Bathing is an important part of ancient Roman culture. Structures such as the Baths of Diocletian or Thermae Diocletiani in Rome are a marvel of architecture. Baths are a place of cleansing, socializing and luxury.
Construction of the Thermae Diocletiani begins in AD 298 under the reign of Maximian, one of the co-emperors with Diocletian. The magnificence of the baths reflects the power and wealth of Roman rulers.
Even after the voluntary abdication of Maximian and Diocletian, the construction of the baths continue under Constantius, the father of Constantine the Great. For centuries, the Thermae Diocletiani are a symbol of Roman engineering and architectural prowess.
Italy initially uses simple baths without tubs, the lavatrinae. Increasing Hellenisation of Italy leads to the development of bathing rooms and public baths. Eventually, individual standing hot water tubs ae replaced by collective pools and the development of hypocaust heating.
At first the baths are segregated into male and female, rich and poor areas. As time goes by the Baths became more generalized, with mixing of genders and classes.
Most baths are designed to contain certain rooms at various temperatures. Bathing for Romans is a purification event. In Imperial Rome people daily wash body parts such as arms and legs exposed to dirt. A full body cleansing is done every nine days and on feast days.
This isn't a hard and fast rule. In cosmopolitan hubs such as Rome, baths can be enjoyed every day. Like bathers, baths come in different styles and sizes. Fees are usually within the budget of free Roman males.
Small bathhouses, called balneum (plural balnea), might be privately owned, but open to the public for a fee. Larger baths or thermae are state-owned and might cover several city blocks. The largest are the Baths of Diocletian, able to accommodate up to 3,000 bathers at a time.
Various types of rooms evolve. These include the caldarium, tepidarium, laconicum or sudatorium, and the frigidarium. Below is the schema of the Baths of Diocletian. Most baths are constructed in similar manner.
1. Caldarium
This hot and steamy room is heated by a hypocaust, an underfloor heating system using tunnels of hot air created by a furnace tended by slaves. It's the hottest room in the sequence of bathing rooms; after the caldarium, bathers return through the tepidarium to the frigidarium.
In the caldarium is a bath (alveus, piscina calida or solium) of hot water sunk into the floor. This area also features a laconicum—a hot, dry area to induce sweating.
Patrons use olive oil for cleansing the body. They massage the oils onto their skin and remove excess with a a strigil or scraper. Scraping may be done in the Caldarium or Tepidarium.
2. Tepidarium
The tepidarium is the warm (tepidus) bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust. The specialty of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat, which directly affects the human body from the walls and floor.
The tepidarium is the hub around which all the other halls are grouped. Here the bathers first assemble and pass through the various hot baths (caldarium) or taking the cold bath (frigidarium).
The tepidarium is decorated with the richest marbles and mosaics; light through clerestory (high) windows on the sides, the front, and the rear. The tepidarium is the hall containing all the finest treasures of art.
3. Frigidarium
A frigidarium, literally "cold room" is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or thermae. It typically has a swimming pool.
The succession of bathing activities in the thermae isn't well known. It's thought the bather first goes through the apodyterium. There the patron can undress and store clothes.
The person then enters the elaeothesium or unctuarium to be anointed with oil. A room or court for exercise is next. Then, the bather luxuriates in the hot room or calidarium.
In the steam room (sudatorium if moist or laconicum if dry) one scrapes off the dirty oil. Finally the bather goes to the frigidarium. There is a pool of cold water which might be cooled with snow or ice packed down from the frigid regions. The bather finishes by oiling up again.
Ice is imported from mountain glaciers, packed and stored in insulated cellars. Only the wealthy can afford personal ice. The practice of packing, transporting and storing ice continues up to the 19th century.
4. Natatio
The natatio is a room with an enormous swimming pool. In ancient times an Olympic-sized pool shimmers in the streams of light from the windows. The functional natatio usually has a roof.
5. Palaestra
The name palaestra derives from the verb palaiein, meaning “to wrestle.” Palaestrae have three basic functions. They are:
training areas for combat sports such as wrestling and boxing,
areas for cult or ritual activity
meeting places for discussion, philosophical and otherwise
6. Main Entrance
For going in and out.
7. Exedra
The exedra is a socializing area. Usually semicircular, it's a room, portico, or arcade with a bench or seats where people can sit and talk. These are also found in ancient Roman and Greek houses and gymnasia.
Following the Roman examples, exedrae continue to appear prominently in architecture after the fall of Rome. In Byzantine and Romanesque architecture, this familiar feature develops into the apse.
In Rome the baths operate for centuries. With the decline of the Roman Empire and the disruption caused Ostrogothics, the aqueducts supplying water to Rome are severed, leading to closure of the baths c. 537 AD.
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