Thermae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
In ancient Rome, Thermae (from Greek thermos, "hot") and balnea (Greek βαλανείον, 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 centres not only for bathing, but socializing. Roman bath-houses were also provided for private villas, town houses, and forts. They were supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or more normally, by an aqueduct. The water would be heated by a log fire before being channelled into the hot bathing rooms. The design of baths is discussed by Vitruvius in De Architectura