What were public roman baths used for?

Answer 1

Ancient Romans became experts in water transportation. They had as example indoor Plumbing in an otherwise "backward and ancient world" They had in Rome a sewerage board to handle Rome's waste water. Their engineering skills brought clean spring water from faraway. This was done for many cities in their empire. They also were not only "clean water freaks" they wanted and used public baths supplied with even heated water for the general public and for the upper classes. The baths became areas of social chat and for keeping clean and healthy.

Answer 2

The public baths were particularly useful for the poor who lived in the upper floors of the tenements blocks which had no running water and no cooking facilities. They only had small and overcrowded rooms where people could only sleep. The poor lived their lives outdoors, ate outdoors, and went to outdoors public toilets and the public baths. For the rich, going to the baths was part of their leisured lifestyle and a place where they could meet their clients and engage in intellectual pursuits. Since most Roman houses had no baths, their baths were public and had a communal character, acting as a place for socialising. It was a place people went to after the end of the working day, which was noon (the Romans worked from dawn to noon).

From the second century BC the baths were one of the main meeting points for people. They could be big monumental complexes s with many facilities. Friends met there, rich people met their clients, and group meals could be arranged. Politicians canvassed there. Poetry readings and oratory debates were held in dedicated rooms. People sent an average of two hours at the baths. Prior to bathing, people played sports and did exercises at the gym (the palaestra). People After bathing that they washed (this was separate), they had olive oil put on their body, and had their skin scraped with special metal scrapers (the stigril). Pumice and beech ash were used to treat the skin. Afterwards they had a massage which was done with perfumed ointments such almond oil and myrrh imported from the East and Egypt. In the smaller baths they did this in the tempdarium. In the larger baths there was a separate hall for this, the main hall. The bigger baths also had a swimming pool and a library (the baths of Caracalla has to pools, one for men and one for women, and two libraries a Latin one and a Greek one). The Romans believed that good health came from eating, bathing, massage and physical and mental exercise: mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy/sound mind in a healthy body). Therefore their baths provided for all of these.

The main routine was to start with exercising and/or playing sports at the palaestra (the gym). This followed by bathing. Washing was separate from bathing. Bathers had olive oil put on their body, and had their skin scraped with special metal scrapers (the strigil). Pumice and beech ash were used to treat the skin. Afterwards they a massage which was done with perfumed ointments such almond oil and myrrh imported from the East and Egypt.

Bathing was a long process. After undressing in the apodytermium bathers went to the tepidarium which was heated with warm air to prepare for the hot vapour of the baths and for anointing, which was usually done by slaves. They then proceeded into the caldarium, a hot air room, which contained a square-shaped pool with hot water (calida piscina) and a labrum, a round basin with cold water bathers poured on their heads before leaving the room. In imperial times a laconicumor sudatoriumwas added. This was a very hot, sweating room or sauna. After having opened the pores of the skin in the laconicum, bathers went into the frigidarium, which had a pool with cold water, for a cold plunge- bath to close the pores. Finally they went back to the tepidarium to reacclimatise the body before going back outdoors readjust to the outdoors temperature.

Answer 3

to take a bath!!