and forts.[2] They were supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or within cities by aqueduct. The water would be heated by fire then channelled into the caldarium (hot bathing room). The design of baths is discussed by Vitruvius in De architectura (V.10).

  1. ^ Harry B. Evans (1997). Water Distribution in Ancient Rome: The Evidence of Frontinus. University of Michigan Press. pp. 9, 10. ISBN 0-472-08446-1. Archived from the original on 2018-05-07.
  2. ^ Daily life in ancient Rome : a sourcebook. Brian K. Harvey. Indianapolis. 2016. ISBN 978-1-58510-795-7. OCLC 924682988.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)