Thermae Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The term thermae was the word the Ancient Romans used for the buildings housing their public baths.Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization.
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2 Building layout 3 Location 4 Remains of Roman baths can be found at 5 See also |
The word thermae is a Latin borrowing from the Greek adjective thermos, therme, thermon (hot).
c.f. Thermopylae (the hot gates, gates of fire) thermae sc. aquae means "hot waters, hot springs".
Within the building the baths were divided according to gender. Each gender had three pools: a hot one, a lukewarm one and a cool one. They were respectively called:
The changing room was known as the apotyterium (Greek apotyterion, apo + duo "to take off" here of clothing).
Baths sprung up all over the empire. Where natural hot springs existed (as in Bath, England) thermae were built around them. Alternatively a system of hypocausta (Greek hypocauston < hypo "below" + kaio "to burn") were utilized to heat the waters.
This is an Article on Thermae. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Thermae Origin of the term
Building layout
The baths often included, aside from the three main rooms, listed above, a palaestra, or outdoor gymnasium where men would engage in various ball games and exercises. There, inter alia, weights were lifted and the discus thrown. Men would oil themselves and removes the excess with a strigil (c.f. the well known Apoxyomenus of Lysippus from the Vatican Museum). Location
Remains of Roman baths can be found at
Algeria
England
France
Germany
Italy
Wales
See also