View Page: Baths & Bathing as an Ancient Roman

	Baths & Bathing as an Ancient Roman
	written by kjw2 / 09.13.2004

Section Five

5 of 7

Conclusion

www.vroma.org/ ~bmcmanus/baths.html

Palaestra

This is the square in which bathers would exercise as a prelude to bathing. Exercise was light and after finishing, exercisers would scrape the dirt, oil and sweat off their bodies using a strigil (pictured above).

http://sights.seindal.dk/photo/9736,s722f.html

Tourists at the Stabian Baths

The tourists are examining the plaster casts of some of the victims of Vesuvius' eruption in A.D. 79.

Living the busy, fast-paced American lifestyle, it’s hard to imagine taking a few hours every day to relax and socialize. Yet to the Romans, a bath was a necessary part of the daily routine. Baths institutionalized leisure. Besides keeping the Romans clean, the baths provided a space for many other cultural and social activities. Bathing represented a balance between the body and mind, many baths incorporating lecture halls and libraries. Bathing alone was unheard of, to the Romans bathing was a social activity. Baths provided a place for friends and neighbors to meet and socialize, thus building community among the Romans. Since they were so cheap, all classes of Roman society could enjoy them side by side in a classless environment. Politicians and the very wealthy would frequent the baths, even though they had their own private facilities, to rub shoulders with the common citizens. Baths were considered a principle element in good health, along with diet, exercise and massage, the latter two also being available at the baths. Baths were considered the embodiment of the ideal way of urban life in the Roman world, a hallmark of civilized culture and a daily necessity for health and well-being. We can look back on the institution of bathing and learn from the Romans that it is possible set aside time every day for socializing, health and leisure and still be one of the most powerful empires in history.

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